System for the automatic recovery of tennis balls and related movement unit

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for the automatic recovery of tennis balls (8) in a tennis court (1) comprising: a playing surface (2) bounded by end lines (3, 4) connected by side lines (5, 6), a walking surface (7) positioned around the playing surface (2), a movement unit (10) located at a predetermined distance from the playing surface (2) and associated with the walking surface (7), the unit (10) comprising: at least one recovery channel (11) open at the top where the balls (8) can enter, means of transport (12) arranged inside the recovery channel (11) to convey the balls (8) towards a collection point (18), a lifting device (13) positioned where the collection point (18) is located to lift the balls (8) received from the means of transport (12) towards a raised position with respect to the walking surface (7).

Description

[0001] SYSTEM FOR THE AUTOMATIC RECOVERY OF TENNIS BALLS

[0002] AND RELATED MOVEMENT UNIT

[0003] Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates to a system for the automatic recovery of tennis balls and related movement unit. Art

[0005] In the tennis industry, the methods for recovering tennis balls have remained substantially unchanged over time.

[0006] In professional tournaments, balls are still recovered by hand by the so-called ball collectors or “ball boys”, which are people assigned to manually pick up balls and deliver them to players. Ball collectors are generally positioned at the sides of the net and at the backcourt (at the four vertices). The net ball collectors collect the balls stopped by the net and then pass them to the ball collectors positioned at the vertices of the court who are responsible for delivering the balls to the players. Generally, at least six ball collectors are required, and during a match, which can last for many hours, regular changes must be made with as many ball collectors. This involves the use of qualified personnel, which inevitably results in a considerable increase in costs that is affordable only under high budget conditions.

[0007] Differently, in amateur competitions or tennis clubs it is instead common to use equipment that aids ball recovery such as, e.g., carts, rollers, paddles or pressure tubes. Such devices do, however, have limited capacity and require the players themselves, already engaged in the tennis match or practice, to devote additional time and energy to ball recovery.

[0008] Finally, there are robots capable of independently reaching the balls and storing them for later use. As can be appreciated, such robots are very expensive and require scheduled reloads in addition to the risk of frequent interruptions due to maintenance for their use on particular dusty surfaces such as, e.g. red court. Description of the Invention

[0009] By virtue of the prior art existing techniques, the Inventor thought of developing a solution which allows fixing the problems listed above by making a new system for the automatic recovery of tennis balls which can be integrated into any type of surface and which can be activated regardless of the playing conditions and by the position and number of players and only in case there are actually balls to be recovered.

[0010] At least the aforementioned objects and benefits are achieved by a system for the automatic recovery of tennis balls in accordance with the attached claim 1.

[0011] A further object of the present invention is achieved by a movement unit for the automatic recovery of tennis balls associable with a tennis court in accordance with the attached claim 10.

[0012] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more evident from the description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the system according to the invention, illustrated, by way of an indicative yet non-limiting example, in the attached tables of drawings in which:

[0013] - Figure 1 is a top view of the system for the automatic recovery of tennis balls associated with a tennis court in accordance with the invention;

[0014] - Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of one of the recovery channels of the system in Figure 1;

[0015] - Figure 3 is a front elevation view of a portion of the recovery channel in Figure 2;

[0016] - Figure 4 is a side view of the channel in Figure 2 where the lifting device of the invention is partly visible;

[0017] - Figure 5 is a front view of the lifting device of the invention where the recovery channels of the invention are partly visible;

[0018] - Figure 6 is a detailed front elevation view of the lifting device in Figure 5;

[0019] - Figure 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the system for the automatic recovery of the tennis balls.

[0020] - Figure 8 is a cross-sectional side view of the system for the automatic recovery of the tennis balls according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

[0021] Embodiments of the Invention With reference to the figures mentioned above, reference numeral 1 globally denotes a tennis court having a playing surface 2 bounded by two end lines 3 and 4 which are connected by two side lines 5 and 6. Around the playing surface 2 there is a walking surface 7, still part of the tennis court 1, which has two backcourt zones and two side zones.

[0022] The tennis court 1 is normally bounded by a fence 9 which, in the case of outdoor courts, involves a classic outdoor net, while on indoor courts it is often bounded by a wall.

