Tennis ball picking machine

Abstract

The utility model discloses a tennis ball picking machine which comprises a base, a ball picking assembly and a driving wheel set assembly used for driving the base to advance are arranged on the base, the ball picking assembly comprises a ball collecting bin fixedly arranged on the base, a ball inlet is formed in the front end of the ball collecting bin, and a shovel plate is arranged at the front end of the bottom of the ball inlet; a roller is further included. According to the tennis ball picking machine, the ball collecting bin and the shovel plate are arranged, the rotary roller is arranged above the shovel plate, friction acting force is formed on the tennis ball through rotation driving of the roller so that the tennis ball can roll rapidly, the front end of the shovel plate makes contact with the lower portion of the tennis ball, the tennis ball is rolled to the guide plate through the rolling speed, and the tennis ball is picked up through the downward gradient of the guide plate. The tennis balls are collected into the ball collecting bin, the guide plate at the rear end of the ball collecting bin is provided with a corresponding gap reserved with the ball supporting plate, it can be guaranteed that the balls smoothly roll to the ball supporting plate through downward inertia, the phenomenon that the balls are clamped by the ball supporting plate is avoided, and the balls are conveyed to the basket through the bucket type lifting mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of sports equipment and relates to a tennis ball picking machine. Background Art

[0002] Tennis has gradually become one of the most popular national sports. The conduct of tennis is very dependent on closed venues. Like table tennis, picking up balls in the venue is also one of the important tasks of players.

[0003] Among the existing ball-picking products used in tennis courts, the most commonly used ones are handheld or hand-pushed tools that require manual operation. These tools can effectively pick up balls when used manually, but for people who already consume a lot of physical energy when playing tennis, picking up balls is undoubtedly an additional burden. The commonly used ball-picking tools on the market are time-consuming and labor-intensive. The goal of this patent is to allow players to automatically pick up balls while they take a break to drink water after practicing a basket of balls. Players can concentrate on playing tennis and spend more energy and energy on improving their tennis skills. There are also some automatic ball-picking products designed as machines that can achieve the effect of picking up balls through mechanical gripping structures or vacuum suction structures. However, existing tennis courts include not only acrylic courts, but also grass courts and clay courts. Common forms of mechanical gripping or vacuum suction are not well applied to grass courts and clay courts. They are easily affected by grass or loose soil, resulting in low picking efficiency or often leading to equipment failure. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, the utility model provides a tennis ball picking machine.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A tennis ball picking machine includes a base, on which is provided a ball picking assembly and a driving wheel assembly for driving the base to move, the ball picking assembly includes a ball collecting bin fixedly arranged on the base, the front end of the ball collecting bin is provided with a goal hole, and the bottom front end of the goal hole is provided with a shovel plate; it also includes a roller, which is horizontally arranged at the front end of the goal hole, and the roller and the shovel plate form a gap of a set height; it also includes a lifting pipe and a basket that pass through the upper and lower parts, the lifting pipe is arranged at the rear end of the ball collecting bin and is connected to the ball collecting bin, the basket is arranged at the top of the lifting pipe, and a lifting assembly for transporting tennis balls upward along the lifting pipe is provided on the lifting pipe.

[0007] Furthermore, the front end of the shovel plate is provided with a plurality of comb-shaped gaps distributed in an array.

[0008] Furthermore, the ball opening is configured as a conical opening structure with expansion on both sides.

[0009] Furthermore, a rotating shaft is provided in the drum, two ends of the rotating shaft are respectively connected to two sides of the base, and a first driving motor for driving the rotating shaft to rotate is provided on the base.

[0010] Furthermore, the lifting assembly includes a chain transmission structure, which includes two sprockets respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the lifting pipe, and the outer sleeves of the two sprockets are provided with chains, and the outer peripheral side array of the chain is provided with multiple ball-supporting plates.

[0011] Furthermore, the ball holding plate is provided with a set curvature.

[0012] Furthermore, a central shaft is provided on the sprocket located at the lower side, a second drive motor is provided on the base, and an output shaft of the second drive motor is connected to the central shaft in a belt transmission manner.

[0013] Furthermore, the base also includes a guide plate, the middle portion of the guide plate protrudes upward to form a ridge, and one end of the guide plate forms a set height with the bottom of the lifting pipe.

[0014] Furthermore, the driving wheel assembly includes a driving wheel and a universal wheel.

