The present disclosure relates to a height-adjustable golf practice apparatus, and more specifically, to a height-adjustable golf practice apparatus capable of implementing the shape of a real field by using a lifting/lowering portion.
Generally, because golfers have distance and time constraints to find a golf course to practice putting, they visit a golf driving range. A golf practice apparatus of a golf driving range which is an indoor golf apparatus is mainly divided into screen golf, which displays various terrains or environments of an actual golf course on the screen for practice, and a putting practice apparatus, which puts a golf ball into a hole-cup.
Among these, putting, which rolls and puts a golf ball on a green with a hole-cup by using a putter, occupies an important part of golf, and is usually fixed so as to be practiced only on a flat or sloped surface, or is configured as a practice apparatus capable of implementing only the slope of a terrain. Because the slope and curvature of the green cannot be finely controlled, there are limits for users to feel experience of the real field through a golf practice apparatus.
It is an object of the present disclosure to solve all the problems mentioned above.
It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a golf practice apparatus capable of controlling the height and curvature thereof and implementing a real field, thereby helping improve golf skills.
In order to achieve the purpose of the present disclosure as described above and implement the characteristic effects of the present disclosure described below, the characteristic configuration of the present disclosure is as follows.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a golf practice apparatus including a body portion comprising a hole-cup hole, into which a golf ball goes, formed at an upper side thereof, and a lifting/lowering portion connected to a lower side of the body portion and configured to move at least a partial area of the body portion in a vertical direction, wherein the lifting/lowering portion includes a plurality of lifting/lowering units configured to push or pull a partial area of the body portion, and a driving unit configured to drive each of the plurality of lifting/lowering units.
According to the present disclosure, the following effects are achieved.
The present disclosure has the effect of enabling practice in an environment similar to the real field by adjusting the height of the body portion according to the vertical movement of the lifting/lowering portion and implementing the real field.
The detailed description of the present disclosure illustrates specific embodiments in which the present disclosure may be performed by reference to the attached drawings. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that the various embodiments of the present disclosure, although different from each other, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described herein in connection with an embodiment may be implemented within other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In addition, it is to be understood that the location or arrangement of individual elements within each disclosed embodiment may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined only by the appended claims, appropriately interpreted, along with the full range of equivalents to which the claims are entitled. In the drawings, like numerals refer to the same or similar functionality throughout the several views.
Hereinafter, in order to enable those skilled in the art to easily practice the present disclosure, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
Referring to
Hereinafter, the components are sequentially described.
The body portion 100 may include a hole-cup hole 101 into which a golf ball B goes at an upper side thereof. In addition, the upper side of the body portion 100 may include artificial grass or natural grass. The body portion 100 may be made of an elastic rubber or silicone material that may be stretched according to a vertical movement of the lifting/lowering portion 200, which will be described below, but is not limited thereto.
The lifting/lowering portion 200 may be connected to a lower side of the body portion 100 and may move a partial area of the body portion 100 in a vertical direction. The lifting/lowering portion 200 may include a plurality of lifting/lowering units 210 capable of pushing or pulling the partial area of the body portion 100 and a plurality of driving units 220 capable of driving the lifting/lowering units 210.
The lifting/lowering units 210 may be arranged in a plurality of columns and rows based on the size of the body portion 100. For example, the lifting/lowering units 210 may be arranged in columns and rows in the shape of 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical) in the body portion 100 which is horizontally long, and the lifting/lowering units 210 may be arranged in columns and rows in the form of 4 (horizontal)×12 (vertical) in the body portion 100 which is vertically long.
In an embodiment, the lifting/lowering units 210 may be hydraulic cylinders. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the lifting/lowering units 210 may be air cells, pneumatic cylinders, etc., and any units capable of lifting/lowering have no limitation.
In an embodiment, the driving units 220 may each include a hydraulic pump supplying a hydraulic pressure to a hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic pump may be controlled through the control portion 300, which will be described below, to cause a vertical movement of the hydraulic cylinder. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the driving units 220 may be air pumps that inject and remove air, and any units causing operations of the lifting/lowering units 210 have no limitation.
The control portion 300 may receive ground information of a field and control the driving units 220 so that the body portion 100 corresponds to the ground information.
