Ball collecting and discharging machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11642575-B2
Application number	US-202016802773-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 27, 2020
Priority date	Mar 19, 2019
Publication date	May 9, 2023
Grant date	May 9, 2023

Abstract

A main body of a ball collecting and discharging machine includes a traveling portion and a ball collecting and discharging portion to collect and discharge balls. A controller causes the ball collecting and discharging portion to collect the balls scattered in a ball scattered area while causing the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along a ball collecting route in the ball scattered area. When the ball collecting and discharging portion reaches a state of being ready to discharge balls during or after ball collecting work, the controller causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the ball discharging route and causes the ball collecting and discharging portion to discharge balls at the ball discharging site.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A ball collecting and discharging machine that collects and discharges balls by performing an instruction reproduction travel in a ball collecting and discharging portion including a ball scattered area where a plurality of balls are scattered and a ball discharging site where collected balls are discharged, the ball collecting and discharging machine comprising:
a main body including a traveling portion and a ball collecting and discharging portion and that is capable of performing operations of collecting balls and discharging balls;
a storage to store, as a copy traveling route having at least a portion thereof in a vicinity of the ball discharging site and having been instructed in advance by a worker using a traveling route instructor to control the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the copy traveling route, information on a ball discharging route in which at least a portion of the ball discharging route is in the vicinity of the ball discharging site; and
a controller; wherein
the controller is configured or programmed to:
cause the ball collecting and discharging portion to collect the plurality of balls scattered in the ball scattered area while causing the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along a filling route in a traveling region; and
cause the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the ball discharging route and cause the ball collecting and discharging portion to discharge balls at the ball discharging site when the ball collecting and discharging portion reaches a state of being ready to discharge balls during or after ball collecting work.

2. The ball collecting and discharging machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the ball collecting and discharging portion includes a storage amount detector for the balls; and
the state of being ready to discharge balls is a state in which a storage amount of the balls exceeds a threshold value.

3. The ball collecting and discharging machine according to claim 1 , wherein the controller, when the ball collecting and discharging portion reaches the state of being ready to discharge balls, plans an autonomous traveling route up to a start point of the ball discharging route and causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the autonomous traveling route.

4. The ball collecting and discharging machine according to claim 3 , wherein the controller, when the ball collecting and discharging portion reaches the state of being ready to discharge balls, causes the ball collecting and discharging portion to interrupt a ball collecting work, and next, plans an autonomous traveling route up to a start point of the ball discharging route and causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the autonomous traveling route.

5. The ball collecting and discharging machine according to claim 4 , wherein the controller plans an autonomous traveling route from an end point of the ball discharging route to a position where the ball collecting and discharging portion interrupted a ball collecting work, and causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the autonomous traveling route.

6. The ball collecting and discharging machine according to claim 3 , wherein
an end point of the filling route and a start point of the ball discharging route match; and
when the ball collecting and discharging portion reaches the state of being ready to discharge balls, the controller causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the filling route, and then causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the ball discharging route.

7. The ball collecting and discharging machine according to claim 1 , wherein
an end point of the filling route and a start point of the ball discharging route match; and
when the ball collecting and discharging portion reaches the state of being ready to discharge balls, the controller causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the filling route, and then causes the traveling portion to cause the main body to travel along the ball discharging route.

Assignees

• Murata Machinery Ltd

Inventors

• Sakai Tsukasa

Classifications

• A63B2220/10

  Positions · CPC title

• A63B47/021 Primary

  for picking-up automatically, e.g. by apparatus moving over the playing surface · CPC title

• A63B2220/52

  Weight, e.g. weight distribution · CPC title

• A63B2047/022

  Autonomous machines which find their own way around the playing surface · CPC title

• A63B47/002

  Devices for dispensing balls, e.g. from a reservoir (automatic teeing devices A63B57/0006; devices for projecting balls A63B69/40) · CPC title