JPS61185279A - Golf ball collecting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a golf ball picking machine used at a golf driving range.

(Prior art) The number of users of golf driving ranges continues to increase year by year, and the number of golf balls used has also increased, with the number of golf balls being used at one driving range ranging from tens of thousands to tens of thousands of balls per day. Some reach . For this reason, high-performance machines have been developed to save labor in cleaning, drying, and delivering balls to vending machines.

However, there is no good machine for picking up balls, and despite years of waiting, no good ball pick-up machine has yet appeared, and most players rely on inefficient manual pick-up work. Some players have no choice but to slope the fairways and install equipment that allows balls to fall into U-shaped grooves and automatically retrieve them. However, this equipment costs a huge amount of money, and only about 50% of the waste can be recovered automatically.

There are dozens of types of ball picking machines currently in use, but most fall into the following three types. One of them is the rubber ring method, in which a rubber ring is fitted onto an iron disc, the ball is sandwiched between the weight of the disc, etc. and the elasticity of the rubber, and the ball is rotated and collected by scraping it with a comb-shaped metal fitting. The other method is the nylon pin method, in which a finger-thick bouylon pin is placed perpendicularly on the surface of the drum, and the ball is sandwiched between the weight of the drum and the elasticity of the nylon pin, and the ball is rotated and scraped off.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, since all of the above-mentioned Nigga-type ball picking machines utilize weight, they tend to damage the grass of the fairway and the surface of the golf ball itself. Also, when the ground is soft due to rain, the weight of the disc or drum causes the ball to sink into the ground, making it impossible to pick it up.

In response to this, a ball pick-up machine has been developed that uses Utility Model No. 793990 to sweep up golf balls by rotating a brush. This does not have the drawbacks of the clamping method using weight as described above.

However, in this sweep-up ball pick-up machine, the ball receiver is made of a rubber plate, so in places where the balls are crowded, the receiver board becomes stuck. As a result, the brush was spinning idly and did not pick up the ball, resulting in unpopularity.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a golf ball pick-up machine that can pick up balls without damaging the balls or the grass, even on the ground that has become soft due to rain, etc., or where the balls are crowded together. do.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a golf ball pick-up machine for collecting golf balls used at a golf driving range, in which a frame with wheels for movement is attached. a ball container disposed at the front end of the frame body and having an opening at the top; a guide plate disposed diagonally from the rear edge of the opening to a height close to the rear ground; and a tip along the lower edge of the guide plate. is attached in contact with the ground and can be used to play golf from the front to the back.
It is characterized by being provided with a guide brush that allows the ball to easily pass through, and a sweeping wheel that is located behind the guide plate and has at least two blade-like sweeping brushes that are arranged radially from the central axis. do.

(Example) The present invention will be described below based on drawings showing examples. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a frame body, which has front wheels 2 on the left and right sides of its front part, and a rear wheel 3 at the center of its rear part. A push handle 4 is provided at the rear of the frame 1. A ball container 5 with an opening 5a facing upward is mounted on the front end of the frame 1.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a guide plate, which is attached obliquely from the rear edge of the opening 5a of the ball container 5 to a certain height above the ground at the rear. The height of the lower edge of the guide plate 6 from the ground is
It should be about twice the diameter of the ball. A guide brush 7 is attached to the lower edge of the guide plate 6 along the entire width thereof. The guide brush 7 has a plate spring 8 and is fixed to the guide plate 6 via a mounting member 9, and its tip is slidable in contact with the ground. The guide brush 7 is made of bristles such as nylon, as shown in Fig. 2(a).
As shown in (b), the hardness is such that a golf ball can easily pass through it.

Reference numeral 10 is a sweeping wheel, which is provided at the rear of the guide plate 6. Feather-like sweeping brushes 13 are radially attached around the wheel shaft 11 via attachment members 12. The sweep-up brush 13 has a length such that its tip touches the ground, and is made of the same material as the guide brush 7.

The direction of rotation of the sweeping wheel 10 is opposite to that of the wheels 2 and 3, and the balls B that have passed through the guide brush 7 are swept up by the sweeping brush 13 rotating at high speed and placed into the ball container 5 along the guide plate. . The power source for rotating the sweeping wheel 10 may be a gear mechanism (not shown) that transmits the rotation of the wheel 2, or an internal combustion engine (not shown) that also serves as a propulsion engine.
(not shown) may be installed.

The upper part of the ball container 5, the guide plate 6, and the lifting wheel 10 are covered with a cover 14 to prevent the swept up golf balls B from scattering. This makes it easier to take out the collected balls.

The operation of the golf ball picking machine configured as described above will be explained. When this golf ball pick-up machine is moved forward at a driving range where used golf balls B are scattered, the golf balls B in front of the golf ball B come into contact with the guide brush 7, but the guide brush 7 does not move as shown in FIG. As shown in (a>, (b)), the ball B is easily passed backwards and restored instantly.

The ball B that has passed is lifted up by the hoisting wheel 1 that rotates at high speed.
The ball is swept forward by the centrifugal force of the sweep-up brush 13 of 0, is stopped by the already restored guide brush 7, jumps upward, is further guided upward by the guide plate 6, and enters the ball container 5.

This golf ball pick-up machine does not use weight like conventional machines, so it can be made lightweight, so its weight will not damage the grass or golf balls, and if the ground is soft. He never drives a golf ball into the ground.

Further, the guide brush 7 and the sweeping brush 13 flexibly deform in response to irregularities and protrusions on the ground, and can efficiently collect golf balls that are behind the four parts or protrusions.

When golf balls are crowded together, the conventional sweep-up type rubber plate receiver is slow to recover when it rides on the ball, as shown in Figure 3 (a) and (b), and the ball is If it continues, the metal plate of the receiver will be lifted and the sweeping brush will spin idly. The guide brush 7 of the present invention allows balls to pass easily and recovers instantly, so that balls can be efficiently collected even in places where balls are crowded.

Since the guide brush 7 is supported by a leaf spring 8, it will be restored without being destroyed even if it is strongly pressed by stones or the like.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention provides a golf ball pick-up machine with the above-described configuration, which prevents damage to golf balls and grass and prevents them from becoming soft due to rain. This has the effect of enabling efficient collection of golf balls even on rough ground, uneven ground, or places where golf balls are densely packed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of the golf ball pick-up machine according to this invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the action of the guide brush of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is the action of the conventional rubber plate receiver. It is an explanatory diagram. 1... Frame body 2... Front wheel 3... Rear wheel 5... Ball container 5a... Opening 6... Guide plate 7... Guide brush 10... Wheel 13... Sweeping brush applicant Nishinippon Technical Agent Co., Ltd. Patent attorney Hidehiko Okada and 2 othersb Ca) l2 (a) 3rd (b) Figure (b) Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] A golf ball pick-up machine for collecting golf balls used at a golf driving range, comprising a frame body equipped with wheels for movement, and a ball container disposed at the front end of the frame body and having an opening at the top. , a guide plate disposed diagonally from the rear edge of the opening to a height close to the ground at the rear; and a guide plate attached along the lower edge of the guide plate with its tip in contact with the ground, allowing the golf ball to easily pass from the front to the rear. and a sweeping wheel having at least two blade-like sweeping brushes located behind the guide plate and arranged radially from the central axis. Ball machine.