JPH0970202A - Maintenance device of golf link - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf link-maintenance device capable of automatically and unattendedly carrying out a work to fill sand into a spot where a turf is cut off and reducing the cost of equipment by installing a course-detecting means, etc., capable of detecting course marks, to a cart. SOLUTION: Course marks R which indicate a course in order to guide a cart Q1 with following a predetermined course and photographing spot-marks P which indicate spots to photograph a lawn are arranged along a golf course. The cart Q1 moves automatically depending on detected signals detected by a course detecting means 51 which detects the course marks R, a photographing spot-detecting means 53 which detects photographing spot-marks P and detected signals by the course detecting means 51. In the cart, a traveling device 52 which automatically stops the cart whenever the photographing spot-detecting means 53 detects the photographing spot, a photographing means 54 which takes photos of neighboring lawn surfaces, an image data memory means 55 which holds the image data already photographed in advance and an image comparison means 56, etc., which compares the image data by the photographing means 54 with the image data corresponding to the same photographing spot and held in the image data memory means 55 are installed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a golf course maintenance device for automatically performing a sand filling operation which is carried out to restore a portion where grass has been cut by a golfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, at a golf course where a caddy accompanies a golfer, if the golfer accidentally scrapes the grass at the time of hitting, the caddy is performing a sand burial operation to fill the sand with the caddy. A dedicated golf keeper regularly inspects the lawn, and if he finds a spot that has been cut, he fills it with sand.

[0003]

However, in order to carry out such sand burying work, it is necessary to rely on manual work by a caddy or a dedicated golf keeper, and a great labor cost is required. However, there was a risk that the ball hit by a golfer who followed without hitting it would hit the golf keeper and cause injury.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a golf course maintenance apparatus in which sand burying work is automatically performed by an unmanned cart.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The first invention (Claim 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, is a golf course maintenance device that recognizes a cut-away part of a lawn on a golf course and automatically and unmanned a cart to perform a sand filling operation to fill the place with the sand. A course mark (R) is provided on the course of _{No. 1} and a photographing position mark (P) is provided, and the route detecting means (51) detects the route mark (R) to determine the moving route of the cart (Q ₁ ). Further, if the photographing position detecting means (53) detects the photographing position marker (P) in the movement process, the advancing device (5)
The movement is stopped by 2), and at the stopped shooting position,
An image of the grass surface in the vicinity is photographed by the photographing means (54). FIG.
(B) shows the photographed image at that time, and the portion indicated by J is the defective portion of the lawn. On the other hand, the image data previously captured at the image capturing position is stored in the image data storage means (5
5), and the image data is shown in FIG. The read image data (A) and the photographing means (5
The image comparison means (56) determines whether or not the image data (B) obtained in 6) matches. For the determination, the difference between both (A) and (B) data is obtained. The difference data of FIG.
It is shown in (C). Only the defective J portion is extracted from the difference data (C). The position of the defect J is detected by the defect position detecting means (57), and the sand ejecting means (5
9) is moved by the moving means (58), and sand is discharged to the defective position.

The second invention (claim 2) of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, recognizes a cut-out portion of a lawn on a golf course and automatically fills the place with sand by a cart automatically and unmanned. This is a golf course maintenance device which is provided with a road marking (R) on the course of the golf course and a photographing position marker.
(P) is provided, and the travel route of the cart (Q ₁ ) is determined by the route detection means (51) detecting the route sign (R), and
In the moving process, when the photographing position detecting means (53) detects the photographing position marker (P), the movement is stopped by the advancing device (52), and at the stopped photographing position, the photographing means (54) The grass surface in the vicinity is photographed. The photographed image is shown in FIG. In this figure, 101 is a grass course,
102 is a sandy bunker, and 103 is a portion called a rough at the boundary between the course and the bunker, and the length of the lawn is longer than that of the course. Reference numeral 101a shows a portion where the lawn was cut off, and 101b shows a portion where sand was sprinkled on the removed portion. The rough portion is the same as the course on the image data. On the other hand, the sand buried in the course, the bunker, and the part where the grass has been scraped is photographed in advance, and the color data of the image is stored in the color data storage means (55 '). The color data is shown.
Whether the color data is read out one by one pixel or n × n pixels in sequence from the image captured by the image capturing means (54) and matches the color data stored in the color data storage means (55 ′). It is judged by the color comparison means (56 '). Now, when the color data of the image captured by the image capturing means (54) matches the color data stored in the color data storage means (55 '), that is, when the color data of the captured image is lawn, bunker, or grass. If any of the colors of the sand buried in the scraped part matches,
Although it is determined that there is no loss on the lawn surface, if there is a loss on the lawn surface, if the color data does not match, the loss position detection means (57) detects a location where the data does not match, and moves to that location. The sand discharging means (59) is moved by the moving means (58), and the sand is discharged to the defective position.