[0015] In summary, the benefits of the present invention are:

[0016] The tennis ball collecting machine provided by the utility model has a structure of a ball collecting bin and a shovel plate, and a rotating roller is arranged above the shovel plate. The rotation of the roller drives the tennis balls to generate friction force, causing the tennis balls to roll rapidly. The front end of the shovel plate contacts the lower part of the tennis balls, and the rolling speed is used to roll the balls to the guide plate. The downward slope of the guide plate is used to collect the tennis balls into the ball collecting bin. The guide plate at the rear end of the ball collecting bin is provided with a corresponding gap reserved with the ball holding plate, which can ensure that the balls can smoothly roll to the ball holding plate due to downward inertia, while preventing the ball holding plate from getting stuck. The balls are then sent to the basket using a bucket-type lifting mechanism. The utility model can effectively and quickly collect tennis balls on the court. The setting of the basket enables players to quickly and efficiently obtain training balls, giving users a good experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the ball picking machine of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the ball picking machine.

[0019] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure after the roller is hidden in the ball collecting bin.

[0020] Figure 4for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the ball collecting bin.

[0021] Figure 5 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the lifting mechanism.

[0022] Figure 6 It is a structural diagram of the partition in the lifting mechanism.

[0023] Markings in the figure: 11. Outer casing; 12. Radar and visual camera; 13. Driving wheel assembly; 2. Base; 21. Ball collecting bin; 22. Shovel; 23. Roller; 24. Guide plate; 3. Lifting assembly; 31. Lifting pipe; 32. Ball supporting plate; 33. Sprocket; 34. Chain; 35. Partition; 4. Basket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention through specific examples. Those skilled in the art will readily understand the other advantages and benefits of the present invention from the disclosure herein. The present invention may also be implemented or applied through various other specific embodiments, and the details in this specification may be modified or altered based on different perspectives and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that the following embodiments and features within these embodiments may be combined with one another, unless they conflict.

[0025] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, the drawings only show components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component can be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout type may also be more complicated.

[0026] All directional indications in the embodiments of the present invention (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, horizontal, vertical...) are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the various components in a certain specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0027] Due to installation errors and other reasons, the parallel relationship referred to in the embodiments of the present invention may actually be an approximately parallel relationship, and the perpendicular relationship may actually be an approximately perpendicular relationship.

[0028] The utility model provides a tennis ball picking machine which is used for self-propelled picking up of tennis balls scattered on the ground of various types of tennis courts (such as acrylic courts, grass courts or clay courts, etc.).

[0029] The ball picking machine includes a base 2, referring to Figure 2A driving wheel assembly 13 and a ball picking assembly are provided on the base 2. The base 2 includes a bottom support plate. The driving wheel assembly 13 includes two groups arranged at the bottom of both sides of the bottom support plate. The driving wheel assembly 13 includes a driving wheel and multiple universal wheels. The driving wheel is driven by a motor to rotate to realize power control of the ball picking machine. The universal wheel provides multi-point support for the ball picking machine and the ground, as well as flexible steering.

[0030] The base 2 is provided with a shell 11, Figure 1 The housing 11 is provided with a plurality of radars and visual cameras 12 and other equipment, wherein the radars and visual cameras 12 can be provided at the front of the housing 11, or can be additionally provided on both sides of the housing 11. The position of the tennis ball on the ground is identified by the radars and visual cameras 12 and other equipment, so that the position of the tennis ball can be located, thereby controlling the ball picking machine to move toward the position of the tennis ball. In this embodiment, the technology of identifying the tennis ball on the ground and its position by the radars and visual cameras and other equipment is a direct application of the existing visual recognition technology. There are many similar technologies in the prior art, such as the Chinese utility model patent CN111488837B, a tennis ball picking method and system based on visual recognition, so it will not be described here.

[0031] A cavity for arranging a ball picking assembly is formed in the middle portion below the bottom support plate. The ball picking assembly includes a ball collecting bin 21 fixedly arranged in the cavity. The front end of the ball collecting bin 21 is opened for the tennis ball to enter the goal in the ball collecting bin 21. A shovel plate 22 is provided at the front end of the bottom of the goal. The shovel plate 22 forms a set height with the ground, and the front end of the shovel plate 22 is tilted downward so that its front end can contact the bottom of the tennis ball.

[0032] In order to adapt to the smooth use of the shovel board 22 in the grass court or the clay court, the front end of the shovel board 22 is set to a comb-shaped structure. Figure 3 , that is, a plurality of gaps are provided in an array distribution for grass or red soil to pass through, so as to prevent the shovel plate 22 from being stuck.