A control panel P including the control portion 300 may be attached to one end of the body portion 100 or installed on the outside of the body portion 100. When the control panel P is attached to the body portion 100, the body portion 100 may further include a support frame capable of supporting the control portion 300. A process in which the control portion 300 controls the driving units 220 by using the field information will be described below with reference to
In addition, the control panel P may include an input portion 400 through which a user may input the ground information of the field to be used. Any apparatus capable of inputting information to the control panel P through a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, sound, etc. may be adopted as the input portion 400 according to the present disclosure.
Referring to
At this time, based on the ground information in graphic form, the control portion 300 may implement the golf practice apparatus 1 similar to a real field by adjusting heights of the lifting/lowering units 210 as shown in
The putting portion may be located adjacent to one side of the body portion 100. A golfer may stand on the putting portion and putt a golf ball toward the hole-cup hole 101 of the body portion 100. In addition, the position of the hole-cup hole 101 may be set by the user.
Referring to
For example, when the lifting/lowering units 210 are arranged in the shape of 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical), the body portion 100 may be partitioned into areas of 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical). The partitioned areas of the body portion 100 may be expressed as A1-1, A1-2, etc. The A1-1 area may include a 1-1 lifting/lowering unit 210 located within the A1-1 area. The A1-2 area may include a 1-2 lifting/lowering unit 210 located within the A1-2 area. Accordingly, the A1-1 area and the 1-1 lifting/lowering unit 210 may overlap vertically, and the A1-2 area and the 1-2 lifting/lowering unit 210 may overlap vertically.
At this time, the quantity and arrangement of the lifting/lowering units 210 may be changed not only through the columns and rows of the lifting/lowering units 210, but also through user settings. The partitioned areas may also be changed based on the user settings.
Referring to
In addition, the ground information may include a plurality of pieces of partition information of the ground partitioned based on the columns and rows of the lifting/lowering units 210. The plurality of pieces of partition information may respectively correspond to the partitioned areas of the body portion 100.
Each of the plurality of pieces of partition information may include height information of the partitioned ground. The control portion 300 may match the ground information input through the input portion 400 with the partitioned areas of the body portion 100.
For example, when the lifting/lowering units 210 are arranged in the shape of 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical), the body portion 100 may be partitioned into 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical). The partitioned areas of the body portion 100 may be expressed as A1-1, A1-2, etc. The control portion 300 may obtain partition information of the ground partitioned into 12 (width)×4 (length). Partitioned areas of the ground may be expressed as B1-1, B1-2, etc. The partition information may include 1-1 partition information matching the B1-1 area and 1-2 partition information matching the B1-2 area. The 1-1 partition information may include 1-1 height information, which is height information with respect to the ground in the B1-1 area, and the 1-2 partition information may include 1-2 height information, which is height information with respect to the ground in the B1-2 area. The control portion 300 may match the A1-1 area in which the body portion 100 is partitioned with the B1-1 area in which the ground is partitioned, and may match the A1-2 area with the B1-2 area. The partition information including the height information of ground may be stored in the control portion 300.
Referring to
The control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 to correspond to the height information of the ground. For example, when height values of the lifting/lowering units 210 are greater than the height information of the ground, the control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 so that the lifting/lowering units 210 are lowered. In addition, when the height values of the lifting/lowering units 210 are less than the height information of the ground, the control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 so that the lifting/lowering units 210 are lifted. In other words, the control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 so that the height values of the lifting/lowering units 210 correspond to the height information of the ground. When the height values of the lifting/lowering units 210 correspond to the height information of the ground, the control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 so that the lifting/lowering units 210 are not lifted/lowered. This will be explained in detail with an example below.
In addition, ground information including the height information of the ground may be input to the control portion 300 through the input portion 400. The control portion 300 may calculate an average value of the height information included in the input ground information. Based on the average value of the height information, the control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 to adjust the heights of the lifting/lowering units 210.