Road sign (R) in the first and second inventions
As the photographing position marker (P), the guide line (L) is buried in the ground shallowly as the route marker (R), and the magnet is provided at a necessary place as the photographing position marker (P).
(M) is embedded, Claim 4: A first magnet (m) is embedded in a required place as a path marker (R), and a second magnet (M) is used as a photographing position marker (P).
Claim 5: A chip (T) that oscillates a response signal may be embedded as a path marker (R) or provided on a lawn surface, and a magnet (M) may be embedded as a shooting position marker (P).

According to the third aspect of the present invention (claim 6), as shown in FIG. 3, a cart is used to automatically and unmanned a sand filling operation for recognizing a scraped off portion of a lawn on a golf course and filling the sand with the spot. Is a golf course maintenance device that is used in the above, where each shooting position for shooting the lawn is registered with latitude and longitude data, and the position detection means (61) uses the GPS to cart.
The position of (Q ₃ ) is measured, and the cart (Q ₃ ) is self-propelled by the advancing device (52) until the cart (Q ₃ ) is moved to the photographing position based on the judgment of the photographing position judging means (62). After the cart (Q ₃ ) reaches the photographing position, the same control as the first invention described with reference to FIG. 1 is performed. That is, by comparing the image of the lawn surface taken by the imaging means (54) with the image of the same point previously taken, if a defective portion is found on the lawn surface, the sand is discharged to that portion.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention (claim 7), as shown in FIG. 4, a cart is used to automatically and unmanned a sand filling operation for recognizing a scraped off portion of a turf on a golf course and burying the sand at the spot. The golf course maintenance device according to the present invention, which is similar to the third invention described with reference to FIG. 3, in which each photographing position for photographing the lawn is registered with latitude / longitude data, and the position detecting means is registered.
According to (61), the position of the cart (Q ₄ ) is measured using GPS, and the cart is determined based on the judgment of the photographing position judging means (62).
(Q ₃ ) is self-propelled by the traveling device (52) until it moves to the photographing position. After the cart (Q ₄ ) reaches the shooting position, the same control as the second invention described with reference to FIG. 2 is performed, that is, the grass surface, the bunker and the grass taken by the shooting means (54) are scraped off. Take a picture of the sand buried in
If the color data in those image data does not match the color data stored in the color data storage means (55 '), it is determined that there is a lawn defect at the location where the data does not match, and sand is released at that location. To be done.

[0010]

FIG. 7 shows an installation example of a route marker R and a photographing position marker P used in the first embodiment of the first invention, and the guide line (leakage cable) L is used as the route marker R. Is embedded so as to cross the course (the lawn surface in the region W) thoroughly, and as the photographing position indicator Pi, as shown in FIG. 8, a magnet M is embedded immediately above the guide line L. . An oscillator O is connected to one end of the induction line L to supply a radio wave. Here, the oscillation (carrier) frequency of the oscillator O is
Using a long wave band of about 100 KHz to 200 KHz,
It is modulated with a signal with an audio frequency of several hundred Hz. Outside the area W is a sand bunker.

