JPS5830067B2 - pitching machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a pitching machine for batting practice (a so-called pitching machine), and particularly to a pitching machine that primarily throws softball balls in a so-called underhand throw.

Conventionally, in this type of pitching machine, as implied in FIG. The ball pushing unit or hand 5 of the ball was pitched by pushing the ball while rolling it into contact with the rail 3.

In this configuration, the ball 4 rotates as it moves on the rail 3, so not only is the ball subject to wear and tear due to contact with the hand 4, but also the trajectory of the thrown ball (ball path) is ) had the disadvantage of becoming unstable (so-called control disordered).

This invention was proposed in order to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and consists of a machine frame, a horizontal rotating shaft rotatably supported by the machine frame, a hand at the tip, and a base end that is connected to the horizontal axis. a pitching arm fixed to a rotation axis and rotatable in a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal rotation axis; and a pitching arm attached to the machine frame below the horizontal rotation axis and within the vertical plane when the arm is rotated. a ball holding mechanism that holds a ball to be pitched at a standby position on a circular trajectory drawn by the hand; a pair of ball guide rails that extend downwardly toward the position and are arranged opposite to each other at a distance that allows the hand to pass through the ball but does not allow the ball to pass through the ball; A pair of rollers are attached oppositely to each of the lower end portions of the ball guide rails to stop and hold the ball guide rails in a standby position, and the ball holding mechanism is configured to tilt and restore the ball guide rails to the lower side of the machine frame. When the hand passes between the guide rail and rollers due to the rotation of the pitching arm, the hand hits a ball held by the guide rail and rollers, and the holding mechanism is tilted and displaced via the ball. The present invention is characterized in that the ball is thrown out in the tangential direction of the circular trajectory while causing the ball to move.

The illustrated embodiment will be explained in detail below.

In FIG. 2, 6 is a machine frame, 7 is a horizontal rotating shaft, and 8 is a driving force transmission mechanism, which transmits rotation from an appropriate driving source (as shown) to the shaft 7.

9 is a pitching arm fixed to the rotating shaft 7, 10 is an arm 9
A ball pushing part or a hand is connected to the tip of the arm 9 so that the angle with respect to the arm can be changed, and the rotation of the arm 9 draws a circular trajectory in a vertical plane.

P is a ball waiting position set below the rotation axis 7 on the trajectory, and 11 is a ball B to be pitched to the ball waiting position P.
The ball collecting and distributing device (as shown) is connected to a suitable ball collecting and distributing device (as shown), which is known in the art.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a mechanism for supporting the ball B at the ball standby position P, the details of which are shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

In other words, 13.13' is a triangular plate that connects the spacing connecting member 1.
4, which are connected oppositely at a predetermined distance d to form an integrated ball support member 15.

The distance d allows the ball B to pass between the triangular plates 13 and 13' of the hand 10 of the pitching arm, as shown in FIG.
The dimensions shall not allow any intervening or intrusion passing between the triangular plates 13 and 13'.

16 holds the ball support member at the lower apex of the triangle at the machine frame 6.
A pin 17 is rotatably attached to the base 6' of the base 6', a spring 17 always biases the ball support member 15 counterclockwise in FIGS. 2 and 4, and a ball 18 is biased by this spring 17. The stop pin prevents counterclockwise displacement of the support member 15, and the support member 1 is stopped at a position where the ball support member 15 is prevented from displacing counterclockwise by the stop pin 18 (standby ball support position).
The position of the stop pin 18 is set so that the upper sides 19 and 19' of both triangular plates 13 and 13' of 5 are slightly inclined (downward to the right) in the direction of movement of the hand (toward the right in Figs. 2 and 4). do.

20.20' is the upper side of the triangular plate 13.13'19°19'
The ball guide rails 21° 21' are attached oppositely to each other on the inner side of the guide rails 20 and 20', and are attached oppositely to the inner side of the apex of the triangular plate at the lower end (right end in Fig. 4) of the guide rails 20 and 20' by rotating shafts 22 and 22'. A part of the periphery of the roller is the upper side 19.
It protrudes slightly upward from 19'.