For example, when the lifting/lowering units 210 are arranged in the shape of 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical), the body portion 100 and the ground may be partitioned into 12 (horizontal)×4 (vertical). When the 1-1 height information in the B1-1 area is 8 cm, the 1-2 height information in the B1-2 area is 6 cm, the 1-3 height information in the B1-3 area is 4 cm, and the 1-4 height information in the B1-4 area is 2 cm, the control portion 300 may calculate and store 5 cm, which is the average value of the height information of the ground. The control portion 300 may control the 1-1 driving unit 220 in the A1-1 area matching the B1-1 area on the ground to lift the 1-1 lifting/lowering unit 210 by 3 cm (8 cm-5 cm), which is a difference in the average value between the 1-1 height information and the height information of the ground. The control portion 300 may control the 1-2 driving unit 220 in the A1-2 area matching the B1-2 area on the ground to lift the 1-2 lifting/lowering unit 210 by 1 cm (6 cm-5 cm), which is a difference in the average value between the 1-2 height information and the height information of the ground. The control portion 300 may control the 1-3 driving unit 220 in the A1-3 area matching the B1-3 area on the ground to lower the 1-3 lifting/lowering unit 210 by 1 cm (4 cm-5 cm), which is a difference in the average value between the 1-3 height information and the height information of the ground. The control portion 300 may control the 1-4 driving unit 220 in the A1-4 area matching the B1-4 area on the ground to lower the 1-4 lifting/lowering unit 210 by 3 cm (2 cm-5 cm), which is a difference in the average value between the 1-4 height information and the height information of the ground.
Accordingly, the heights of the lifting/lowering units 210 and the body portion 100 that overlap in the partitioned areas may be adjusted. For convenience of explanation, in the present specification, the average value of the height information is calculated based on height information of areas partitioned in a first column of the ground, but is not limited thereto, and the average value of the height information may be calculated based on the height information of the entire ground or a certain area.
In addition, in the present specification, the height is adjusted in units of a value of 1 cm, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the control portion 300 may variously adjust the heights of the lifting/lowering units 210 from 0.5 cm to 1 m or more based on user settings or ground information of a field.
The control portion 300 may control the driving units 220 based on the height information to adjust the heights of the lifting/lowering units 210. When the height information of the ground exceeds a preset height, the driving units 220 may supply hydraulic pressure to lift the lifting/lowering units 210. In addition, when the height information is less than the preset height, the driving units 220 may remove the hydraulic pressure to lower the lifting/lowering units 210.
Accordingly, the height of the partitioned body portion 100 may be adjusted through lifting and lowering of the lifting/lowering units 210 so that the body portion 100 may form a slope.
For example, as shown in
Referring to
The body portion may have a different structure from that of the body portion 100 described with reference to
The lifting/lowering units 210a may move the bodies 110a respectively corresponding thereto in a vertical direction.
When any one of the lifting/lowering units 210a moves in a downward direction, the bodies 110a respectively corresponding to the lifting/lowering units 210a moving in the downward direction may move in the downward direction. When any one of the lifting/lowering units 210a moves in an upward direction, the bodies 110a respectively corresponding to the lifting/lowering units 210a moving in the upward direction may move in the upward direction.
The bodies 110a may each include a sliding groove 111a and a sliding protrusion 112a. The bodies 110a may slide in the vertical direction along the sliding grooves 111a of the adjacent bodies 110a.
When a first body 110a-1, which is one of the bodies 110a, and a second body 110a-2, which is the other one of the bodies 110a, are located adjacent to each other, the first body 110a-1 may include a sliding groove 111a-1 recessed inward on one side adjacent to the second body 110a-2, and the second body 110a-2 may include a first sliding protrusion 112a-2 protruding outward on one side adjacent to the first body 110a-1 and inserted into the sliding groove 111a-1. At this time, the second body 110a-2 may slide in the vertical direction along the sliding groove 111a-1 of the first body 110a-1.
In another embodiment, the lifting/lowering unit 210a may be an air cell. The lifting/lowering unit 210a may be a hydraulic cylinder, etc., and any unit capable of lifting/lowering has no limitation.
A driving unit 220a may include an air pump that injects and removes air into and from the air cell. The air pump may be controlled through the control portion 300 to cause contraction and expansion movements of the air cell. The height of the body portion may be adjusted through the contraction and expansion movements of the air cell.