Q ₁ shown in FIG. 8 indicates a cart according to the first embodiment of the first invention, which follows the lead line L and advances. FIG. 9 is a view of the cart Q ₁ viewed from the bottom. In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the cart Q ₁ is moved back and forth by the tracks on both sides to change the direction. The CCD camera 6 is installed facing downward on the traveling side of the cart Q _{1 by} an arm. Then, a sand tank is provided inside the cart Q ₁ , a sand discharge valve 12 for discharging the sand in the sand tank, a pipe 13 for discharging the sand discharged from the sand discharge valve 12 forward, and a discharge point for changing the discharge point. A geared motor 14 for changing the direction of the pipe 13 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the horizontal length of the pipe 13 is r, the sand discharge point of the pipe 13 has a radius with the fulcrum of the pipe 13 (the rotation axis of the motor 14) as the center O. It is a point on r. Here, when the position of the fulcrum is the origin (0, 0) and the emission point is (X, Y), sin
From θ = (X / r), if the pipe 13 is turned in the direction of θ = sin ⁻ (X / r), and the cart Q ₁ is retracted by rcos θ−Y, the sand discharge port 13a of the pipe 13 is released. Match position (X, Y). Therefore, the above-mentioned moving means (58) includes not only the movement of the cart but also the direction change of this pipe.

As shown in FIG. 9, a pair of receiving antennas S _R and S _L for receiving radio waves from the guide line _L are attached to the bottom surface of the cart Q ₁ , and the magnetic field of the magnet M is set. In order to detect the magnetic field, two magnetic sensors S ₁ and S ₂ arranged in the traveling direction are attached.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a control device mounted on the cart Q _{1. The} same elements as those in FIGS. 8 and 9 are designated by common reference numerals. 1 is the receiving antenna S
An amplifier that amplifies the received signal detected by _L and S _R.
Is a detector that detects the received signal and extracts the audible signal. Reference numeral 3 is an A / D converter that converts the detection signal from analog to digital. 4 is
An amplifier that amplifies the detection signals from the magnetic sensors S ₁ and S ₂ and an A / D converter 5 that digitally converts the signals.

Reference numeral 7 is a CPU, which has respective judgment elements 7A to 7G. The operation of each element will be described when explaining the operation of the apparatus. Reference numeral 8 is a ROM that stores the execution program of the CPU 7. A RAM 9 temporarily stores various data. Reference numeral 10 denotes a CDROM, which stores image data obtained by photographing a lawn surface without loss at each of the photographing positions. 11 is a drive circuit, which is a sand discharge valve 12,
The geared motor 14 and the caterpillar motor 15 are driven. Reference numeral 16 is a battery that serves as a power source for the cart Q ₁ . The components _{1 to} 16 described above are the cart Q ₁
It is provided inside.

The control of the cart Q _{1 having} the above structure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. At step S1, the left and right caterpillar motors 15 are turned on, and the cart Q ₁ moves forward, and at the same time, at step S2, it is determined whether or not there is a road deviation. That is, in FIG. 11, the receiving antennas S _L and S _{R are}
Received signal is amplified and detected, and the detected signal
(S _L , S _R ) is A / D converted and then input to the subtracting unit 7A of the CPU 7. Now, when the induction line L is located between both antennas, the levels of the signals S _L and S _R are equal.
(S _L −S _R = 0), if the cart shifts from this state to the right, for example, one of the signal levels S _L increases and S _L −S _R >
It becomes 0. Therefore, the subtraction unit 7A calculates S _L −S _R , and the path deviation detection unit 7B knows the deviation amount from the value,
By appropriately controlling the drive of the left and right caterpillar motors 15, the cart is controlled to follow the guide line L.

When the course deviation is eliminated in this way, it is next determined in step S3 whether or not the photographing position has been reached. That is, when the intermediate to the magnet M of the magnetic sensor S _1, S ₂ is located, the level is equal to the detection signals from both magnetic sensors (S _1, and S _2), come when the cart is in the shooting position You can judge that Until reaching the photographing position, the vehicle moves forward while correcting the route in steps S1 and S2. By the way, even if the caterpillar motor 15 is turned off at the time of reaching the shooting position, the cart goes over the shooting position. Therefore, the photographing position detection unit. 7D, the S ₁ -S ₂ value by the subtracting unit 7C 0
The cart is stopped at the shooting position by moving the caterpillar motor 16 back and forth so that Thus, when the cart finally reaches the shooting position, step S4 is performed.
Then, the caterpillar motor 16 is turned off. However, even when M is at infinity, S ₁ = S ₂ = 0. Therefore, when determining the shooting position, it is necessary that S ₁ and S ₂ have a certain level. There is.