[0033] The ball picking assembly also includes a roller 23, referring to Figure 4 The roller 23 is a straight cylindrical structure. The roller 23 is horizontally arranged in front of the ball entrance of the ball collecting bin 21 and is located above the shovel plate 22. A gap of a set height is formed between the roller 23 and the shovel plate 22. The height of the gap is slightly smaller than the diameter of the tennis ball. A rotating shaft is passed through the roller 23, and the two ends of the rotating shaft are respectively connected to the two sides of the base 2. A first drive motor is also provided on one side of the base 2. The output shaft of the first drive motor forms a transmission with one end of the rotating shaft, so that the first drive motor can drive the rotation of the rotating shaft, thereby driving the rotation of the roller 23.

[0034] When the ball picking machine is moving, the top of the tennis ball comes into contact with the surface of the roller 23. At this time, the driving system roller 23 rotates in the direction toward the ball collecting bin 21, and the tennis ball will quickly pass through the gap along the shovel plate 22 and roll into the ball collecting bin 21.

[0035] Furthermore, the surface of the roller 23 can be set to a soft rubber or silicone surface to generate greater friction when in contact with the tennis ball, ensuring that the tennis ball is pushed into the ball collecting bin 21.

[0036] In addition, the front end goal hole of the ball collecting bin 21 is set as a conical opening structure expanding to both sides to increase the effective ball picking area at the front end of the ball picking machine, so that the tennis balls at the front end can enter the ball collecting bin 21 along the goal hole under the action of the roller 23.

[0037] A guide plate is also provided at the bottom of the ball collecting bin 21. An upward protruding ridge is provided on the guide plate on the side close to the ball entrance. Both sides of the ridge are downward inclined surfaces, and the inclined surface on one side is connected with the shovel plate. When the roller 23 pushes the tennis ball into the ball collecting bin 21, the tennis ball moves over the ridge to the rear side of the ball collecting bin 21 under the inertia after leaving the roller 23, and the height setting of the ridge maintains the tennis ball on the rear side of the ball collecting bin 21.

[0038] A lifting mechanism is further provided at the rear of the base 2 for lifting the tennis balls in the ball collecting bin 21 upward and outputting them. A basket 4 is provided above the base 2 for storing the lifted tennis balls.

[0039] The rear end of the ball collecting bin 21 forms a ball outlet, and the lifting mechanism includes a lifting pipe 31 and a lifting assembly 3. The lifting pipe 31 is arranged vertically and is vertically penetrated inside. Openings are formed at the top and bottom of the lifting pipe 31 respectively. The lifting pipe 31 is fixedly connected and installed with the ball collecting bin 21, so that the bottom opening of the lifting pipe 31 is connected to the ball outlet.

[0040] The lifting assembly 3 includes a chain transmission structure, which is arranged in the lifting pipe 31. The chain transmission structure includes two sprockets 33 respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the lifting pipe 31, and a chain 34 mounted on the two sprockets 33. The outer peripheral side of the chain 34 is provided with a plurality of ball-holding plates 32 arranged in an array along the linear direction of the chain 34. Among them, the sprocket 33 located on the lower side is close to the ball outlet, and a gap is opened at the top of the ball outlet for the ball-holding plate 32 to pass through, so as to avoid interference of the ball-holding plate 32 during movement.

[0041] A second drive motor is provided on the base 2, and a central shaft is provided axially of the sprocket 33 located on the lower side. The output shaft of the second drive motor is connected to the central shaft through a belt drive, so that when the second drive motor is working, it can drive the rotation of the central shaft and the sprocket 33, thereby driving the movement of the chain 34 and the ball support plate 32.

[0042] exist Figure 5 From the perspective shown, the chain 34 and the ball supporting plate 32 perform a transmission action in a clockwise direction, and then under the action of the ball supporting plate 32 located below, the ball supporting plate 32 moves from the lifting pipe 31 toward the ball outlet of the ball collecting bin 21. The tennis balls in the ball collecting bin 21 are gathered at the position of the rear end ball outlet under the inclined guidance of the guide plate, so that the ball supporting plate 32 can lift the tennis balls at this position upward, and drive the tennis balls to move upward along the lifting pipe 31, steadily rising to the top of the lifting pipe 31, and finally falling from the top opening of the lifting pipe 31 into the basket 4 under the manipulation of the ball supporting plate 32.

