JPH11295026A - Ball detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably distinguish a home run from a foul ball with a simple configuration, by a method wherein a detection area is produced by reflecting beams, reflected beams when a ball is positioned in the produced detection area are received, thereby detecting a ball position. SOLUTION: A pole P is provided upright on the outfield bleachers side on a boundary line between the fair area and the foul area, and its height is decided so that even a strongest home run ball does not exceed the pole P. A foul judgement lamp L is provided at an upper end part of the pole P, and when a ball detector judges that a ball is a foul, it is lit. A galvano-mirror and a light emitting are provided inside irradiation windows 1a, 1b,..., and the galvano-mirror and the light emitter are provided inside irradiation windows 2a, 2b,.... The light emitter irradiates predetermined beams such as laser beams or the like toward a mirror of the galvano-mirror, and the light receiver is provided at a position which can receive beams from the galvano-mirror.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a ball detecting device, and more particularly to a ball detecting device suitable for distinguishing between a home run ball and a foul ball in baseball.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, whether a ball is a home run or a foul in a baseball stadium is determined by setting a pole on the boundary between the fair area and the foul area and determining which side of the pole the ball has passed, or The judge visually determines whether or not the ball has contacted the pole.

[0003]

However, in the conventional ball position detection, the referee visually judges which side of the pole the ball has passed or the ball has contacted the pole. As a result, a determination error was unavoidable, and play was interrupted around the determination.

[0004] Further, since the judgment of the strike or the ball of the pitching is also made visually by a referee (ball referee), the play may be interrupted even if the judgment is made.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to reliably detect a home run ball or a foul ball by a simple structure and to make a thrown ball strike. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball detecting device capable of reliably detecting whether the ball is a ball or not.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a ball detecting apparatus according to the present invention irradiates a light beam emitted from a light source to a reflecting means and reflects the light to generate a detection area. Means for detecting the position of the ball by receiving the reflected light when the ball is located in the generated detection area. Further, the reflection means is a galvanomirror.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of an upper portion of a pole P when the ball detection device according to the present invention is incorporated into a pole P for detecting whether the ball is a home run ball or a foul ball.

The pole P is erected on the outfield seat side on the boundary between the fair area and the foul area, similarly to the conventional pole. The height of the pole P is determined so that even the largest home run ball does not exceed the pole P.

In this case, the pole P itself is provided on the fair area (home run area) side so that it is determined that the ball B hits the pole P when the ball B hits the home run.

The foul determination lamp L is provided at the upper end of the pole P, and is configured to be turned on when a ball detection device described later determines that the ball is a foul. Note that the ball detection device may detect a home run ball, and the ball may be turned on when the ball is in a home run.

In FIG. 1, 1a, 1b...
) Are a plurality of irradiation windows provided on the foul area side of the pole P and at predetermined intervals in the height direction thereof, and 2a, 2b ... (up to 2b in the illustrated example).
Are a plurality of entrance windows provided between the irradiation windows 1a, 1b.

Since the internal structure of each irradiation window 1a, 1b... And the internal structure of each entrance window 2a, 2b.
The irradiation window 1a and the incident window 2a will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, a galvanomirror G and a light emitter 10 are provided inside the irradiation window 1a. Further, a galvanomirror G and a light receiver 20 are provided inside the entrance window 2a, as shown in FIG.

The light emitter 10 is configured to irradiate a predetermined light beam such as a laser beam onto a mirror M of the galvanometer mirror G, which will be described later. The light receiver 20 is configured to output an output signal when receiving a light beam from a photosensor or the like, and is provided at a position where the light beam can be received from a galvanomirror G provided inside the entrance window 2a. ing.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the galvanomirror G. The applicant of the present invention has disclosed the galvanomirror G in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
No. 218857, the details of which are given to these prior applications, but the driving circuit D is connected to the coils C1 and C2.
When a current is applied from the mirror M, a torque is generated around the X axis and the Y axis on the plate P on which the mirror M is stretched.
Is configured such that the inclination of the reflection surface can be arbitrarily changed.