Thereafter, in step S5, the grass near the photographing position is photographed by the CCD camera 6, and the signal processing unit 7
In E, binarization processing is performed. In step S6, the image data at this shooting position is read from the CDROM 10. At that time, it is necessary to recognize which point the current photographing position is, but here, as shown in FIG. 7, the value is incremented each time P ₁ , P ₂ ... Is passed to the photographing position. The increment value is used as an address C
The corresponding image data is read from the DROM.

In steps S7 and S8, as described with reference to FIG. 5, a mismatched portion in both data is detected as a defective position. That is, in step S7, the image comparison unit 7F subtracts the image captured this time from the normal image read from the CDROM 10 and obtains a difference image, thereby determining whether the two images match. If they match, it is determined that there is no defect in the grass surface at the shooting position that was taken this time, and the process returns to step S1 to move to the next shooting position. On the other hand, when the two data do not match and there is a defective portion on the lawn surface, the defective position detecting unit 7G detects the defective portion from the image data taken this time in step S8, and the actual position is detected. Be recognized.

Here, since the CCD camera 10 uses a wide-angle lens (short focus) so that it can photograph a wide range, distortion of the screen especially in the peripheral portion occurs, and therefore the photographing area is partitioned into a checkerboard pattern. However, each square does not correspond linearly to the actual grass surface. Therefore, it is preliminarily checked to which region each square actually corresponds, and the relation is RO
By storing the data in M8 as table data, the actual loss position can be directly read from the cell where the loss has occurred by referring to the table.

If the defective position is found, step S9
At this point, the cart Q ₁ moves so that the sand discharge port 13a comes to the defective position, and at step S10, the sand discharge valve 12 is opened for a predetermined time so that a certain amount of sand is generated. It is released to the defect position.

FIG. 13 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₁ showing the second embodiment of the first invention. As the route marker R, instead of the guide line L, as shown in FIG.
The first magnets m are embedded at required intervals, and as the photographing position marker Q, the second magnet M is buried at a position deviated from the path marker m to the left side in the drawing. Therefore, in the cart Q _{1 according to} the second aspect, the sensors S _L and S _R for path detection are magnetic sensors, and the magnetism detected by the sensors is amplified by the amplifier 1 and then transferred to the A / D converter 3. Supplied. Similar to the case of FIG. 11, S ₁ and S ₂ are magnetic sensors, but they are installed at positions leftward from the path mark m so that the second magnet M can be detected.

This cart Q ₁ is similar to the case of FIG. 11 in that it detects the magnetic field from the first magnet m and corrects the course, but since the magnetic field generated by the magnet m reaches a short distance, it does not exist. If m is passed, the magnetic field is not present until the magnetic field of the next magnet is detected, and the course cannot be corrected.
Therefore, in this system, the cart Q ₁
Is basically going straight. Therefore, the magnets m may be embedded at intervals of several meters at the straight line portion of the path, but the magnets m need to be embedded at intervals of several tens of centimeters at the curved portion. The stop control of the photographing position by the magnetic sensors S ₁ and S ₂ is the same as in the case of FIG. In this system, as shown in FIG. 7, it is not necessary to bury the guide line L in the entire area of the course, so that the cost of equipment investment can be reduced.

FIG. 14 is a control block diagram of the cart Q _{1 according to} the third embodiment of the present invention. What is different from FIG. 13 is that the first magnet m used as a buried route sign R is used instead. The tag T is installed on the grass surface.

The tag T is formed by patterning a resonance circuit on a substrate. When the tag T is irradiated with a radio wave having a resonance frequency, the tag T resonates at that frequency and even at higher frequencies. It is possible to find out that the tag T exists at that position if it resonates and receives the higher-order frequency, and it is already widely used as the anti-theft tag T attached to the sold product.

