JP2502838B2 - Ball cleaning method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball cleaning method and apparatus for automatically cleaning collected hard balls after use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to clean hard balls such as used golf balls collected in a driving range,
Cleaning was performed while the ball was in contact with the rotating brush.

[0003]

By the way, when cleaning the golf ball with the rotating brush as described above, the force with which the brush hits the ball is weak, and sufficient cleaning cannot be carried out. was there. In particular, when artificial synthetic grass made of synthetic resin is melted by heat and adhered to the groove of the golf ball, it is difficult to remove the adhered matter.

For this reason, cleaning the ball for a long period of time and increasing the force of pressing the brush against the ball are not satisfactory because the ball is scratched and the brush is consumed much. There is a problem that it is economical and it takes time to replace the brush.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a ball cleaning method and an apparatus therefor capable of efficiently cleaning a ball without damaging it.

[0006]

In the method for cleaning a ball according to the present invention, a ball before cleaning is accommodated in a hopper, and the ball in the hopper is delivered by a delivery means connected to the hopper. It is sent out onto the rotary shaft through a pipe, and then the ball on the rotary shaft is prevented from falling off by a guard rail provided in parallel with the shaft center of the rotary shaft. Cleaning is carried out by spraying a high-pressure shower consisting of a cleaning liquid onto the ball while rolling irregularly between the ball and the girder rail by means of the protrusion formed on the rotary shaft.

The ball cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is
A ball feeding device comprising a hopper for accommodating the uncleaned ball and a feeding means for feeding the ball in the hopper to a feeding pipe connected to the hopper; and a feeding device of the ball feeding device. A rotary shaft for mounting a ball automatically fed from a pipe, a protrusion formed on the rotary shaft for rolling the ball on the rotary shaft irregularly, and a shaft of the rotary shaft. A guard rail that is parallel to the core and that prevents the ball on the rotating shaft from falling off, and a shower that performs cleaning by spraying a high-pressure shower of cleaning liquid on the ball on the rotating shaft. -A nozzle and a main body of the ball cleaning device;

[0008]

In the ball cleaning method and the apparatus therefor of the present invention, the ball before cleaning in the hopper is sent out onto the rotary shaft through the delivery pipe, and the projection formed on the rotary shaft The ball rolls irregularly due to the guard rail,
A high-pressure shower consisting of a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the ball that rolls irregularly to clean the ball.

[0009]

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is II- of FIG.
An enlarged sectional view taken along line II, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. In these figures, 1 indicates a hard ball such as a golf ball. 2 shows the whole ball cleaning device. Reference numeral 11 denotes the entire ball feeding device, and reference numeral 12 denotes a hopper into which the ball 1 is charged. Reference numeral 13 is a rotary plate as a means for receiving the ball 1 in the hopper 12 and sending the ball 1 out, and 14 is a plurality of pins provided so as to project from the outer peripheral edge of the rotary plate 13 in the radial direction thereof. , 15 are rollers fitted to the respective pins 14, 16 are the outside of the rotary plate 13 and the hopper 12.
The roller 15 rolls in the delivery passage 16 by the rotation of the rotating plate 13 in the delivery passage for delivering the ball 1 between the roller 15 and the roller 1. Reference numeral 17 denotes a delivery pipe which is connected to the hopper 12 and is provided in a tangential direction of the delivery passage 16, 17a denotes a notch formed on an inner side surface of the delivery pipe 17 for passing the pin 14 and the roller 15, and 18 denotes This is a gear motor as a driving means for rotating the rotary plate 13 and sending the ball 1 to the sending pipe 17 by the roller 15.

The ball 1 may be fed out directly by the pin 14 without using the roller 15.

Further, 19 is a roller provided above the end of the delivery pipe 17, and 20 is a motor as a drive means for rotating the roller 19. Reference numeral 21 denotes a main body of the ball cleaning apparatus, 22 is a cleaning tank, 23 is a cleaning liquid heated to room temperature or a required temperature, and water or a solution in which a detergent is dissolved is used. 24 is a storage tank for the cleaning liquid 23, 25 is a pump for pressurizing and delivering the cleaning liquid 23, 26 is a supply pipe for the cleaning liquid 23, and 27 is a high-pressure shower 23 composed of the cleaning liquid 23.
A shower nozzle for ejecting a is rotated about an axial center in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a pair of rotary shafts are provided parallel to each other at a required interval for mounting the ball 1. 29 is each rotary shaft 28. The projections provided on the outer peripheral surface of the above are shown in the form of screws, but may be projections of any shape. Three
0 is a sprocket attached to each rotary shaft 28, 31 is a roller chain, 32 is a motor, 33 is parallel to each rotary shaft 28, and a ball 1 on the rotary shaft 28 is prevented from falling off. A pair of girders with a required space between them
Reference numerals 34 and 34 denote guide plates for receiving the balls 1 dropped from the ends of the rotary shafts 28 after the cleaning is completed, and 35 denotes an outlet of the balls 1.

Next, the operation will be described.

When the ball 1 is put into the hopper 12, the ball 1 is received on the rotary plate 13, and the delivery path 1 is further received.
It is also accommodated in 6. Next, since the rotary plate 13 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 by driving the gear motor 18, the roller 15 also moves in the same direction, and the ball 1 is sent out from the delivery passage 16 to the delivery pipe 17. Therefore, the ball 1 is continuously replenished on the rotary plate 13 after the ball 1 is delivered.