The driving unit 220a may include the air pump that injects and removes air into and from the air cell. The air pump may be controlled through the control portion 300 to cause contraction and expansion movements of the air cell. The height of the body portion may be adjusted through the contraction and expansion movements of the air cell.
The control portion 300 may control the driving unit 220a based on height information to adjust the height of the lifting/lowering unit 210a. When the height information of a field exceeds ae preset height, the driving unit 220a may inject air so that the lifting/lowering unit 210a may be lifted. In addition, when the height information is less than the preset height, the driving unit 220a may remove air so that the lifting/lowering unit 210a may be lowered.
The plurality of bodies 110a may include elastic materials such as silicone rubber on upper surfaces thereof. Although bumps may be generated between the plurality of bodies 110a by adjusting heights of the lifting/lowering units 210a, elastic materials located on the upper surfaces of the plurality of bodies 110a may cover the bumps between the plurality of bodies 110a and implement a natural field.
Referring to
The body portion may have a different structure from those of the body portion 100 and body portion described in
The lifting/lowering units 210b may move the bodies 110b respectively corresponding thereto in a vertical direction.
When any one of the lifting/lowering units 210b moves in a downward direction, the bodies 110b respectively corresponding to the lifting/lowering units 210b moving in the downward direction may move in the downward direction. When any one of the lifting/lowering units 210b moves in an upward direction, the bodies 110b respectively corresponding to the lifting/lowering units 210b moving in the upward direction may move in the upward direction.
The bodies 110b may each include a sliding groove 111b, a sliding protrusion 112b, an additional sliding groove 113b, and an additional sliding protrusion 114b. The bodies 110a may slide in the vertical direction along the sliding grooves 111a or the additional sliding grooves 113b of the adjacent bodies 110a.
When a first body 110b-1, which is one of the bodies 110b, and a second body 110b-2, which is the other one of the bodies 110b, are located adjacent to each other, the first body 110b-1 may include a sliding groove 111b-1 recessed inward on one side adjacent to the second body 110b-2, and the second body 110b-2 may include a sliding protrusion 112b-2 protruding outward on one side adjacent to the first body 110b-1 and inserted into the sliding groove 111b-1. At this time, the second body 110b-2 may slide in the vertical direction along the sliding groove 111b-1 of the first body 110b-1.
In addition, when the first body 110b-1 and a third body 110b-3, which is the remaining one of the bodies 110b, are located adjacent to each other, the first body 110b-1 may include an additional sliding groove 113b-1 recessed inward on the other side adjacent to the third body 110b-3, and the third body 110b-3 may include an additional sliding protrusion 114b-3 recessed outward on one side adjacent to the first body 110b-1 and inserted into the additional sliding groove 113b-1. At this time, the third body 110b-3 may slide in the vertical direction along the additional sliding groove 113b-1 of the first body 110b-1.
The golf practice apparatus 1 of the present disclosure may implement not only a putting green but also the entire field. In addition, the golf practice apparatus 1 may reproduce a state in which a ball is placed, such as a second shot or third shot. Moreover, the golf practice apparatus 1 may implement various shots such as wood, iron, wedge, etc.
The size, shape, form, arrangement, installation interval, etc. of the lifting/lowering units 210 of the present disclosure are not limited to the drawings of the present specification and may have various forms.
In addition, the size of the golf practice apparatus 1 may add or remove the configuration of the body portion 100 and the configuration of the lifting/lowering portion 200 in consideration of a work environment of a user, cost, etc. As partition areas of the body portion 100 are subdivided and the configuration of the lifting/lowering portion 200 is added, the golf practice apparatus 1 may implement a more elaborate field.
In the above, the present disclosure has been described with specific details such as specific components, the limited embodiments and the drawings, but these are only provided to facilitate a more general understanding of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art may achieve various modifications and changes based on the description.
Therefore, the spirit of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, and the claims described below as well as all modifications equally to or equivalent to the claims shall fall within the scope of the spirit of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10-2021-0028280 | Mar 2021 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/003028 filed on Mar. 3, 2022, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0028280 filed on Mar. 3, 2021, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | PCT/KR2022/003028 | Mar 2022 | WO |
Child | 18241379 | US |