In order to irradiate the tag T with a radio wave, an oscillator 21 that oscillates a carrier having the resonance frequency and a transmitting antenna 2 for efficiently irradiating the tag T with the carrier.
2 is provided. The sensors S _L and S _R are receiving antennas that receive the radiated radio waves from the tag T. Here, since the radiated radio wave is weak, the carrier wave is modulated with a signal of an audible frequency, for example, so that erroneous detection does not occur. Receiving antenna S _L ,
A bandpass filter 23 is inserted to select only high-order frequency signals from the signals received at S _R. In this case, as in the case of FIG. 11, the detector 2 is used to detect (detect) an audible signal.

Since this tag T is as small as about 2 cm, it can be hidden in the lawn without being buried in the ground, and the labor for installation can be simplified. Further, since the tag T radiates radio waves, its reach distance is longer than that of a magnet, so that the installation interval of the tags T can be made long. In addition, this tag T confidence is cheap
Since it is (disposable), the accuracy of route correction of the cart Q ₁ can be improved by installing the cart Q ₁ at short intervals.

If the tag T is hidden in the lawn, it will not be conspicuous and the rolling of the ball will not be affected even if the ball rolls on the tag T. Unfortunately, if the tag T is thrown away by a golf club, there is a risk that the course of the cart will go wrong. To prevent this, for example, a pin inserted into the ground and the tag T are tied with a string, and when the tag T is kicked, a part of the pattern on the tag T is broken by the string and the tag T functions as the tag T. It's good to leave it out.

FIG. 15 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₂ showing the first embodiment of the second invention. The route marker R, the photographing position marker P, and the mechanism for detecting these markers are the same as those in FIG. 11 (first embodiment of the first invention). What is different is that, instead of the CDROM 10, a color data memory 10 'for storing color data of each of the grass, bunker, and sand buried in the shaved ground is provided, and the CPU
7'includes a buffer 7H and a color comparison block 7F '.

The operation of this apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Steps S1 to S5 are the same as the flow of FIG. 12, and in the next step S6 ', each color data of the sand buried in the shavings of the lawn, bunker, and lawn is read from the color data memory 10'.

In steps S7 'and S8', as described with reference to FIG. 6, a portion where the color data does not match is detected, and the portion is recognized as a defective position. That is, in step S7 ', the CCD read from the buffer 7H
The color comparison unit 7F 'compares the color data of the image of the camera 6 with the color data stored in the color data memory 10', and the mismatched portion is recognized as a defective position. In the next step S9, the sand discharge port is moved to the defective position, and the sand discharge valve is opened for a predetermined time in step S10, whereby the sand is discharged to the defective position.

FIG. 17 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₂ showing the second embodiment of the second invention. The route marker R, the photographing position marker P, and the mechanism for detecting these markers are the same as those in FIG. 13 (the second embodiment of the first invention of the present invention). The first embodiment of the second invention, that is, the CPU 7'is provided).

FIG. 18 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₂ showing the third embodiment of the second invention. The route marker R, the photographing position marker P, and the mechanism for detecting these markers are the same as those in FIG. 14 (the third embodiment of the first invention), and the location for recognizing the defect position is shown in FIG. This is the same as the first embodiment of the second invention).

In the above first and second inventions, the route mark R and the photographing position mark P are installed on the ground in the ground or on the surface of the course. An invention and a fourth invention are provided. Here, the shooting position indicator Pi shown in FIG. 7 is not actually set as a target but is simply stored as position data of longitude and latitude, and self-propelled to those positions according to the position information measured by GPS. It is supposed to do.

FIG. 19 shows a cart Q ₃ showing one embodiment of the third invention. The cart Q ₂ is provided with a GPS 31 for measuring its own position and a direction sensor 32 for detecting the direction (direction) of the cart Q ₂ , and the above-mentioned sensors S _L , S _R , S are provided.
₁ and S ₂ are unnecessary.

FIG. 20 shows a control block diagram of the cart Q ₃ . The RAM 9 stores the position data of each photographing position, and the CPU 7 includes a movement amount detecting means 7I and a photographing position recognizing means 7J. The image data at each photographing position stored in the CDROM 10 is obtained by photographing in a fixed azimuth (for example, north direction).

