Ball collection machine

Abstract

To provide a ball collection machine corresponding to various types of balls and capable of collecting a plurality of balls at one time.SOLUTION: A ball collection machine has a blade whose lateral face upper end is suspended in a blade slit part comprising a laterally long hole to a circular plate surface, in a roller part 10 whose main shaft is passed through a center of a pair of circular plates separated according to a ball collection width, is pivotally supported by a connection support tool with a dustpan type collection part 20 having an operation part 250 capable of being operated by pushing the roller part, and a caster for moving, and moves toward balls, and pushes up balls passing between the roller parts to a collection part by the rotary blade so as to store in a storage part 30. Furthermore, the ball collection machine can obtain an effect of facilitating bending by using a connection support tool slit and shaking the main shaft to right and left, and an effect of absorbing shock by moving back and forth, and can scoop up balls without a clearance from a ground surface due to being provided with a blade slit, and is used so as to collect a plurality of passing balls at one time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ball recovery machine, and is an invention relating to a new structure of a ball recovery machine capable of recovering a plurality of balls of various kinds. [Background technology]

[0002] A ball retriever is a device used to retrieve balls, and is used to retrieve balls for ball games such as soft and hard tennis, golf, and table tennis. There is a particularly high demand for this device to retrieve tennis balls, as many balls are used during practice and balls are scattered on the tennis court, and there is a need to reduce the effort required to pick up and retrieve each ball. When retrieving tennis balls, it is necessary to bend the waist and knees and repeat the retrieval action multiple times, so there is also a need to reduce the physical burden on the user.

[0003] There are various types of ball retrievers, including modified bug nets, devices that roll to retrieve balls, devices that push balls from above to retrieve them, and automated devices like robot vacuum cleaners that retrieve balls. However, none of these devices significantly reduce the burden on players, as they have limited uses or can only pick up one ball at a time, leaving room for improvement.

[0004] These days, the nature of club activities is being discussed daily, and while importance is placed on completing practice within a set time, such as reducing the burden on teachers and staff, outsourcing, and shortening practice times to prevent heatstroke, the challenge was how to ensure there was enough time for practice. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-16309 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Development of a ball retrieval machine that improves the efficiency of ball retrieval and reduces the burden on users.

[0007] When practicing ball games, multiple balls are used. Collecting each ball that gets scattered during practice takes time, and measures to reduce the physical burden on users were needed.

[0008] There are many different types of ball retrieval machines on the market, but they are all designed for specific purposes, and they have various problems, such as only being able to pick up a small number of balls, or the balls slipping out, leaving room for development.

[0009] The current structure of club activities is also being reviewed, with club activities being transferred to local sports clubs, and measures need to be implemented to reduce the burden on teachers and staff and ensure time for practice.

[0010] The prior art JP 2016-16309 A is intended to collect scattered balls, and by moving it back and forth, if the balls go beyond the side auxiliary collection plate, they need to be re-collected. The product of the present invention described below is not similar in that the balls can be carried to the storage area and picked up by using the rotation of the disk and blades without bending the waist even once. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] We found that the following ball recovery machine solved the problem.

[0012] Invention 1: A ball recovery machine characterized in that a roller section having discs axially attached to both sides of a main shaft and blades suspended between the discs, a recovery section, and a storage section are arranged in that order, and the recovery section has a connecting support that axially supports the main shaft on both sides and has an operating section. Invention 2: A ball recovery machine of Invention 1, characterized in that the surface of the disc has a blade slit consisting of a long hole for supporting the oscillating blade. Invention 3: A ball recovery machine according to Inventions 1 and 2, characterized in that the main shaft is supported by a connecting support slit consisting of a horizontally elongated hole and can move freely.

[0013] The ball recovery machine of the present invention is composed of a roller section that moves forward to send the balls to the back, a recovery section that supports the roller section and picks up the balls that pass through, and a storage section that stores the picked up balls. Each section will be explained below.