[0023] As can be guessed, the fence 9 is necessary to prevent the balls 8 from leaving the court and getting lost. Since more than half of the balls played accumulate in the last meter of backcourt, the Inventor thought of developing a system for the automatic recovery of the balls 8 to be installed close to the fence 9.

[0024] As shown, the system is provided with one (or more) movement unit 10 comprising:

[0025] - at least one recovery channel 11,

[0026] - means of transport 12 of the tennis balls 8,

[0027] - a lifting device 13.

[0028] The movement unit 10 is located at a predetermined distance from the playing surface 2 and is configured to be associated with the walking surface 7.

[0029] Preferably, the movement unit 10 is intended to be installed at the backcourt, at a predetermined distance from the end lines 3, 4. It cannot, however, be ruled out that the movement unit 10 may also be placed alongside the side lines 5, 6, e.g., parallel to the latter, at a predetermined distance.

[0030] As shown in the example in Figure 2, the recovery channel 11 is made from a profiled element 14 which is open at the top to allow the balls 8 to enter and drop inside by gravity. The recovery channel 11 develops overall along a longitudinal direction X-X parallel to the end lines 3, 4 and is bounded by a bottom 15 and lateral walls 16, 17.

[0031] Preferably, the profiled element 14 can be made by molding a polymer or metal material. For example, the profiled element 14 is made of high-modulus polypropylene, hence UV- and abrasion-resistant, or stainless steel. Conveniently, the profiled element 14 can be drilled to drain any rainfall.

[0032] The means of transport 12 are arranged within the profiled element 14 to carry the balls 8 to a collection point or area 18 the detailed operation of which will be described later in this description.

[0033] As shown, the means of transport 12 of the movement unit 10 comprise a conveyor belt 19 configured to rotate around the rollers 20 supported by the lateral walls 16, 17 of the profiled element 14 by means of appropriate supports and axially oriented in a perpendicular maimer with respect to the direction of longitudinal development X-X of the profiled element 14.

[0034] At least one of the rollers 20 is motorized to impart motion to the belt 19 according to per se known techniques and therefore not described in detail in this disclosure. The rollers 20 can be adjustable to adjust the tension of the belt 19. Preferably, the conveyor belt 19 is tilted towards the center of the court 1 at an angle of between about 1° and 30° to the walking surface 7, preferably 5°. The axes of the rollers 20 are substantially arranged in the same imaginary plane substantially parallel to the walking surface 7 or slightly tilted.

[0035] The belt 19 is made of elastic material, e.g. rubber. According to one version, the belt 19 can be drilled.

[0036] According to one version, the channel 11 is closable by a lid 21. Such a lid 21 may comprise a retractable roll-up curtain for covering the profiled element 14 when the system of the invention is not in operation.

[0037] As anticipated above, the movement of the belt 19 allows the balls 8 to be sent towards a collection point 18 where the lifting device 13 is located.

[0038] Advantageously, the lifting device 13 is configured to receive the balls from the belt 19 and raise them to an elevated position above the walking surface 7 so that the players can pick them up very easily.

[0039] As shown in the examples in Figures 4-7, the lifting device 13 comprises a housing compartment 22 within which there is a driving system 25 where a plurality of movable shelves 24 are engaged in a sliding manner intercepting the balls 8 received from the belt 19. The housing compartment 22 is preferably made of metal material, e.g. stainless steel, and is bounded by a front wall 22a, two lateral walls 22b and 22c and a rear wall 22d.

[0040] As seen in Figure 4, advantageously, the lower portions of the lateral walls 22b and 22c extend by a predetermined length within the profiled element 14 and are shaped to allow the passage of only one ball 8 at a time up to the first shelf 24, where the balls are ready to be collected and raised by the lifting device 13. In this way, the ball recovery system of the invention operates in a fully automatic maimer without the need for complicated unnecessary programming and / or synchronization of the various elements. It cannot, however, be ruled out that the programming of the movements of the movement unit 10 may still be appropriately adjusted by a processor (e.g., a PLC) and related sensors (not shown) so that the movement of the various constituent components of the system of the invention may also be synchronized.

