JPH0824731B2 - Golf ball automatic tee-up device - Google Patents

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 for automatically supplying a golf ball to a hit position in a driving range or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When practicing a tee shot at a golf driving range, the tee is often done by hand. But,
In the case of teeing up by hand, it is very troublesome to bend down and carry the ball to the tee each time it is hit, so various automatic teeing-up devices for balls have been considered so far. As an automatic tee-up device for these balls, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 172569/1986, Japanese Utility Model Publication 4-11
746, 4-27966, Jitsuho Sho 58-1891
9 and the like.

The automatic tee-up device of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-172569 is mounted at a position away from the tee, and the arm of this device pivots about one end to carry the ball to the tee. Also, in the automatic tee-up device of Jikkin 4-11746, the lifting tube is screwed into the screw portion provided on the rotating shaft, and the tee attached to this lifting tube moves up and down by the rotation of the rotating shaft to hit the ball. Set the ball supplied at the bottom of the to the hitting position. In addition, the actual Kaihei 4-279
In the automatic tee-up device 66, the connecting rod rotated by the rotation of the crank moves the tee up and down to set the ball supplied at the lower part of the hitting position to the hitting position. Furthermore, the automatic tee-up device of JP 58-18919 is a system in which a tee provided on an air piston moves up and down by air pressure to set a ball supplied under the mat at a hitting position.

[0004]

However, in the first device, a mechanism for moving the arm and grasping the ball is required, and further, the arm must be used on the small tee to surely place the ball. Therefore, the structure of the device becomes complicated and the device tends to be large. Further, in the second device, since the tee is provided parallel to the rotation axis and moves up and down,
A space for allowing vertical movement must be secured, which increases the vertical size of the device. In the third device that moves the tee up and down via the crank mechanism, the crank mechanism is likely to be damaged by the impact applied to the tee when the ball is hit.
Further, in the fourth device, since the tee provided on the air piston moves up and down in the air cylinder, the vertical size of the device becomes large as in the case of the second method, and the size of the entire device is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an automatic tee-up device for a golf ball, which has a simple structure, is compact, and is resistant to impact.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an automatic tee-up device for a golf ball according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a golf ball under the floor through a ball supply port formed on the floor of the hitting portion of a golf bat. Which is provided in a tee-up state from a flexible column body having a tee portion on which a golf ball is mounted at the tip, a rotating body around which the flexible column body can be wound, and the reciprocating drive of the rotating body. By winding or unwinding the flexible columnar body around the rotating body, the tee portion is driven up and down between a position where the tee portion protrudes from the floor surface of the hitting portion through the ball supply port and a position where the tee portion is recessed from the floor surface. A driving motor for driving the golf ball, a golf ball supply path for supplying a golf ball to a position close to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body, and a rotating body protruding on the outer periphery of the rotating body for lowering the tee portion. A rake portion for scooping up the golf balls one by one supplied to the golf ball supply path according to the rotation, and a golf ball that is formed on the outer circumference of the rotating body continuously to the rake portion and is scooped up by the rake portion. And a guide path that guides the tee portion at a position that is recessed from the floor surface of the portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic tee-up device for a golf ball according to the first aspect, wherein the rotating body is further fed from the tip of the guide path without being normally supplied from the guide path to the tee portion. It is characterized in that a cutout portion is formed to allow the dropped golf ball to escape to the side of the rotating body.

[0008]

When the rotating body is rotated by the drive motor in the direction in which the flexible columnar body is wound around the rotating body, the tee portion descends through the ball supply port formed on the floor surface of the hitting portion to a position where the tee portion is sunk from the floor surface. To do. Conversely, when the rotary body is rotated in the opposite direction by the drive motor, the flexible columnar body is rewound and the tee portion rises to a position where it projects from the floor surface of the hitting portion through the ball supply port. At this time, when the balls are supplied to the ball supply path, the golf balls are scooped up one by one to the guide path along with the rotation of the rotating body that lowers the tee portion, and reach the guide path. Further, it is guided to the guide path and supplied onto the tee portion.

After that, when the flexible column is rewound, the golf ball, while riding on the tee portion, projects through the ball supply port on the floor surface to the floor surface, so that the golf ball can be hit with a golf club.