[0043] The rear end of the guide plate has a set height relative to the ball outlet and the bottom of the lifting pipe 31, thereby forming a groove structure for the tennis ball to fall. The ball holding plate 32 is formed with a certain curvature. When the ball holding plate 32 moves at the bottom, it will enter the groove. When the tennis ball rolls toward the ball outlet, it can roll into the groove and fall on the ball holding plate 32. The arc setting of the ball holding plate 32 can stably support the tennis ball and lift it upward. At the same time, it also avoids contact and friction between the tennis ball and the inner wall of the lifting pipe 31, reducing wear on the tennis ball.

[0044] In order to ensure that the tennis ball can fall out from the top opening of the lifting pipe 31 instead of falling back with the lifting assembly 3, a partition 35 is also provided in the lifting pipe 31. Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the partition 35 is arranged above the upper sprocket 33, close to the top opening of the lifting pipe 31, and the partition 35 is arranged at an angle. A plurality of comb-shaped gaps are arranged in an array on the ball holding plate 32, and a plurality of comb-shaped gaps are also arranged in an array on the partition 35. When the ball holding plate 32 moves to the top, it is staggered with the partition 35. Specifically, the comb-shaped gaps of the ball holding plate 32 and the comb-shaped gaps of the partition 35 are arranged to be staggered and interspersed with each other, so that the two can intersect and pass through. Then, when the ball holding plate 32 carries the tennis ball up, when the partition 35 and the ball holding plate 32 are staggered, the tennis ball contacts the partition 35 and is blocked by the partition 35 to separate from the ball holding plate 32, so that the tennis ball rolls out along the inclined partition 35 to the opening of the lifting pipe 31 and enters the basket 4.

[0045] The basket 4 is fixedly connected to the top of the lifting pipe 31 , and the top opening of the lifting pipe 31 faces the inside of the basket 4 , so that the lifted tennis balls can directly fall into the basket 4 through the top opening for storage.

[0046] Furthermore, a valve structure is provided at the front end of the basket 4. When the valve structure is opened, the tennis balls in the basket 4 can fall out, thereby realizing operations such as transferring tennis balls in large quantities. The valve structure can adopt an opening and closing door panel structure connected by a hinge or a slide rail. The valve structure has been widely used in the prior art, so it will not be described in detail here.

[0047] Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tennis ball picking machine, characterized in that: The invention comprises a base (2), wherein the base (2) is provided with a ball picking assembly and a driving wheel assembly (13) for driving the base (2) to move forward, wherein the ball picking assembly comprises a ball collecting bin (21) fixedly arranged on the base (2), wherein the front end of the ball collecting bin (21) is provided with a ball slot, and the bottom front end of the ball slot is provided with a shovel plate (22); further comprising a roller (23), wherein the roller (23) is transversely arranged at the front end of the ball slot, and the roller (23) and the shovel plate (22) form a gap of a set height; further comprising a lifting pipe (31) and a basket (4) which pass through from top to bottom, wherein the lifting pipe (31) is arranged at the rear end of the ball collecting bin (21) and communicates with the ball collecting bin (21), and the basket (4) is arranged at the top of the lifting pipe (31), and the lifting pipe (31) is provided with a lifting assembly (3) for transporting tennis balls upward along the lifting pipe (31).

2. A tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front end of the shovel plate (22) is provided with a plurality of comb-shaped gaps distributed in an array.

3. The tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The goal opening is configured as a conical opening structure with expansion on both sides.

4. The tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A rotating shaft is provided in the drum (23), and both ends of the rotating shaft are respectively connected to both sides of the base (2). A first driving motor for driving the rotating shaft to rotate is provided on the base (2).

5. The tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting assembly (3) includes a chain transmission structure, which includes two sprockets (33) respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the lifting pipe (31), and the outer shells of the two sprockets (33) are provided with chains (34), and the outer peripheral side array of the chain (34) is provided with multiple ball support plates (32).

6. The tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The ball holding plate (32) is provided with a set radian.

7. The tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: A central shaft is provided on the sprocket (33) located at the lower side, a second drive motor is provided on the base (2), and an output shaft of the second drive motor is connected to the central shaft in a belt transmission manner.

8. A tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that: The base (2) further comprises a guide plate (24), the middle portion of the guide plate (24) protrudes upward to form a raised portion, and one end of the guide plate (24) forms a set height with the bottom of the lifting pipe (31).

9. The tennis ball collecting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving wheel assembly (13) comprises a driving wheel and a universal wheel.

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