[0041] Conveniently, the driving system 25 is configured to guide the shelves 24 within the housing compartment 22 from a first transfer position, wherein each shelf 24 is in a close position to the conveyor belt 19, towards a delivery position, wherein each shelf 24 is at a raised position with respect to the walking surface 7 to drive the balls 8 upwards so they can be picked up by a player.

[0042] In detail, the driving system 25 preferably comprises a belt closed on at least two pulleys 26, at least one of which is motorized, to move the shelves 24 along a trajectory of circular, preferably ring-shaped, movement. According to a variant not shown, the lifting device 13 may comprise two driving belts 25 which are arranged side by side to increase the overall stability.

[0043] Preferably, the axes of the pulleys 26 are arranged in the same imaginary plane which is substantially parallel to the walking surface 7. In actual facts, the lifting device 13 extends overall vertically so that the balls 8 are transferred upwards and picked up easily by the players.

[0044] As shown in Figure 4, the shelves 24 are constrained to the belt 25 by means of a hinge 27 thanks to which the shelves 24 can be made to move along the trajectory defined by the belt 25. The hinge 27 can be of the one-way type that allows the shelves 24 to be oriented always horizontally during ascent along the belt 25 and inclined substantially vertically during descent to take up less space within the lifting device.

[0045] Preferably, the shelves 24 are made of a thermoplastic material, such as e.g. polypropylene, polystyrene or the like. The shelves 24 can likewise be drilled. Each shelf 24 can support up to four balls simultaneously. Considering an alignment at the collection point 18 between the belt 19 and a shelf 24 every three seconds, the lifting device 13 can recover up to eighty balls per minute or more, with only the change in the capacity of the lifting device 13.

[0046] As visible in Figure 5, the lifting device 13 is installed downstream of the means of transport 12 (at the collection point 18), specifically at the end of the conveyor belt 19 substantially where the motorized roller 20 is located at the point where the belt 19 reverses its orientation from top to bottom.

[0047] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the movement unit 10 comprises two means of transport 12 arranged aligned with each other coaxially along the longitudinal direction X-X and rotating in opposite directions to each other towards the collection point 18. As illustrated in the example in Figure 1, if the collection point 18 is positioned substantially centrally to the median of the court 1, the two means of transport 12 are arranged one to right and one to the left of the collection point 18 (Figures 1 and 5) where, at the point where the latter is located, the lifting device 13 is positioned. Multiple collection points 18 (with the same number of lifting devices 13) cannot however be ruled out fitted between multiple means of transport 12. In one embodiment, the movement units 10 may also be arranged laterally to the tennis court 1 and parallel to the side lines 5, 6. In a further embodiment, movement units 10 can be arranged on all four sides of the walking surface 7 interconnected with each other which convey the balls 8 to two lifting devices 13 arranged at the backcourt parallel to the end lines 3 and 4. Preferably, the movement unit 10 of the invention is intended to be installed on an excavation previously made at the backcourt, in the proximity of the fence 9 of the tennis court 1 so that the profiled element 14 is fitted inside the excavation and thus positioned inferiorly to the walking surface 7. In this way, the walls 16, the balls 8 can easily drop within the recovery channel 11 by gravity.

[0048] Advantageously, such an installation can be planned and implemented during the new rebuilding of the tennis court 1.

[0049] In case invasive work on the tennis court 1 is to be avoided, the movement unit 10 is easily installable without excavation but by fixing the bottom 15 of the profiled element 14 directly onto the walking surface 7 by means of common screw / plug connections (Figure 8). In this context, a ramp 28 must be arranged side by side with the profiled element 14 to lift the balls 8 to a height at least equal to the height of the walls 16, 17 so as to aid their drop within the recovery channel 11.

[0050] The operation of the system of the invention is as follows.

[0051] The electrical components of the movement unit 10 are in signal communication with each other and managed by a processor that controls the activation thereof only in case there are balls to be recovered so as to avoid energy waste. A player can turn on the movement unit 10 by means of a switch 30 that allows the system of the invention to be set in a waiting condition. One or more motion sensors (not shown), e.g. IR photocells, can be associated with the recovery channel 11 to detect when a ball enters the recovery channel. The sensor, in signal communication with the processor, (if any) then sends a trigger signal to the processor that allows the movement unit 10 to be moved from the waiting condition to the activation condition in which the conveyor belts 19 begin to move. The ball(s) 8 are then transferred towards the lifting device 13 which picks them up and brings them upwards for pickup from the wall by the players. For this purpose, the lifting device 13 has a front opening or window 23 obtained into the front wall 22a which can also be configured to directly transfer the balls 8 to a ball collection basket 29 to be placed adjacent to the lifting device 13.