In the ball automatic tee-up device according to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the above operation, when the ball falls from the guide path without being properly supplied from the ball supply path to the tee portion, the side of the rotary body The ball is discharged to the outside from the notch provided on one side.

[0011]

According to the golf ball automatic tee-up device of the first aspect of the present invention, the tee portion is projected and retracted on the floor surface of the hitting portion and tees up due to the reciprocating drive of the rotating body. The structure is simpler than the device that tees up. Further, since the flexible columnar body is wound around the rotating body and the tee portion is projected and retracted with respect to the floor surface of the hitting portion, the vertical dimension of the device can be shortened. Also,
Since the rotating body is provided with the scooping portion and the guide path, the tee portion moves up and down based on the rotation of the rotating body, the ball is picked up from the supply path, and the ball is supplied to the tee portion at a constant timing. It can be done in and is rational. Further, since the tee portion is provided on the flexible columnar body, it is possible to prevent the flexible columnar body from absorbing the impact and damaging the device even if the impact at the time of hitting the tee portion is applied.

Further, in the golf ball automatic tee-up device according to the second aspect, in addition to the above effects, since the notch is provided in the rotating body, even if the ball supplied to the tee does not ride on the tee well. However, since the ball escapes from the notch to the side of the rotating body and is discharged, it is possible to reliably prevent the ball from clogging in the device.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an automatic tee-up device of the present embodiment, which is constructed within a flat box-shaped main body case 12 having an open lower surface and is buried under the floor of a hitting portion of a golf bat (not shown).

To the right of FIG. 1 in the main body case 12,
A rotary shaft 13 is provided which penetrates two facing side plates and is prevented from coming off by an E ring 14, and a rotary body 15 is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating body 15 includes a boss portion 15a that fits with the rotating shaft 13, three arm portions 15b, and a rim portion 15c. The rotating body 15 is divided into two parts along a plane orthogonal to the rotating shaft 13 for the convenience of molding, but each part is integrated with a screw 16. A semi-circular mounting plate 18 is provided in the outer peripheral region of the boss portion 15a, and a fan gear 19 is fixed to the rim portion 15c by screws 20 inside the rim portion 15c. Further, a rake portion 21 and a guide path 22, which will be described in detail later, are integrally provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion 15c.

On the other hand, on one side plate of the main body case 12,
A stepping motor 23 is attached and its output shaft 2
The drive gear 24 attached to 3a meshes with the fan-shaped gear 19 so that the rotating body 15 can be rotated by the rotation of the stepping motor 23.

A coil spring 26, which corresponds to a flexible column, is provided on the outer periphery of the rotating body 15 from the lower side to the right side in the figure. One end of the coil spring 26 is fixed to the rim portion 15c of the rotating body 15, and a tee portion 28 is attached to a tip end portion of the coil spring 26 via a plastic tee attachment 27 as shown in FIG. The tee portion 28 is in contact with the inner wall of the side plate on the right side of the main body case 12 in the drawing,
When the coil spring 26 is wound or unwound by the rotation of the rotating body 15, the tee portion 28 is guided vertically along the inner wall of the side plate. Also, the main body case 12
A circular ball insertion opening 29 having a diameter larger than the diameter of the golf ball B is provided at the right end of the top plate in the figure, and a ball insertion passage continuous with the ball insertion opening 29 is formed on the floor surface of the hitting portion. ing. On the left side of the ball insertion port 29 of the top plate of the main body case 12, a ball escape hole 30 is provided continuously with the ball insertion port 29. In addition, on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 15, an engaging groove 31 is formed in a portion in contact with the coil spring 26.
Is provided, and the wire of the coil spring 26 is engaged therewith.

On the other hand, the tip end portion of the coil spring 26 is closely wound, and this is screwed into a groove portion (not shown) provided in the tee fitting 27 to fix the tee fitting 27 to the coil spring 26. The tee portion 28 is made of rubber, and is fixed to the upper portion of the tee attachment 27 with a screw 32. Further, a light guide hole 33 that penetrates vertically is provided inside the tee portion 28, and light of the ball sensor 34 attached to the upper end portion of the tee attachment 27 can pass therethrough. The ball sensor 34 is composed of a reflective photoelectric sensor, and includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element that receives reflected light that is the light from the light emitting element reflected by the detection target and returns based on the intensity of the reflected light. The presence or absence of the upper ball B can be detected. This detection signal is transmitted to a control unit (not shown), and based on this detection signal, the control unit sends a rotation signal to the stepping motor 23 to rotate the rotating body 15.

