Inclination-adjustable golf training device

Abstract

Disclosed is an inclination-adjustable golf training device capable of optionally changing the inclination of its platform, on which a player stands to practice his golf swing, in order to simulate the condition of a real golf course, thereby obtaining an enhanced training effect. The golf training device includes an upper plate assembly, to which a ball supply unit and a controller are internally mounted, the upper plate assembly including an upper plate, on which a player stands to practice his golf swing, a lower plate assembly adapted to support the upper plate while being spaced apart from the upper plate, a vertical reciprocating unit mounted on the lower plate assembly while including driving and driven parts operating to adjust the inclination of the upper plate with respect to the lower plate assembly in all radial directions. The vertical reciprocating unit has four operating points for reciprocation arranged on a circle about the center of the upper plate while being uniformly spaced from one another in a circumferential direction, the operating points being arranged in pairs so that the operating points of each operating point pair are opposite to each other while performing vertical movements of the upper plate in opposite directions by the same distance.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An inclination-adjustable golf training device comprising: 
 ball supply means configured to vertically reciprocate, and provided with a vertically reciprocating tee;    a controller for setting a desired inclination angle, displaying the set inclination angle, and controlling supplying of a ball;    an upper plate assembly, to which the ball supply means and the controller are internally mounted, the upper plate assembly including an upper plate;    a lower plate assembly adapted to support the upper plate of the upper plate assembly while being spaced apart from the upper plate;    vertical reciprocating means mounted on the lower plate assembly while including driving and driven parts operating to adjust the inclination of the upper plate with respect to the lower plate assembly; and    a bellows interposed between the upper and lower plate assemblies to close a space defined between the upper and lower plate assemblies.    
     
     
         2 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the vertical reciprocating means has four operating points for reciprocation arranged on a circle about the center of the upper plate while being uniformly spaced from one another in a circumferential direction, the operating points being arranged in pairs so that the operating points of each operating point pair are opposite to each other while performing vertical movements of the upper plate in opposite directions by the same distance, respectively, the line extending between the operating points of one operating point pair being orthogonal to the line of the other operating point pair.  
     
     
         3 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the vertical reciprocating means comprises at least two vertical reciprocating mechanisms each comprising: 
 a driving shaft having a pair of worms having teeth offset from each other;    a reduction motor coupled to the drive shaft;    a driving reciprocating assembly engaged with one of the worms; and    a driven reciprocating assembly engaged with the other worm, so that the driving and driven reciprocating assemblies being reciprocated in opposite directions, respectively, each of the driving and driven reciprocating assemblies comprising 
 a gear box, through which the drive shaft extends,  
 a worm wheel received in the gear box and rotatably fitted at opposite ends thereof in holes formed at upper and lower ends of the gear box by bearings, the worm wheel having a first central nut portion, and a first horizontal gear portion formed around the first central nut portion and engaged with the one worm of the driving shaft, and  
 a lead screw threadedly coupled with the central nut portion of the worm wheel while extending vertically through the central nut portion, the lead screw being axially coupled at an upper end thereof to a flange mounted to the upper plate assembly by a universal joint.  
   
     
     
         4 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the ball supply means comprises: 
 an internal ball supplier received in the upper plate assembly while being vertically movable; and    an external ball supplier arranged outside the upper plate assembly and adapted to receive a plurality of golf balls.    
     
     
         5 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 4 , wherein the internal ball supplier is received in the upper plate assembly so that an upper surface thereof is flush with an upper surface of the upper plate assembly, and comprises: 
 an upper frame having an opening and a tee hole;    a ball supply housing installed to be movable along the upper frame so that it is protruded from and retracted into the opening of the upper frame;    a ball holding arm pivotally mounted at one end thereof to the ball supply housing and provided with a pair of ball holding members always urged to be moved away from each other;    a first solenoid adapted to slide the ball holding member toward the ball holding arm, thereby allowing the ball holding members to hold a golf ball therebetween;    a step motor for pivoting the ball holding arm along with the first solenoid between a ball holding position and a ball releasing position;    gears respectively mounted to the step motor and the other end of the ball holding arm, and adapted to transmit a drive force from the step motor to the ball holding arm, the gears being engaged with each other;    a ball introduction chamber defined in the ball supply housing just below the one end of the ball holding arm and at a position corresponding to the one end of the ball holding arm maintained at the ball holding position;    a vertical reciprocating rod mounted at a lower portion of the ball supply housing so that it is vertically movable to be protruded into and retracted from the ball introduction chamber, the vertical moving rod pushing upwardly a ball introduced in the ball introduction chamber in accordance with an upward movement thereof, thereby allowing the ball holding arm to hold the ball;    a second solenoid coupled to the vertical moving rod via a link and adapted to apply a vertical movement force to the vertical moving rod;    a push member adapted to push balls supplied into a ball introduction passage communicating with the ball introduction chamber, thereby supplying the supplied balls, one by one, into the ball introduction chamber; and    a tee provided at a position corresponding to the one end of the ball holding member maintained at the ball releasing position, the tee being vertically moved by a drive force generated from a motor and serving as a seat for receiving a ball released from the ball holding member at the ball releasing position, the tee including a vertical rod member formed with racks, and a flexible tube fitted around an upper portion of the vertical rod member.    
     