[0014] The roller part is a roller shape with the main shaft passing through the center of a pair of discs. The discs are positioned on both sides of the main shaft in a balanced manner, and are set to a width according to the size and number of balls to be passed through. The size of the discs is also formed according to the size of the balls to be collected, and a space is secured between the main shaft at the center of the discs and the ground so that the balls to be collected can pass through. In this invention, in order to connect the roller part and the collection part, the main shaft is supported by a connecting support that extends from both sides of the collection part to the roller side. As described above, by separating the roller part and the collection part, the roller part and the collection part can move independently while being connected, and the effect of making it easier to change direction is obtained. In addition, a blade that is linked to the rotation of the discs is suspended between the discs, and this blade pushes the balls that pass between the discs deeper, allowing the balls to be collected.

[0015] Two or more discs of the same size are placed side by side, and a main shaft is placed through the center of the discs to form a roller that rolls back and forth. The size is 160 to 200 mm in diameter, and there is no specified thickness as long as it rolls, but it is formed to a thickness of 3 mm or more to prevent deformation, and it is better if the circumference can be formed like a tire by leaving it as it is or attaching rubber, but it is desirable to select a material according to the surface to be used.

[0016] It is recommended to install 1 to 5 blades at equal intervals parallel to the main axis. The number of blades should be determined taking into consideration the size of the ball. If the disc size mentioned above is 160 to 200 mm in diameter, if there are six or more blades, the blades will get in the way when retrieving the ball, making it impossible to retrieve it, so it is best to install them with this in mind. The width of the blades should be set to a size that does not interfere with the disc. If the distance between the blade and the main shaft is 70 mm or more, a sphere of the size of a tennis ball can pass through the roller section, so it is recommended to install them at a distance of 70 mm or more, and the size of the disk should also be made larger in proportion to the size of the ball. If the height of the blade is 15 mm or more, it will have the effect of pushing up more than 25% of the surface of a tennis ball with a diameter of 60 mm. For ping-pong balls and golf balls, if the height is 15 mm or more, the ratio of the surface pushed up is higher than that of a tennis ball, so they can be easily scooped up. In addition, if the blade is set to a size that makes slight contact with the ground, and the upper side of the blade is suspended by a disk and installed so that it can swing, it can scoop up even small spheres from below. Specifically, if the installation position and height of the blade are adjusted so that it protrudes 2 to 5 mm outward from the outer diameter of the disk, it will tilt toward the collection section by the amount of protrusion when it contacts the ground, and the ball will be pushed up to the collection section by the action of scooping it up from the ground. If the blade is not suspended and is fixed when collecting the ball, it may bounce off, so it is recommended to suspend it in a state where it rotates or swings back and forth. In this case, if the blades are suspended by the blade slits, an even greater effect can be obtained. If small balls are not to be collected, there is no problem in collecting them even if the blades are not set so that they protrude as described above, but by setting them so that they protrude as described above, the effect of picking up the balls can be obtained more reliably, so it is a good choice.

[0017] The blade slit should have a horizontal long hole in the disk to support the blade and an angle of 5 to 20 degrees. To be more specific, the surface of the disk should be likened to a clock, and the long hole should be connected to the point 70 mm perpendicular to the main axis (0 minutes) and 10 to 20 degrees (2 minutes to 3 minutes) clockwise. The length of the long hole changes depending on the angle, but if it is too long, the movement time in the blade slit will be long, so it is best to keep it to a position not longer than 5 minutes. The blade also moves in conjunction with the rotation of the disk, and when the blade passes the apex of the circle and starts to fall, it slides down in the blade slit due to gravity. Thanks to this, the suspended blade becomes vertical at an earlier stage, and maintains the vertical state even with fast rotation, and has the effect of quickly transitioning to a position to scoop up the ball. This is because the roller part moves while collecting the ball, and as the rotation speed increases, the blade cannot maintain its verticality, so by using the blade slit, it is possible to maintain the function of the blade even at high speeds.