Further, since the roller 19 is provided above the end of the delivery pipe 17, the ball 1 abuts on the rotating roller 19 and the ball 1 also rotates. -Le 1
When it comes into contact with the end of the delivery pipe 17, the downward pressure of the plurality of upper balls 1 does not interfere with the delivery of the other balls 1 in the direction of arrow B without interfering with them.
The ball 1 on the delivery path 16 can be smoothly delivered into the delivery pipe 17.

Next, the ball 1 is placed on the rotary shafts 28 from the delivery pipe 17. Then, the cleaning liquid 23 is pressurized by the drive of the pump 25 to have a high pressure, and the shower 23 a ejected from the shower nozzle 27 is sprayed toward the ball 1 on each rotary shaft 28. At the same time, since the rotary shaft 28 is rotated by driving the motor 32, the ball feeding device 1
The ball 1 sent out from No. 1 moves irregularly on the rotating shaft 28 in the direction of arrow C by the projection 29. Therefore, since the entire surface of the ball 1 is sprayed with the high pressure shower 23a, the impact of the shower 23a increases the cleaning effect. In particular, the concave groove of the golf ball 1 is made of synthetic resin. It is effective for removing when artificial turf is melted and attached.

Next, the ball 1 which has finished cleaning falls from the end of the rotary shaft 28 onto the guide plate 34 and is sent out of the cleaning tank 22 through the take-out port 35.

The dirty cleaning liquid 23 in the storage tank 24
It is removed by a filter (not shown).

The cleaning liquid 23 may be directly sent from a high pressure tank or the like (not shown).

The movement of the ball 1 on the rotary shaft 28 is
It is sent by the rotation of the rotary plate 13 of the ball sending device 11 and is sent in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, and the projection 29 is provided so as to roll the ball 1 irregularly. Therefore, the rotation directions of the rotary shafts 28 are not limited to a fixed direction, and may rotate in mutually opposite directions.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 indicate the same parts.
In FIG. 5, one rotary shaft 28 is provided in the center below the shower nozzle 27, and the ball 1 is placed on the rotary shaft 28 and is downwardly moved by a pair of guard rails 33. It does not fall out.

Although not shown as a further embodiment, two rotary shafts 28 are provided in parallel at a required interval, and one guard rail 33 is provided between the rotary shafts 28. Even if it is provided above, the ball 1 does not fall downward.
However, in this case, the shower nozzle 27 is connected to the guard drain.
The shower 23a is provided at one or two positions shifted from directly above the ball 33, so that the shower 23a is provided on each of the rotary shafts 28.
On the other hand, the spray is directed obliquely downward so as not to hit the guard rail 33.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ball before cleaning is accommodated in the hopper, and the ball in the hopper is fed by the feeding means through the feeding pipe connected to the hopper. A ball guide provided on the rotary shaft in parallel with the axis of the rotary shaft prevents the ball on the rotary shaft from falling off, and the ball on the rotary shaft is formed on the rotary shaft. While the roller rolls irregularly between the guard rail and the guard rail, a high-pressure shower consisting of cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the ball for cleaning, so that the high-pressure shower irregularly moves on the rotating shaft. Since it contacts the entire surface of the rolling ball, it has an advantage that dirt attached to the concave groove portion of the ball can be easily removed.

Further, a ball feeding device comprising a hopper for accommodating the ball before cleaning and a feeding means for feeding the ball in the hopper to a feeding pipe connected to the hopper; A rotary shaft for mounting a ball automatically fed from the delivery pipe of the roll delivery device, and a protrusion formed on the rotary shaft for rolling the ball on the rotary shaft irregularly. , Parallel to the axis of the rotary shaft and on the rotary shaft
A guard rail for preventing the ball from falling off due to rolling, a shower nozzle for spraying a high-pressure shower of a cleaning liquid onto the ball on the rotating shaft for cleaning, and a main body of a cleaning device; Since the ball is provided, the ball is not scratched as compared with the case of using the brush, the number of labors for exchanging the brush as a consumable item is saved, and there is an advantage that it is economical because the brush is not used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ball 2 Ball Cleaning Device 11 Ball Delivery Device 12 Hopper 17 Delivery Pipe 21 Ball Cleaning Device Main Body 23 Cleaning Solution 23a Shower 27 Shower Nozzle 28 Rotation Shaft 29 Projection 33 Guard Rail

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hopper containing uncleaned balls, said balls in said hopper being sent out onto a rotary shaft by a sending means through a sending pipe connected to said hopper, and then said. A protrusion provided on the rotary shaft prevents the ball from falling off by a guard rail provided in parallel with the axis of the rotary shaft and forms the ball on the rotary shaft on the rotary shaft. The ball cleaning method is characterized in that a high-pressure shower consisting of a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the ball to perform cleaning while rolling irregularly between the ball and the guard rail. 2. A ball feeding device comprising a hopper for accommodating the ball before cleaning and a feeding means for feeding the ball in the hopper to a feeding pipe connected to the hopper; A rotation shaft for mounting the ball automatically fed from the delivery pipe of the ball delivery device, and to the rotation shaft for rolling the ball on the rotation shaft irregularly. The projection formed, the guard rail parallel to the axis of the rotary shaft and preventing the ball on the rotary shaft from falling off, and the ball on the rotary shaft. A ball cleaning device comprising: a shower nozzle for spraying a high-pressure shower of a cleaning liquid for cleaning; and a main body of the ball cleaning device.