     
         6 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 4 , wherein the external ball supplier comprises: 
 a ball container for receiving a plurality of balls, the ball container having a downwardly inclined ball outlet passage, and a bottom surface downwardly sloped toward the ball outlet passage in order to allow balls received in the ball container to be freely dropped into the ball outlet passage by gravity;    a horizontal rotating bar member arranged at a downstream end of the sloped bottom surface of the ball container and adapted to prevent balls from being jammed on the downstream end of the sloped bottom surface; and    a horizontal ball feeder including a push member horizontally arranged to horizontally feed, one by one, balls from the ball outlet passage to the inner ball supplier, a motor for rotating the push member, and a connecting tube for connecting the ball outlet passage to a ball introduction passage of the inner ball supplier.    
     
     
         7 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 4 , wherein the internal ball supplier comprises: 
 vertical rack members fixed to opposite lateral ends of the ball supply housing, respectively; and    pinions mounted to opposite portions of a drive shaft included in a motor and engaged with the vertical rack members, respectively,    whereby the vertical rack members are vertically movable in accordance with a rotating operation of the motor, thereby causing the ball supply housing to be vertically moved.    
     
     
         8 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 4 , wherein the internal ball supplier comprises: 
 an upper frame having an opening and a tee hole;    a ball supply housing installed to be movable along the upper frame so that it is protruded from and retracted into the opening of the upper frame;    a ball holding arm assembly held in the ball supply housing;    a vertical rack centrally fixed to a rear wall of the ball supply housing;    a pinion mounted to a motor fixedly mounted to the upper frame and engaged with the vertical rack;    a hollow guide fixedly mounted to the rear wall of the ball supply housing; and    a guide rod mounted to the upper frame so that it extends through the guide, the guide rod serving to guide a vertical movement of the ball supply housing in cooperation with the hollow guide.    
     
     
         9 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the vertical reciprocating means comprises at least two vertical reciprocating mechanisms each comprising: 
 a driving shaft having a pair of worms having teeth offset from each other;    a reduction motor coupled to the drive shaft;    a driving reciprocating assembly engaged with one of the worms; and    a driven reciprocating assembly engaged with the other worm, so that the driving and driven reciprocating assemblies being reciprocated in opposite directions, respectively, each of the driving and driven reciprocating assemblies comprising 
 a gear box, through which the drive shaft extends,  
 a worm wheel received in the gear box and rotatably fitted at opposite ends thereof in holes formed at upper and lower ends of the gear box by bearings, the worm wheel having a first central nut portion, and a first horizontal gear portion formed around the first central nut portion and engaged with the one worm of the driving shaft, and  
 a lead screw threadedly coupled with the central nut portion of the worm wheel while extending vertically through the central nut portion, the lead screw having a vertical guide groove formed at one side thereof;  
   a guide fixedly mounted to the first gear box so that it is engaged with the vertical guide groove; and    a ball joint adapted to axially couple an upper end of the lead screw to a flange mounted to the upper plate assembly, the ball joint comprising 
 a ball mounted to the upper end of the lead screw,  
 a slide member pivotally coupled to the ball, the slide member having a central portion pivotally coupled to the ball, an upper portion extending radially around the central portion, and a hollow lower portion extending downwardly from the central portion,  
 a retaining member fixedly mounted to the upper plate assembly while surrounding the slide member, the retaining member having an upper portion surrounding the upper portion of the slide member while defining an annular space around the upper portion of the slide member in order to allow the slide member to slide radially, and a lower portion surrounding the lower portion of the slide member, and  
 a pair of springs arranged between the lower portion of the retaining member and the lower portion of the slide member while opposing each other, the springs serving to urge the slide member to be maintained at a position centered with respect to the retaining member.  
   