[0018] Regarding the main shaft, it is best to support the disk on both sides and position it in the center of the disk so that it rotates in contact with the ground and does not get in the way of retrieving the ball. It is best to decide the thickness after taking into consideration strength, etc. It was also found that by providing play on both ends of the main shaft and providing a connecting support for connecting to the retrieval part described later, and a connecting support slit that expands the range of motion of the main shaft, it is possible to obtain the effect of allowing the roller part to move smoothly from side to side. Taking the above into consideration, it is also good to adjust the length of the main shaft.

[0019] The connecting support and the connecting support slit will be described. The connecting supports are supported on both sides of the recovery section, which will be described later, and both sides of the main shaft are supported by the connecting supports to connect to the roller section, with play provided between the disc and the connecting supports. If the roller part is fixed without allowing any play, it can only move in a straight line, making it difficult to move left and right. Therefore, by providing play and at the same time making a connecting support slit in the connecting support that supports the axis, the main shaft moves within the connecting support slit to create a swing range. When turning to the right, the main shaft is located behind the connecting support slit on the right side, and on the left side, it is located in front of the connecting support slit, so that the main shaft swings back and forth and can be easily turned. In addition, if the connecting support slit is made a little larger, the main shaft can have play above and below, and it can absorb the impact when it hits a step, an obstacle, or a ball. Regarding the length of the connecting support and the width of the connecting support slit, it is recommended to install them in a position where the rotating plate does not come into contact with the recovery part when the main shaft is closest to the recovery part by the connecting support slit. The closer it is to the recovery part, the easier it is to push it up with the blades. When the product of this invention is pushed forward using the operating part described later, the main shaft advances at the recovery part position, but the connecting support slit temporarily moves forward due to the momentum of the rotating blade falling inside the blade slit. If the main shaft is positioned in front of the connecting support slit, even when the ball comes into contact with the blade, the main shaft moves inside the connecting support slit, absorbing the impact and preventing the ball from being bounced out, and the ball inside the roller is picked up by the next blade that comes around. There are advantages to moving back and forth inside the connecting support slit, both in absorbing the impact and in picking up the ball. If the main shaft is positioned in front of the connecting support slit and rotating, there is a distance from the collection part and it is difficult to pick up the ball, but as the next blade comes around or the ball collection machine is pushed forward, the ball naturally moves towards the collection part and is pushed up to the collection part by the blade.

[0020] Next, the recovery section will be described. The collecting section is equipped with a mechanism for connecting the roller section described above with the storage section described below, a mechanism for scooping up balls, and a mechanism for operating the product of the present invention. The collecting section is composed of a base, a pickup section, a side section, a ball-passing section, and a caster section, and the details of which are described below.

[0021] The retrieval unit is preferably provided with casters on both ends of the base, and is connected to the roller unit described above so that the base is installed in a state where it is floating above the ground. By floating above the ground, it can proceed without resistance from the ground, and can proceed without resistance even over slight steps, which has the advantage of being able to proceed without picking up small objects. By installing casters, it can move 360 ​​degrees, which has the effect of improving the operability of the product of the present invention. In order to make it easier to pick up balls that have passed through the roller section, a pickup section with a 10 degree angle at the tip of the base and a dustpan-like incline is provided, making it easier to collect the balls. The base is raised 5 to 8 mm from the ground, so it is effective to provide a pickup section to pick up the balls, but if the base is too high, it will be difficult to pick up the balls, so it is best to consider this when installing it. It is desirable to hold the storage net on the side section while forming the width of the ball-passing section so that multiple balls can be stored. Casters are installed in the collection section, and if the operating section is attached to the collection section, force is quickly transmitted to the casters, improving operability. In addition, it is desirable to install the operating section in the collection section because the product of the present invention can be moved without bending the waist, but it is also possible to choose to install it in the roller section or storage section depending on the situation.