A black paint is applied to the inner wall of the light guide hole 33 of the tee portion 28 in order to prevent irregular reflection of light. Further, the tee portion 2 is provided on the entire outer periphery of the tee portion 28.
A paint is applied to the golf club so that the golf club slides smoothly with respect to the golf club 8, and the tee portion 28 is prevented from being worn or damaged. A sensitivity adjuster 35 of the ball sensor 34 is attached to the upper end of the side plate of the main body case 12 so that the sensitivity of the ball sensor 34 can be adjusted. Further, an origin sensor 36 is attached below the body case 12, and the origin detecting convex piece 37 attached to the rotating body 15 is detected by the origin sensor 36, and based on this, the rotating body 15 is detected.
The origin of is determined for each round trip.

On the other hand, from a ball reservoir (not shown) outside the main body case 12 to the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion 15c of the rotating body 15,
A golf ball supply path 38 is provided. The ball supply path 38 is a cylindrical outer supply path 39 that connects the ball reservoir and the main body case 12, and an inner supply path 40 that supplies the ball B from the outlet of the outer supply path 39 to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 15. The ball B is gradually lowered toward the rotator 15 side, and the ball B naturally flows to the rotator 15 side. Ball B supplied to the inner supply path 40
Moves on the supply path 40 toward the rotating body 15 side,
The rotary body 15 is stopped by hitting the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion 15c.

On the other hand, a rake portion 21 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the rim portion 15c of the rotating body 15, and scoops up the ball B supplied from the inner supply passage 40 to the rotating body 15. The rake portion 21 protrudes outward from both peripheral edges of the rotating body 15 and is integrally provided so as to face each other. The rake portion 21 is located below the inner supply passage 40 when the tee portion 28 is at the hitting position, and the coil spring 26. Tee part 28
Is located above the inner supply path 40 when the ball is in the ball supply position. During the process in which the rotating body 15 rotates to lower the tee portion 28 from the hitting position to the ball supplying position, the scooping portion 21 causes the ball B to move the ball B inside the supplying path 4.
Scoop from 0.

Further, in the peripheral portion of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 15,
A pair of opposing walls 41 are integrally provided so as to be continuous with the scoop portion 21, and a space between the opposing walls 41 serves as a guide path 22. The guide path 22 is slightly inclined downward toward the tee portion 28 side when the tee portion 28 is at the ball supply position, and the tip end portion thereof is located in the immediate vicinity of the tee portion 28.

Further, the rotating body 15 is formed with a notch 42 sized to allow the ball B to pass through on one side below the tip of the guide path 22, and the side plate of the main body case 12 is provided with the notch 42. Correspondingly, a discharge port 43 having a size that allows the ball B to pass therethrough is also provided.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
Now, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the golf ball B is set at the hitting position. When the ball B is hit in this state, the ball B disappears from the tee portion 28, so that the light receiving element of the ball sensor 34 does not receive the reflected light from the ball B, and the ball sensor 34 gives a ball supply signal to the controller. To be Then, the stepping motor 23 is first driven counterclockwise by a signal from the control unit, and the rotating body 15 rotates clockwise. As a result, the coil spring 26 causes the engaging groove 3 on the outer periphery of the rim portion 15c of the rotating body 15 to rotate.
1, the tee portion 28 descends as shown in FIG. 6, and the rake portion 21 also moves as shown in FIG.
It rotates clockwise from the position shown in to the position shown in FIG. At this time, since the rake portion 21 rotates from the lower side to the upper side at the end portion of the inner supply path 40, the golf ball B is scooped up by the rake portion 21 and moves onto the guide path 22 as shown in FIG. .

When the rotator 15 further rotates, the tee portion 28 further descends to reach the ball supply position, and the guide path 22 faces the tee portion 28 at its right end as shown in FIG. It becomes a downward slope. Therefore, the ball B naturally rolls on the guide path 22 according to the inclination and is supplied onto the tee portion 28.