In FIG. 3, a magnet for generating a magnetic field for applying a rotational force to the plate P is omitted for simplification of the drawing.
Also, the principle of a galvanomirror that generates a rotational force on the plate P by a current and a magnetic field applied to the coils C1 and C2 is adopted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral S denotes an impact sensor which detects vibration or sound when the ball B collides (contacts) with the pole P to detect that the ball B has hit the pole P. It is configured as follows.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a circuit for processing a signal detected by the photodetector 20. The photodetector circuit 30 amplifies the detection signal of the photodetector 20, and a predetermined threshold value for the output signal of the photodetector 30. The determination circuit 31 includes a determination circuit 31 that determines a ball B by using a value, and a lamp driving circuit 32 that drives the foul determination lamp L based on the output of the determination circuit 31.

The determination circuit 31 is configured not to drive the lamp drive circuit 32 even when the ball B is detected when a signal is received from the impact sensor S.

Next, the operation of controlling the detection of the ball B by the ball detecting device having the above configuration will be described.

When the light emitter 10 and the galvanomirror G are driven, the light beam from the light emitter 10 is scanned to generate a detection area A. This area A is three-dimensionally generated because the galvanometer mirror G is rotated about the X axis and the Y axis.

When the ball does not detect a position within a predetermined range, such as a strike determination of the ball B described later, that is, when a mere passing position of the ball B is detected, one axis of the X axis or the Y axis is used. The detection area A may be generated on a plane by using a galvanomirror of a formula. However, 2
When the detection area A is three-dimensionally generated as an axial galvanomirror, the time for detecting the ball B is long, and the position of the ball B can be detected more reliably.

Of course, this detection area A is provided so that each of the irradiation windows 1a, 1b...
a, 2b... are arranged.

The galvanometer mirror G on the light receiver 20 is also driven in synchronization with the galvanometer mirror G on the light emitter 10.
Therefore, if the ball B exists in the detection area A,
The light beam reflected by the ball B is received by the light receiver 20 and the ball B
Can be detected.

When the ball B is detected by the light receiver 20, as described with reference to FIG.
Lights up. Therefore, it can be reliably determined that the hit ball is a foul ball.

After the ball B collides with the pole P and enters the foul area, and is detected by the light receiver 20,
The foul determination lamp L is not turned on by the detection signal from the impact sensor S, so that the ball B is determined to be a home run.

As described above, when the passing position of the ball B is simply detected, the galvanomirror G on the light receiver 20 side is used.
May be omitted, and a light receiver capable of receiving all the reflected light from within the detection area A may be used.

Further, as described above, the ball B is
In order to detect which side has passed, the irradiation windows 1a, 1b,.
, One of the poles P is provided with irradiation windows 1a, 1b..., And the other is provided at a predetermined distance from one of the poles.
The entrance windows 2a, 2b,... May be provided on the other pole provided across the detection range of the ball B.

In order to detect a strike ball with the ball detecting device having the above-described configuration, the irradiation window 1a and the incident window 2a are provided on a home base. Light emitting device 10 shown in FIG.
A detection area A generated on the side is formed on a home base (not shown), and the detection area A shown in FIG.
Is incorporated.

Since the galvanomirrors G and G of the light emitter 10 and the light receiver 20 are in a synchronized state, the light reflected from any light emitted from the light emitter 10 is reflected by the light receiver 2.
Depending on whether it is detected as 0, the position of the ball B can be accurately detected, and therefore, whether the ball is a strike ball or a ball can be reliably detected.

[0031]

According to the ball detecting device of the present invention, a detection area generating means for generating a detection area by irradiating a light beam emitted from a light source to a reflecting means to reflect the light, and a ball in the generated detection area. Since the detecting means detects the ball position by receiving the reflected light when the ball is positioned, the ball position can be easily detected. When the reflecting means is a galvanomirror, it can be easily manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an upper portion of a pole when the ball detection device according to the present invention is incorporated in a pole for distinguishing a home run ball from a foul ball.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the inside of an irradiation window and an entrance window.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a galvanomirror.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a signal processing circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b ... Irradiation window 2a, 2b ... Incident window 10 Light emitter 20 Receiver G Galvano mirror M Mirror (reflection means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A detection area generating means for irradiating a reflecting means with a light beam emitted from a light source to reflect the light, and receiving a reflected light when a ball is positioned in the generated detecting area. And a detecting means for detecting a ball position. 2. The ball detecting device according to claim 1, wherein said reflecting means is a galvanomirror.