[0022] The storage section will now be described. The storage section basically uses a storage net to reduce weight, but if weight is not a consideration, a box-shaped object may be placed therein. The storage section should be directly connected to the ball-passing section and should have a wide opening, but it is desirable to place it with as little space between the side and base as possible so that the balls do not slip out. The rear of the storage net should be equipped with an opening and closing function that allows the balls to be removed all at once. Effect of the Invention

[0023] The present invention is a ball retrieval machine equipped with a new mechanism for retrieving balls, and is characterized by its ability to retrieve multiple balls at once, including soft and hard tennis balls, golf balls, ping pong balls, marbles, and other balls. In particular, when practicing tennis outdoors, many balls are used, and balls are scattered on the court. The size of a tennis court is about 11m wide and about 24m long, plus the space outside the play area and multiple courts, and it was very difficult to retrieve the scattered balls one by one by bending one's knees and waist. By using the present invention, one can retrieve balls while walking without bending one's knees or waist, and multiple balls can be retrieved at once, which significantly reduces the time it takes to retrieve balls. This is expected to not only reduce the burden on the body, but also increase the amount of practice time. The same effect can be expected by retrieving golf balls and baseballs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall view of the ball recovery machine of the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] Overall view of the roller section of the ball recovery machine of Example 1. [Diagram 3] A side view of the roller part of the ball recovery machine of Example 1. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram of the main shaft position when the ball recovery machine of Example 1 moves to the right. [Diagram 5] An explanatory diagram of the main shaft position when the ball recovery machine of Example 1 moves to the left. [Figure 6] A side view showing the rotation direction of the ball recovery machine of Example 1 and the blade slit before movement. [Figure 7] 1 is an explanatory diagram of the situation when the blade of the ball recovery machine of the first embodiment comes into contact with the ground. [Figure 8] A side view showing the ball recovery machine of Example 1 after the blade slit has moved. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an oblique view of the storage section of the ball recovery machine of the first embodiment. [Figure 10] Front view of the ball recovery machine of the first embodiment. [Figure 11]Overall view of the storage section of the ball recovery machine of Example 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] The ball recovery machine of the present invention is composed of three parts: a roller section, a recovery section, and a storage section, and each section is installed as necessary. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0026] Fig. 1 shows an overall view of the present invention, which is composed of a roller section, a collection section, and a storage section arranged in that order from the front. In this embodiment, the collection section has an operating section, and the ball can be collected by pushing the product of the present invention forward and passing it between the roller sections. Figure 2 is an overall view of the roller section, with the central main shaft being a 420 mm long, 6 mm thick round bar that supports disks on both sides to form a roller that rolls back and forth. The disks are 180 mm round, arranged in pairs for good balance, and are attached to the main shaft at least 350 mm apart so that they can pick up even five balls with a diameter of 65 mm lined up. The width and size should be considered depending on the application. In this embodiment, the main shaft is supported by a connecting support that is supported by the recovery section described later, and is installed with some play. If the connecting support also has a connecting support slit consisting of a horizontally long hole as shown in Figure 3, the width of the connecting support slit can be used to swing the spindle left and right as shown in Figures 4 and 5, making it easier to bend. The width of the connecting support slit should be 30 mm so that the spindle can move freely within it. However, if it is too long, it may come into contact with the recovery section or rattle, so it should be installed with this in mind. In the present invention, two blades are installed between a pair of disks as shown in Figure 2. There is no set number of blades, but if there are too many, it will hinder the recovery of the balls. If there is only one blade, the blade will only rotate once per rotation of the disk, so the number of times the ball is pushed into the recovery section will be small, so it is best to choose the number of blades carefully. The blade is suspended by a pair of disks with the upper side as a fulcrum, and is 5 mm shorter than the width so as not to interfere with the disks. The roller part rotates in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6, so the blade passes from the collection part side to the apex, rotates towards you, and passes the ground side. If the blade is long enough to contact the ground when it approaches the ground, the lower part of the blade will tilt towards the collection part as shown in Figure 7, and the ball will be picked up from below. If the blade protrudes 2 mm from the outer dimensions of the disk, the protruding part of 2 mm will be dragged when it comes around to the ground side. This is because the blade is suspended from the disk, so it gets dragged under the ball, and the blade linked to the rotation of the roller part scoops up the ball from below and pushes it up, allowing the ball to be collected. This makes it possible to scoop up even small balls from the ground. The width of the blades is set to 5 mm shorter than the inner dimensions of the disks so that they fit between them, and the upper sides of the blades are suspended by a pair of disks.This causes the blades to rotate, and when they come into contact with the ball they have the effect of cushioning the impact without bouncing it off. The blades rotate in conjunction with the disk, but as they rotate faster, it becomes difficult to keep them perpendicular to the ground, and in some cases there is a risk that the ball may be bounced off. To solve this, if blade slits are provided as shown in Figure 6, when the blades rotate downward from the apex, the blades slide down inside the blade slits as shown in Figure 8 due to the forces of both rotation and gravity, allowing the blades to quickly transition to a position to scoop up the ball. As for the collection section, as shown in Figure 9, it is located behind the roller section and is shaped like a dustpan, and it also functions to connect to the storage section at the rear. As shown in the shaded area in Figure 10, it is equipped with a ball passing section that provides a large entrance to the storage section, an operating section for operation, and side sections for connecting to casters and other parts as shown in Figure 11. The base is made larger than the width of the roller section, and has a pickup section at the tip that is inclined to make it easier to pick up balls, making it easier to pick up balls that have been pushed in from the roller section. The pickup section is set to the width of the base, and the ball passing section is made to be about the same width, so that the balls can be passed through to the storage section. By installing the rollers and casters, the base is raised slightly above the ground as shown in Figure 3, making it easier to overcome steps and allowing for smooth movement without dragging on the ground. The casters also allow for free lateral movement, shortening the time it takes to retrieve the item. The storage section is connected to the collection section, and a storage net like the one in Figure 11 can be used to reduce weight and avoid picking up unnecessary garbage. It is desirable to use a storage section with a mesh that matches the items to be picked up. It is efficient if the rear of the storage section can be opened and closed to allow balls to be removed immediately. By using a ball retrieval machine that combines these mechanisms, multiple balls can be retrieved at once, saving time and allowing more practice time and reducing the strain on the waist. [Industrial Applicability]