Therefore, from the outlet 11' of the ball supply mechanism 11 to the ball support member 1
The ball supplied to the upper end of the roller 21 (the left end in FIGS. 2 and 4) is transferred on the guide rail 20° 20' and then transferred to the roller 21.
, 21'.

Each related member is constructed and arranged so that the center of gravity of the ball B at this time substantially coincides with the standby position P.

When ball B is in the standby position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, arm 9
When the hand 10 is rotated counterclockwise, a rotational force for pitching is accumulated in a known elastic mechanism (as shown) connected to the arm, and the hand 10 eventually comes into contact with the ball in the standby position or closes thereto. The accumulated rotational force is suddenly released, the arm rapidly rotates, and the hand 10 moves the ball B to the right.

At this time, the ball support member is also rotated clockwise around the shaft 16 against the spring 17 (FIG. 5), and the roller 21
, 21' are also rotated clockwise, so that the contact point Q of the ball B with the hand 10 does not substantially change.Therefore, the ball B is rotated by the hand 10 without any sliding contact between the ball B and related members. It is thrown to the right with a low hand.

After pitching, the ball support member 15 is returned to its original position by the spring 17, and holds the next supplied ball in a standby position to await the next pitching motion of the arm 9.

As described above, according to the present invention, the ball to be pitched is held at the standby position between the lower end of the pair of guide rails of the ball holding mechanism and the pair of rollers, and the pitcher is rotated for pitching. When the hand of the arm passes between the guide rails and hits the ball to try to release the ball from the roller, as the roller rotates, the ball holding mechanism also moves to the lower side, that is, to easily release the ball from the roller. Since the pitching arm tilts or rotates slightly in the direction in which the ball is tilted or rotated, there is virtually no sliding contact between the ball and the hand of the pitching arm and the support mechanism, and therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the surface of the ball from being scratched by the hand or the like. In addition, since the ball does not rotate relative to the hand, and therefore the contact area between the ball and the hand does not change, pitching can be controlled based on differences in the coefficient of friction on the surface of the ball due to whether the ball is old or new, or due to moisture or dirt. This has the effect of preventing disturbances.

Furthermore, if the distance d between both triangular plates 13 and 13' of the ball support member 15 is set to, for example, a softball ball, even if a smaller ball, such as a softball ball, is mixed and supplied, it will not be supported, so If different types of balls are used on the same batting practice ground, there is also the secondary effect of being able to sort out the balls.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of an underhanded pitching machine, Fig. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a front view of the ball support mechanism,
4 and 5 are sectional views taken along the line AA' in FIG. 3, showing different operating positions. 1.9... pitching arm, 2,7,16...
... Rotating shaft, 3, 19, 19'... Ball guide rail, 4. B...Ball, 6...Machine frame, 6
'... Base, 8... Rotational force transmission mechanism, 11... Ball supply mechanism, 11'... Ball outlet, 12... Ball support mechanism, 13...
Triangular plate, 14... Space maintaining connection member, 15...
... Ball support member, 18 ... Stop pin, 20
,20/00090. roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A machine frame, a horizontal rotating shaft rotatably supported by the machine frame, a handle at the tip, a base end fixed to the horizontal rotating shaft, and rotating in a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal rotating shaft. a pitching arm that is attached to the machine frame below the horizontal rotation axis and holds a ball to be pitched at a standby position on a circular trajectory drawn by the hand in the vertical plane when the arm is rotated; In the ball holding mechanism, the ball holding mechanism extends downward in the pitching movement direction of the hand toward the ball waiting position, and allows the hand to pass through the ball. a pair of ball guide rails facing each other at a distance that does not allow intervening passage of the ball; and a pair of opposing rollers, the ball holding mechanism is attached to the machine frame so as to be able to tilt back to the lower side of the guide rail, and rotation of the pitching arm causes the hand to move between the guide rail and the rollers. When the hand passes between the guide rails and the rollers, the hand hits the ball held by the guide rail and the roller, tilting and displacing the holding mechanism through the ball and throwing the ball in the tangential direction of the circular trajectory. Features a pitching machine.