When the stepping motor 23 is rotated by a predetermined number of pulses in the direction in which the tee portion 28 is lowered from the hitting position, the motor 23 is now rotated in the reverse direction. Then, since the rotating body 15 rotates counterclockwise,
The coil spring 26 is rewound, and the tee portion 28 rises as shown in FIG. When the stepping motor 23 rotates by a predetermined number of pulses, the tee portion 28 passes through the ball insertion hole 29 and projects onto the floor surface of the hitting portion to reach the hitting position, and the ball B is set at a predetermined height. Further, during the reverse rotation of the rotating body 15, the balls B lined up in a line on the ball supply path 38 are
Since it is pushed back by 1 and pushed back, even if the ball is clogged in the ball supply passage 38, this is promptly resolved.

If the ball B supplied to the tee portion 28 side through the guide path 22 does not successfully ride on the tee portion 28, the ball B will contact the tee portion 28 and the tip of the guide path 22. It may be in a state of straddling between. In this state, when the rotating body 15 rotates in the direction of raising the tee portion 28, the ball B moves to the tip portion of the guide path 22 and the tee portion 2.
It falls down from the gap between 8 and. Therefore, if the cutout portion 42 and the discharge port 43 are not provided, the ball B will not move to the tee portion 2.
8 and the rotating body 15, and then the tee portion 28
The tip of the guideway 22 and the tee section 2
There is a possibility that the rotation of the rotating body 15 may be locked by being sandwiched between the rotating body 15 and the rotating body 15.

In view of this point, however, in the present embodiment, since the notch 42 is formed in the guide path 22 and the discharge port 43 is formed in the side plate of the main body case 12, between the tee portion 28 and the rotating body 15. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the dropped ball B passes through the cutout portion 42 and the discharge port 43 and is quickly discharged to the outside of the apparatus. Therefore, even if the ball B supplied from the guide path 22 to the tee portion 28 side does not reach the regular position of the tee portion 28, the ball B can be quickly discharged and the ball can be prevented from being clogged.

When the two balls B are scooped up by the scooping part 21 onto the guide path 22, one of the balls B is supplied onto the tee part 28 and the other one is guided. It may remain on the road 22. In this state, when the rotator 15 rotates in the direction of raising the tee portion 28, the ball B on the guide path 22 is moved to the main body case 1.
There is a risk that it will be sandwiched between the two top plates and the rotation of the rotating body 15 will be blocked.

However, in this embodiment, since the escape hole 30 is formed in the top plate, even if two balls B are picked up on the guide path 22, the ball B lifted by the guide path 22 is It is possible to prevent the rotation body 15 from being prevented from entering the escape hole 30 and being pinched between the top plate and the rotation plate 15. In order to prevent such engagement of the balls B, it is conceivable to set the distance between the rotating body 15 and the top plate of the main body case 12 sufficiently large, but if this is done, the vertical dimension of the device becomes long, Furthermore, this leads to an increase in the size of the device itself, which is not preferable.

When the ball B set at the hitting position is hit with a golf club, a strong impact may be applied to the tee portion 28, but the tee portion 28 is supported by the coil spring 26, and this spring is sufficient. Since it is wound around the rotating body 15 with a long length, it is possible to prevent a large impact from being applied to the rotating body 15 by absorbing the impact. Further, when the ball B set at the hitting position is hit with a golf club, the rotating body 15 may be forcibly moved by the impact applied to the tee portion 28. Then, in the configuration in which control is performed only by the pulse number of the stepping motor 23, the tee-up height of the ball B deviates from the set position due to the deviation of the origin position. However, in this embodiment, the origin sensor 36 is provided in the main body case 12, and each time the origin detecting projection 37 of the rotating body 15 faces the origin sensor 36, this position is set as the origin. Therefore, even if the impact of the ball hits the rotor 1
Even if 5 moves, the ball B can always be teeed up to the set position.