[0027] In the present invention, the ball is used to collect tennis and golf balls. In these sports, many balls are used during practice, so balls are scattered around. Collecting these balls requires effort, time, and physical strain, so it was required to be able to collect them easily in a short time. The product of the present invention is needed by people who have to finish practice in a limited time, such as school club activities, circle activities, practice fields, and local sports clubs. It has the advantage of being able to collect multiple balls at once and being able to collect them while moving without bending your waist or knees each time. In addition, while the use of conventional products was limited to the size of the ball, it is possible to collect various sizes of balls such as tennis balls, golf balls, and ping-pong balls with one machine. Furthermore, although the product of the present invention is good at collecting spherical objects such as balls, it can also collect objects of the size of tennis balls, so it can be diverted to use for collecting garbage and lost items. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 10. Roller section 110. Disk 120. Main axis 130. Feather 140. Slit for wings 20. Collection Department 210. Bass 220. Pickup section 230. Side section 231. Connecting brace 232. Connecting support slit 240. Ball hole section 250. Control section 260. Caster 30. Storage area

Claims

1. A ball recovery machine characterized by being arranged in the order of a roller section having discs axially attached to both sides of a main shaft and blades suspended between the discs, a recovery section, and a storage section, the recovery section having connecting supports that axially support the main shaft on both sides, and having an operating section.

2. 2. The ball recovery machine according to claim 1, further comprising a blade slit formed of a long hole on the surface of the disc for supporting the swinging blade.

3. 3. The ball recovery machine according to claim 1, wherein the main shaft is supported by a connecting support slit having a horizontally long hole and is freely movable.

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