The operation of the cart Q _{3 having} the above structure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S21, the position and direction of the cart Q ₃ are GPS31 and the direction sensor 3
Then, the amount of movement to the next photographing position and the course (direction) are detected by reading the next photographing position from the RAM 9 in step S22. In step S24, it is determined from the movement amount whether or not the next photographing position has been reached. If not, the caterpillar motor 16 is turned on and the vehicle advances toward the next photographing position according to the course. As a result, when the cart Q ₃ reaches the photographing position proceeds from step S24 to step S25, caterpillar motor 16 is turned off, and grass surface at those photographing position is photographed at step S26. Step S27
Then, the image data at the photographing position is read from the CDROM 10 and the azimuth of the current cart Q ₃ (direction deviation φ from true north) is measured. In step S28, the photographed image data is rotated by φ by the coordinate conversion, and in step S29, it is determined whether the photographed image data rotated in the direction and the image data from the CDROM 10 match.

If they coincide with each other, it is determined that there is no defect on the grass surface at the photographing position taken this time, and the process returns to step S22 to move to the next photographing position. On the other hand, if the two data do not match and there is a defective portion on the grass surface, step S3
At 0, the defective portion is detected from the image data taken this time, and its actual position is recognized.

If the defective position is found, step S3
In step 1, the sand discharge port 13a is moved to the defective position by moving the cart Q ₃ , and in step S32, the sand discharge valve 1
By opening 2 for a predetermined time, a certain amount of sand is discharged to the defect position.

FIG. 22 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₄ showing one embodiment of the fourth invention. The difference from FIG. 20 is that the color data memory 1 is replaced by the CDROM 10.
0 ′ is used, and instead of the signal processing unit 7E and the image comparison unit 7F in the CPU 7, a CPU 7 ′ including a buffer 7H and a color comparison unit 7F ′ is used.

The operation of the cart Q _{4 having} the above construction will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Steps S21 to S26 are the same as step S in FIG. 21, and in the next step S27 ′, the above-mentioned color data is not read from the color data memory 10 ′ and the direction of the current cart Q ₄ (direction from true north) is read. The deviation φ) is measured. In step S28, the photographed image data is rotated by φ by coordinate conversion, and in step S29 ′, it is determined whether the photographed image data turned in the same direction matches the color data.

If they coincide with each other, it is determined that there is no defect on the grass surface at the image-taking position taken this time, and the process returns to step S22 to move to the next image-taking position. On the other hand, if the two data do not match and there is a defective portion on the grass surface, step S3
At 0, the defective portion is detected from the image data taken this time, and its actual position is recognized.

If the defective position is found, step S3
At 1, the sand discharge port 13a is moved to the defective position by moving the cart Q ₄ , and at step S32, the sand discharge valve 1
By opening 2 for a predetermined time, a certain amount of sand is discharged to the defect position.

In the third and fourth aspects of the invention, since it is not necessary to install a traffic sign or the like, the facility cost for that is not required, and the photographing position can be freely set, so that it can be applied to an existing course. In addition, it is easy to change after setting.

[0045]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the course is provided with the road marking and the photographing position marker, the cart is automatically operated along the road marking, and the lawn surface is photographed at the position of the photographing position marker. After that, the photographed image is compared with an image taken in advance at the same position to check if there is a defective portion on the grass surface, and if there is a defective portion, sand is discharged to that portion. According to this system, since the sand filling work which has conventionally been performed manually can be performed automatically and unmanned, the labor cost can be reduced, and the risk of the golf keeper being injured by a hit ball can be eliminated. Second
The invention is to photograph the sand buried in the parts where the lawn, the bunker, and the lawn are scraped off in advance, and store them as color samples, and the color of the image photographed by the photographing position mark matches the color sample. If not, the lawn is determined to be defective and sand is discharged to that location. With this method, there is no need to store image data for each imaging position marker, and therefore equipment costs can be reduced. According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the cart reaches a preset photographing position by the position detection of the position detecting means, photographing is performed, and by comparing the photographed image with an image previously photographed at the same position, a defective portion on the lawn surface is detected. If there is a missing part, sand is discharged to that part, and this system does not require route markers or shooting position markers on the course, so equipment costs are reduced. It can be reduced and can be applied to existing courses. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the cart reaches a preset photographing position by the position detection of the position detecting means, photographing is performed, and when the color data in the photographed image does not match the above-mentioned color sample, the lawn is defective. Therefore, the equipment cost can be further reduced by this system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for responding to a claim of the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for responding to a claim of the second invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for responding to a claim of the third invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to claims of the fourth invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a normal image stored in a CDROM, an image captured by a CCD camera, and difference data between the two images.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image captured by a CCD camera, color data, and mismatch data that does not match the color data.