[0052] When turned off, the curtain 21 of the movement unit 10 is normally closed while when turned on, the curtain rolls up and opens. Thus, from the start of a game or practice, the balls 8 can enter the recovery channel 11 for later reuse. It has in practice been ascertained that the described invention achieves the intended objects, and in particular the fact is emphasized that the system for the automatic recovery of tennis balls allows for a more enjoyable and evolved playing experience due to the possibility of reduced recovery time since the balls are always conveniently available. Any other balls that may remain in other areas of the court can be directed directly by the players to the backcourt with their racquet or foot.

[0053] The type of structural combinations of the movement unit 10 are potentially infinite, and obviously a branch engineer, in order to meet contingent and specific needs, may make numerous modifications and variations to the above-described examples of embodiments, all of which, however, are contained within the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1) System for the automatic recovery of tennis balls (8) in a tennis court (1) comprising: a playing surface (2) bounded by end lines (3, 4) connected by side lines (5, 6), a walking surface (7) positioned around the playing surface (2), a movement unit (10) located at a predetermined distance from the playing surface (2) and associated with the walking surface (7), the unit (10) comprising: at least one recovery channel (11) open at the top where the balls (8) can enter, means of transport (12) arranged inside the recovery channel (11) to convey the balls (8) towards a collection point (18), a lifting device (13) positioned where the collection point (18) is located to lift the balls (8) received from the means of transport (12) towards a raised position with respect to the walking surface (7).2) System according to claim 1, wherein the recovery channel (11) develops overall along a longitudinal direction (X-X) parallel to the end lines (3, 4) and is bounded by a bottom (15) and lateral walls (16, 17), and wherein the means of transport (12) comprise a conveyor belt (19) configured to rotate around at least two rollers (20) axially oriented in a perpendicular maimer to the direction of longitudinal development (X-X) of the recovery channel (11).3) System according to claim 2, wherein the conveyor belt (19) is tilted towards the center of the court (1).4) System according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the lifting device (13) comprises a housing compartment (22) within which there is at least one driving belt (25), upon which a plurality of shelves (24) are engaged in a sliding manner, the driving belt (25) being configured to guide the shelves (24) within the housing compartment (22) from a first transfer position, wherein each shelf (24) is in a close position to the conveyor belt (19), towards a delivery position, wherein each shelf (24) is in a raised position with respect to the walking surface (7) to drive the balls (8) upwards to be picked up by a player.5) System according to the preceding claim, wherein the driving belt (25) is closed in a loop on at least two pulleys (26) to move the shelves (24) along a trajectory of circular movement.6) System according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising two means of transport (12) arranged coaxially along the longitudinal direction (X- X), the conveyor belts (19) of which rotate in the opposite way to each other towards the collection point (18).7) System according to the preceding claim, wherein the collection point (18) is arranged between the two conveyor belts (19) centrally to the end lines (3, 4).8) System according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the recovery channel (11) is fixed onto the walking surface (7) and wherein a ramp (28) is provided side by side with the recovery channel (11) to lift the balls (8) to a height at least equal to the height of the walls (16, 17) so as to aid their drop within the recovery channel (11).9) System according to any of the claims 1 to 7, wherein the recovery channel (11) is positioned below the walking surface (7) so that the walls (16, 17) end up coincident with the walking surface (7).10) Movement unit (10) for the automatic recovery of tennis balls (8) associable with a tennis court (1) and intended to be located at a predetermined distance from the playing surface (2) of the tennis court (1), comprising: a recovery channel (11) open at the top where balls (8) can enter, means of transport (12) arranged within the recovery channel (11) to convey the balls (8) towards a collection point (18), a lifting device (13) positioned where the collection point (18) is located to lift the balls (8) received from the means of transport (12) towards a raised position with respect to the walking surface (7) of the tennis court (1).

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