1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional ball machine has a main body. The main body has a guide pipe. Two ends of the guide pipe are to form an inlet and an outlet, respectively. Two rotating wheels are disposed at the outlet to turn in opposing directions. Thereby, a ball is placed into the guide pipe through the inlet. With the rotating wheels to compress the ball, the ball is automatically tossed toward the user. However, it is not easy to control the rotation speed of the rotating wheels, so the conventional ball machine cannot toss the ball to a desired place exactly. Each time the drop point of the ball is different, which is inappropriate for the user to practice and to adjust his/her hitting posture. Besides, the conventional ball machine must be located at a certain distance away from the user. This requires a larger space for the user to practice, and the user cannot control the time to serve a ball. It is hard to know the time to hit a ball. Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention has devoted himself based on his many years of practical experiences to solve this problem.
The present invention is to provide a ball machine. The ball machine comprises a base, a link mechanism, a carrier, an elastic unit, a power unit, a sensor unit, and a power source. The link mechanism is disposed on the base. The link mechanism is composed of a number of rods which are connected each other. The carrier is made of a deformable material. The carrier is mounted on the link mechanism and driven by the link mechanism. The elastic unit has two ends connected to the base and one end of the link mechanism, respectively. The power unit is connected to another end of the link mechanism opposite to the elastic unit to drive the link mechanism. The sensor unit is located close to the carrier and connected with the power unit. The power source is electrically connected to the power unit to drive the power unit. Thereby, a ball is placed on the carrier to trigger the sensor unit to drive the power unit to operate the link mechanism. The carrier is deformed to a certain degree to release the link mechanism. The elastic unit brings the link mechanism to restore the carrier so as to toss the ball automatically.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
The base 10 has a bottom board 11. The bottom board 11 has a front end 111 and a rear end 112. Two parallel standing boards 12 are provided at the front end 111. A frame 13 is provided at the rear end 112. A limit cover 14 is provided on top of the standing boards 12. A bearing platform 15 is provided on the frame 13. The bearing platform 15 has an opening 151.
The link mechanism 20 is disposed on the base 10. The link mechanism 20 is composed of a number of rods which are connected each other. Referring to
The carrier 30 is made of a deformable material. The carrier 30 is mounted on the link mechanism 20 and driven by the link mechanism 20. In this embodiment, the carrier 30 is nonwoven fabric which has two ends connected to the first transverse rod 211 and the third transverse rod 241, respectively.
The elastic unit 40 has two ends connected to the base 10 and one end of the link mechanism 20, respectively. In this embodiment, the elastic unit 40 comprises a fixed rod 41 disposed on the base 10. The fixed rod 41 is provided with an adjustment bolt 42. The adjustment bolt 42 has a distal end which is transversely connected with a connecting rod 43. Two ends of the connecting rod 43 are connected with first ends of two springs 44. Second ends of the springs 44 are connected to the first transverse rod 211 of the link mechanism 20.
The power unit 50 is connected to another end of the link mechanism 20 opposite to the elastic unit 40 to drive the link mechanism 20. The power unit 50 comprises a motor 51, a driving disc 52 and a connecting member 53. The motor 51 is connected with an output shaft 511. The output shaft 511 passes through the driving disc 52 and is transversally connected with a driving lever 512. One side of the driving disc 52 is provided with a driving block 521 relative to the motor 51. The driving block 521 is located within the range of rotation of the driving lever 512. In this embodiment, the driving disc 52 has two driving blocks 521 which are located at two opposing sides of the driving lever 512. The connecting member 53 is a chain which has one end connected to the driving block 521 and another end connected to the second transverse rod 212 of the link mechanism 20.
The sensor unit 60 is located close to the carrier 30 and connected with the power unit 50. In this embodiment, the sensor unit 60 is a photoelectric interrupter located at two sides of the limit cover 14.
The output unit 70 is mounted on the base 10 and located between the limit cover 14 and the bearing platform 15. Referring to
The ball container 80 is pivoted on the bearing platform 15 and connected with a motor 81 to be rotatable. Referring to
The power source 90 is disposed on the base 10 and electrically connected to the power unit 50 to supply power to the power unit 50. The power source 90 is a dray battery or a power supply unit as shown in this embodiment, so that the ball machine 100 can be used indoor or outdoor by the dry battery to supply the power source.
When the ball machine 100 is started, the ball container 80 will be driven by the motor 81 to turn. As shown in
After that, the user presses the press board 76 of the output unit 70 to turn the stop member 73 due to the leverage principle and to release the ball 200. The ball 200 will roll to the carrier 30 and be confined in the limit cover 14. It is noted that the stop member 73 has the curved portion 731 facing the bearing platform 15. When the stop member 73 is turned, the curved portion 731 will stop the next ball 200 from rolling to the carrier 30.
When the ball 200 rolls to the carrier 30, the ball 200 will trigger the sensor unit 60. The sensor unit 60 will send a signal to the power unit 50, such that the power source 90 starts to turn the output shaft 511 of the power unit 50 and the driving lever 512 holds against the driving block 521 of the driving disc 52 to turn the driving disc 52 as well. The driving block 521 is further connected with one end of the connecting member 53 and the other end of the connecting member 53 is connected to the second transverse rod 212 of the link mechanism 20, so that the connecting member 53 pulls the first rods 21 to move toward the rear end 112 of the bottom board 11 through the second transverse rod 212. The springs 44 at the other ends of the first rods 21 are deformed to have an initial stress. The first link rods 22 are moved by the first rods 21 to move the second rods 23 toward the first end 111 of the bottom board 11. The second rods 23 bring the second link rods 24 to move, such that the first transverse rod 211 and the third transverse rod 241 approach each other to deform the carrier 30 to be a U shape. The ball 200 is now located at the lowest of the carrier 30.
As shown in
It is noted that the carrier 30 is driven by the link mechanism 20 to operate. The error value of the deformation of the carrier 30 is minimal each operation. The ball can be exactly tossed to a predetermined position for the user to practice. The ball machine 100 serves the ball 200 though the link mechanism 20. The ball machine 100 can be placed near the user to be used in a small space for the user to practice. The user can decide the time to server a ball through the output device 70. This is convenient for the user to practice.
Besides, because the link mechanism 20 is provided with the stop rod 231, the link mechanism 20 can be restored quickly by the elastic force of the springs 44. The stop rod 231 is used to stop the ends of the standing boards 11, preventing the link mechanism 20 from being damaged because of excessive action. The initial stress of the springs 44 can be adjusted by the adjustment bolt 42 of the elastic unit 40 so as to adjust the homing speed of the link mechanism 20 and the force of the carrier 30 to toss the ball.
Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.