FIG. 7 is a course diagram of a golf course showing an example of the arrangement of the route recognition means and the shooting position recognition means in the first embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the cart used in the first embodiment of the first invention.

9 is a plan view of the cart of FIG. 8 viewed from the bottom.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a region where sand can be sprinkled in the cart of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a control block diagram of a cart Q ₁ used in the first embodiment of the first invention.

12 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the cart Q _{1 in} FIG.

FIG. 13 is a control block diagram of a cart Q ₁ used in the second embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 14 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₁ used in the third embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 15 is a control block diagram of a cart Q ₂ used in the first embodiment of the second invention.

16 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the cart Q _{2 in} FIG.

FIG. 17 is a control block diagram of a cart Q ₂ used in the second embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 18 is a control block diagram of a cart Q ₂ used in the third embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 19 is a cart Q used in the first embodiment of the third invention.
Side sectional view of ₃

FIG. 20 is a control block diagram of the cart Q ₃ used in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the cart Q _{3 in} FIG.

FIG. 22 is a cart Q used in the first embodiment of the fourth invention.
Control block diagram of ₄

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the cart Q _{4 in} FIG. 22.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Q cart L induction line M magnet m magnet S sensor 1 amplifier 2 detector 3 A / D converter 4 amplifier 5 A / D converter 6 CCD camera 7 CPU 8 ROM 9 RAM 10 CDROM 11 drive circuit 12 sand discharge valve 13 pipe 13a sand discharge port 14 gard motor 15 caterpillar motor 16 battery T tag 21 oscillator 22 oscillator antenna 23 bandpass filter 31 GPS 32 direction sensor