     
     
         10 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 9 , wherein the vertical reciprocating means further comprises: 
 a central shaft extending upwardly from a support plate arranged at a central portion of the lower plate assembly; and    a ball joint adapted to axially couple the central shaft to the center of the upper plate assembly, the ball joint including a ball mounted to an upper end of the central shaft, and a retaining member pivotally coupled with the ball and fixedly mounted to the center of the upper plate assembly,    whereby the slide member of the ball joint included in each of the driving and driven reciprocating assemblies slides from the axis of the lead screw of the associated reciprocating assembly against a spring force of the springs when the associated lead screw moves vertically to adjust an inclination of the upper plate assembly, thereby a mounting point of the lead screw to the upper plate assembly to be maintained on the axis of the lead screw.    
     
     
         11 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the vertical reciprocating means comprises at least two vertical reciprocating mechanisms each comprising a driving reciprocating assembly, and a driven reciprocating assemblies cooperating with the driving reciprocating assembly while facing the driving reciprocating assembly, and a ball joint for centrally connecting the upper and lower plate assemblies;    the driving reciprocating assembly comprises a reduction motor fixedly mounted to a support frame mounted to the lower plate assembly, a drive gear axially coupled to the reduction motor, a reduction gear coaxially coupled to a drive sprocket and engaged with the drive gear, and a first guide sprocket arranged to be flush with the drive sprocket;    the driven reciprocating assembly comprises a driven sprocket and a second guide sprocket axially coupled to the support frame;    each of the vertical reciprocating mechanism further comprises a chain extending via the drive and driven sprockets and the guide sprockets, the chain being fixed to the upper plate assembly at opposite ends thereof, and a screw type tension adjustment knob provided to adjust the position of the support frame, thereby adjusting the tension of the chain;    the ball joint comprises a lower shaft provided with through holes crossing each other, each of the through hole allowing the chain of an associated one of the vertical reciprocating mechanisms to extend therethrough; and    the guide sprockets engaged with the chain of the one vertical reciprocating mechanism is arranged at a level different from that of the guide sprockets engaged with the chain of the other vertical reciprocating mechanism.    
     
     
         12 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the vertical reciprocating means comprises at least two vertical reciprocating mechanisms each comprising a driving reciprocating assembly, and a driven reciprocating assemblies cooperating with the driving reciprocating assembly while facing the driving reciprocating assembly, and a ball joint for centrally connecting the upper and lower plate assemblies, the ball joint serving as a support point for the upper lower plate assembly;    the driving reciprocating assembly comprises a reduction motor fixedly mounted to a first support frame, a drive worm axially coupled to the reduction motor, a first lead screw fixed at an upper end thereof to the upper plate assembly, and a first nut member rotatably mounted between the first support frame and the lower plate assembly and threadedly coupled to the first lead screw in order to vertically move the first lead screw in accordance with rotation thereof, a drive sprocket fixedly fitted around the first nut member, and a first worm wheel fixedly fitted around the first nut member and engaged with the drive worm;    the driven reciprocating assembly comprises a second lead screw fixed at an upper end thereof to the upper plate assembly, the second lead screw having threads offset from threads of the first lead screw, a second nut member rotatably mounted between a second support frame and the lower plate assembly and threadedly coupled to the second lead screw in order to vertically move the lead screw in accordance with its rotation, and a driven sprocket fixedly fitted around the second nut member;    each of the vertical reciprocating mechanisms further comprises an endless chain extending between the drive and driven sprockets; and    the drive and driven sprockets engaged with the chain of an associated one of the vertical reciprocating mechanisms are arranged at a level different from that of the drive and driven sprockets engaged with the chain of the other vertical reciprocating mechanism.    
     
     
         13 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the vertical reciprocating means comprises: 
 a vertical bar extending upwardly from a central portion of a base plate included in the lower plate assembly;    a ball joint mounted to an upper end of the vertical bar and adapted to centrally connect the upper and lower plate assemblies in an axial direction;    radially-extending hydraulic cylinders arranged at four points around the ball joint while being uniformly spaced from one another in a circumferential direction, respectively, so that the hydraulic cylinders are arranged in pairs while facing each other in each of the hydraulic cylinder pairs, each of the hydraulic cylinders having a piston rod coupled, at an outer end thereof protruded from one end of the hydraulic cylinder, to a lower surface of the upper plate assembly by a pin while being hingably mounted to the base plate of the lower plate assembly at the other end thereof;    hydraulic pumps each adapted to supply hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinders of an associated one of the hydraulic cylinder pairs; and    solenoid assemblies respectively associated with the hydraulic pumps and adapted to open and close fluid passages each extending between an associated one of the hydraulic pumps and an associated one of the hydraulic cylinder pairs, each of the solenoid assemblies being configured to independently control at least four fluid ports.    
     
     
         14 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the upper plate assembly is inclined within an angle range of ±10° from a horizontal plane.  
     
     
         15 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises: 
 a control unit comprising a microcomputer for detecting operating states of elements to be controlled, performing a computation based on the detected operation states, and controlling operations of driving elements based on the computed result, and an over-current detector for detecting an over-current state of an electric motor, and stopping the operation of the electric motor when it detects the over-current state, and a plurality of input and output ports;    a key pad including a plurality of keys generating key signals to be inputted to the control unit in order to adjust the inclination of the upper plate assembly or to conduct other manipulations;    a first sensor unit including X and Y-axis movement detectors for detecting moved distances of the upper plate assembly in X and Y-axis directions, respectively, a ball supply position detector having a plurality of sensors to allow balls to be continuously supplied, an arm position detector for detecting protruded and retracted positions of a ball holding arm included in the vertical reciprocating means, a tee level detector for detecting the level of a tee included in the vertical reciprocating means, a tee level limit detector for detecting upper and lower level limits of the tee, and a ball supply housing movement limit detector for detecting protrusion and retraction limits of a ball supply housing included in the vertical reciprocating means;    a second sensor unit including a plurality of limit switches adapted to detect a downward movement of the upper plate assembly exceeding a predetermined lower movement limit at eight radial positions, respectively;    a control motor driving unit for controlling a plurality of control motors under a control of the control unit, the control motor driving unit including a push motor driver for driving a push motor adapted to generate a pushing force for pushing balls discharged from an external ball supplier included in the ball supply means toward an internal ball supplier included in the ball supply means, thereby supplying balls to the internal ball supplier, a vertical reciprocating motor driver for driving a vertical reciprocating motor adapted to vertically move the ball supply housing, a push motor driver for driving a push motor adapted to generate a pushing force for pushing balls supplied to the internal ball supplier toward the ball supply housing, thereby supplying balls to the interior of the ball supply housing, a step motor driver for driving a step motor adapted to pivotally move the ball holding arm, a tee reciprocating motor driver for driving a tee reciprocating motor adapted to vertically move the tee, and a bar member rotating motor driver for driving a bar member rotating motor adapted to rotate a rotating bar member for preventing balls from being jammed within a horizontal ball feeder included in the external ball supplier;    an upper plate assembly reciprocating motor driving unit including X and Y-axis reciprocating motors for vertically reciprocating the upper plate assembly in X and Y-axis directions, and a motor drive for driving the X and Y-axis reciprocating motors;    a solenoid driving unit including a reciprocating rod solenoid driver for driving a solenoid adapted to vertically reciprocate a vertical reciprocating rod serving to upwardly move the ball supplied to the interior of the internal ball supplier up to a ball holding position, and a ball holding arm solenoid driver for driving a solenoid adapted to allow the ball holding arm to hold the ball at the ball holding position;    a display unit having seven segments to display various control states including use time, ball count, and inclination; and    a power supply unit for supplying drive power to all control circuits of the controller and all driving units of the golf training device.    
     
     
         16 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 15 , wherein each of the ball position detector, the arm position detector, the tee level limit detector, and the ball supply housing movement limit detector comprises a plurality of sensors adapted to detect at least the upper and lower limits.  
     
     
         17 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 16 , wherein each sensor of each detector comprises an encoder adapted to detect a moved length, and an optical switch adapted to a moved position.  
     
     
         18 . The inclination-adjustable golf training device according to  claim 17 , wherein the optical switch is a proximity switch.