As described above, according to the golf ball automatic tee-up device of this embodiment, the tee portion 28 provided on the coil spring 26 is moved up and down by simply rotating the rotating body 15. At the same time, the scooping part 21 and the guide path 22 scoop up the ball B from the ball supply path 38 and supply the ball B to the tee part 28, so that the number of parts is small and the structure can be simplified.
Further, since the scooping portion 21 and the guide passage 22 are provided on the rotating body 15, the vertical movement of the tee portion 28 and the ball supply passage 3 are provided.
8 for picking up the ball B from 8 and the tee portion 28
The operation of supplying the ball B to the ball can be always performed at a constant timing based on the rotation of the rotating body 15, and an accurate operation can be performed with a simple configuration. Further, since the tee portion 28 moves up and down by winding the coil spring 26 around the rotating body 15 or rewinding the same, the vertical size of the device can be shortened and the entire device can be made compact. Moreover, even if a strong impact is applied to the tee portion 28, the coil spring 26 absorbs the impact, so that the device can be prevented from being damaged. Further, since the rotary body 15 is provided with the cutout portion 42 and the main body case 12 is provided with the discharge port 43, the ball B which is not successfully supplied to the tee portion 28 is discharged to the outside of the device through the cutout portion 42 and the discharge port 43. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ball from being clogged in the device and prevent the device from malfunctioning.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but the following modifications are possible.

(1) In this embodiment, the stepping motor 23 is used as the drive motor, but the present invention is not limited to this, and another motor such as a DC motor or an induction motor may be used to position the tee portion by the positioning sensor. May be.

(2) In this embodiment, the coil spring 26 is used as the flexible column body, but the flexible column body is not limited to this, and a flexible material such as rubber formed into a rod shape or a cylindrical shape may be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an automatic golf ball feeder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rotating body.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the ball is teeed up to a hitting position.

FIG. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing the tee portion in the middle of lowering.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the tee portion has reached the ball supply position.

FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing the ascending course of the tee portion.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing how a ball is discharged from a discharge port.

FIG. 10 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing how a ball is discharged from a discharge port.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 ... Main body case 15 ... Rotating body 21 ... Rake part 22 ... Guide path 23 ... Stepping motor 26 ... Coil spring 28 ... Tee part 38 ... Ball supply path 42 ... Notch part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A golf ball is supplied from below the floor surface in a tee-up state through a ball supply port formed on the floor surface of the hitting portion of a golf bat, and a tee portion for mounting the golf ball at the tip can be provided. A flexible column body, a rotary body around which the flexible column body can be wound, and a reciprocating drive of the rotary body to wind or rewind the flexible column body around the rotary body to pass the tee portion through the ball supply port. A position protruding from the floor surface of the hitting portion,
A drive motor for driving up and down between a position recessed from the floor surface, a golf ball supply path for supplying a golf ball to a position close to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body, and a protruding to the outer periphery of the rotating body. A scooping portion for scooping up the golf balls supplied to the golf ball supply path one by one with the rotation of the rotating body that lowers the tee portion, and is formed on the outer periphery of the rotating body continuously to the scooping portion. ,
An automatic tee-up device for a golf ball, comprising: a guide path that guides the golf ball picked up by the rake portion to the tee portion at a position where the golf ball is sunk from the floor surface of the hitting portion. 2. A golf ball is supplied in a tee-up state from below the floor through a ball supply port formed on the floor of the hitting portion of a golf bat, and a tee portion for mounting the golf ball at the tip may be provided. A flexible column body, a rotary body around which the flexible column body can be wound, and a reciprocating drive of the rotary body to wind or rewind the flexible column body around the rotary body to pass the tee portion through the ball supply port. A position protruding from the floor surface of the hitting portion,
A drive motor for driving up and down between a position recessed from the floor surface, a golf ball supply path for supplying a golf ball to a position close to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body, and a protruding to the outer periphery of the rotating body. A scooping portion for scooping up the golf ball supplied to the golf ball supply path with the rotation of the rotating body that lowers the tee portion, and is formed on the outer periphery of the rotating body continuously to the scooping portion,
A guide path for guiding the golf ball picked up by the scooping part to the tee part at a position depressed from the floor surface of the ball striking part, and the guideway formed in the rotating body and being supplied to the tee part from the guideway normally. An automatic tee-up device for a golf ball, which is provided with a notch that allows the golf ball dropped from the tip of the guide path to the side of the rotating body.