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A golf course maintenance device for recognizing a cut-away part of a lawn on a golf course and automatically and unmanned by a cart for burying sand in the part, wherein the cart (Q ₁ ) In order to move the golf course according to the desired route, a course mark (R) is provided on the course of the golf course to indicate the course, and a photographing position mark (P) is provided to indicate the position where the lawn is photographed. (Q ₁ ) is;
(R) detecting route detecting means (51), photographing position detecting means (P) detecting photographing position detecting means (53), and following the detection signal from the route detecting means (51) automatically operating along the route. Then, the advancing device (52) that automatically stops each time the photographing position is detected by the photographing position detecting means (53), and the photographing means (5) that photographs the grass surface in the vicinity at each of the photographing positions.
4), image data storage means (55) that stores image data captured in advance at each of the capturing positions, image data by the capturing means (54), and image data storage means (55) The image comparing means (56) for comparing the image data for the same photographing position, the loss position detecting means (57) for detecting the loss position of the lawn by the comparison by the image comparing means (56), and a predetermined amount of sand And a moving means (5) for moving the sand discharging means (59) to the defective position.
8) A golf course maintenance device comprising: 2. A golf course maintenance device for recognizing a cut-away portion of a lawn on a golf course and automatically and unmanned by a cart for burying sand in the location, wherein the cart (Q ₂ ) In order to move the golf course according to the desired route, a course mark (R) is provided on the course of the golf course to indicate the course, and a photographing position mark (P) is provided to indicate the position where the lawn is photographed. (Q ₂ ) is a road sign
(R) detecting route detecting means (51), photographing position detecting means (P) detecting photographing position detecting means (53), and following the detection signal from the route detecting means (51) automatically operating along the route. Then, the advancing device (52) that automatically stops each time the photographing position is detected by the photographing position detecting means (53), and the photographing means (5) that photographs the grass surface in the vicinity at each of the photographing positions.
4), a color data storage means (55 ') for preliminarily photographing and storing color data of the sand embedded in the grass, bunker, and turf shaved areas, and the image by the photographing means (54) Read the color from the data,
Color data does not match due to the comparison by the color comparison means (56 ′) for comparing the read color with the color data stored in the image data storage means (55 ′) and the image comparison means (56). Missing position detecting means (57) for detecting a location as a missing position on the lawn, sand discharging means (59) for discharging a predetermined amount of sand, and moving means (5) for moving the sand discharging means (59) to the defective position.
8) A golf course maintenance device comprising: 3. A guide line (L) is embedded as a route mark (R), and a magnet (M) is embedded as a photographing position mark (P), and the route detection means (51) is provided with the guide line (51). The radio wave or magnetic field radiated from L) is used for path detection, and the imaging position detection means (53) detects the imaging position by detecting the magnetic field strength from the magnet (M). The golf course maintenance device described. 4. A first magnet (m) is embedded as a path marker (R) in a necessary place, and a second magnet (M) is embedded as a photographing position marker (P), and a path detection means ( 51) detects the magnetic field from the first magnet (m) to detect the path, and the photographing position detecting means (53) detects the magnetic field intensity from the second magnet (M) to detect the photographing position. The golf course maintenance device according to claim 1 or 2. 5. A chip (T) that oscillates a signal in response to a transmission signal from a cart (Q) is embedded in a required place or provided on a lawn surface as a road sign (R), and a shooting position sign ( P)
As a magnet (M) is embedded as a path, the path detection means (51) detects the path oscillated by the chip (T) to detect the path, and the photographing position detection means (53).
The golf course maintenance device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the magnetic field strength from the magnet (M) is detected to detect the photographing position. 6. A golf course maintenance device for recognizing a shaved part of a lawn on a golf course and automatically filling a sand in the place with a cart. The position is registered in the latitude / longitude data, and the cart (Q ₃ ) includes the position detecting means (61) for measuring its own position using GPS and the position data obtained by the position detecting means (61). Based on the shooting position determination means (62) for determining whether the shooting position has been moved to, and a progress device (52) that moves to each shooting position based on the determination result of the shooting position determination means (62) and automatically stops, A photographing means for photographing the grass surface in the vicinity at each of the photographing positions (5
4), image data storage means (55) that stores image data captured in advance at each of the capturing positions, image data by the capturing means (54), and image data storage means (55) The image comparing means (56) for comparing the image data for the same photographing position, the loss position detecting means (57) for detecting the loss position of the lawn by the comparison by the image comparing means (56), and a predetermined amount of sand And a moving means (5) for moving the sand discharging means (59) to the defective position.
8) A golf course maintenance device comprising: 7. A golf course maintenance device for recognizing a shaved portion of a grass on a golf course and automatically and unmanned by a cart for burying the sand in the spot, each photographing for photographing a lawn. The position is registered with latitude / longitude data, and the cart (Q ₄ ) uses position detecting means (61) for measuring its own position using GPS and position data obtained by the position detecting means (61). Based on the shooting position determination means (62) for determining whether the shooting position has been moved to, and a progress device (52) that moves to each shooting position based on the determination result of the shooting position determination means (62) and automatically stops, A photographing means for photographing the grass surface in the vicinity at each of the photographing positions (5
4), a color data storage means (55 ') for preliminarily photographing and storing color data of the sand embedded in the grass, bunker, and turf shaved areas, and the image by the photographing means (54) Read the color from the data,
Color data does not match due to the comparison by the color comparison means (56 ′) for comparing the read color with the color data stored in the image data storage means (55 ′) and the image comparison means (56). Missing position detecting means (57) for detecting a location as a missing position on the lawn, sand discharging means (59) for discharging a predetermined amount of sand, and moving means (5) for moving the sand discharging means (59) to the defective position.
8) A golf course maintenance device comprising: