Abstract:
A golf training machine, which mainly includes three parts: a stance stage device that practitioner can stand on; a ball-hit device that links to the stance stage device while their relative locations are adjustable; and a ball-supply device that links to the ball-hit device. Wherein, the stance stage further includes a stance plate, the inclination of stance plate is adjustable such that the practitioner simulates various terrains around golf course through slanting of the stance plate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1) Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a golf training machine. More specifically, it is a golf training machine which can simulate the real terrain around golf course.  
         [0003]     2) Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Playing golf is a recreational sport that demands high technique. One who had never been trained generally had to practice his golf skill at the driving range before playing in a golf course. However, the market available training machines for practicing golf skill are diverse, which include training machines for practicing swing, training machines for practicing putt, and training machines for putting on the green. All these training machines feature that the practitioner is confined to stand on a horizontal plane, even though the actual terrain on a golf course is irregular rather than horizontal ground. Consequently, when a beginner plays golf in a golf course, it is frequently difficult for him to get a good tournament result because the influence of irregular terrain. However, there is no market available training machine that can simulate the irregular terrain of golf course and support the training of golf practitioners.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The primary objective of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned deficiency. To avoid the deficiency, the present invention introduces s a stance stage with adjustable inclination for simulating the irregular terrain around an actual golf course. The practitioners thus can swing on the stance stage device as if they swing on all sorts of terrain.  
         [0006]     Another objective of the present invention is to combine stance stage device, ball-hit device, and ball-supply device into a golf training machine for training practitioners.  
         [0007]     A further objective of the present invention is to present a design which including poke rods of ball-supply device and ball-deploy panel to smooth the supply of ball, and further reach the goal of automatic control.  
         [0008]     Yet another objective of the present invention is to adjust the relative distance between standing position and hitting position of practitioners in accordance with their bodily form or habit.  
         [0009]     The detailed descriptions as well as the technical contents of the present invention shall be given with the accompanying drawings hereunder. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a pictorial drawing of outward appearance according to the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is an elevational drawing showing the structure according to the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a pictorial drawing showing the top view according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4A  is a pictorial drawing showing the action of laterally inclined stance plate according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4B  is a pictorial drawing showing the action of moving up/down control set  14  according to the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5A  is a pictorial drawing showing the action of lengthwise inclined stance plate according to the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5B  is a pictorial drawing showing the action of moving up/down control set  15  according to the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5C  is a pictorial drawing that shows adjusting the inclination of hitting stage and stance plate according to the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6A  is a pictorial drawing that shows the structure of ball-hit device according to the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6B  is a pictorial drawing that shows the operation of feeding ball according to the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 6C  is another pictorial drawing that shows the operation of feeding ball according to the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6D  is a further pictorial drawing that shows the operation of feeding ball according to the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 7A  is a pictorial drawing that shows the operation of ball-hit stage and feeding ball according to the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7B  is another pictorial drawing that shows the operation of ball-hit stage and feeding ball according to the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 7C  is a further pictorial drawing that shows the operation of ball-hit stage and feeding ball according to the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 7D  is a pictorial drawing that shows the operation of ball stand after hitting according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , which shows the pictorial drawing of outward appearance and exploded structure according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the present invention includes three major parts: a stance stage device  1 , a ball-hit device  2 , and a ball-supply device  3 , in which the stance stage device  1  is used such that the practitioner can stand on it, ball-hit device  2  is linked to the stance stage device  1 , and the ball-hit device  2  can be operated relative to the stance stage device  1  and moved in parallel, the ball-supply device  3  is linked to the other side of ball-hit device  2  in order to supply golf ball to the ball-hit device.  
         [0027]     The stance stage device  1  mentioned above includes: first support  11 , which is a cross-shaped support, and on its two near ends a carrier  111  and a carrier  112  are separately installed to carry motors  141 ,  151 ; second support  12 , which is also a cross-shaped support and is installed above the first support  11 . Support  11  and support  12  are linked at their cross points, and a linking buffer component  13  is supplied at that linking location such that second support  12  is situated above first support  11 . Further, the link slot  121  and link slot  122  of second support  12 , which correspondingly situated above the ends of carrier  111 ,  112  of first support  11 , are supplied to install link component  144 ,  154 , which are controlled by the motor  141 ,  151  of first and second control set  14 ,  15 , such that second support  12  can be forward, backward, left, or right inclined in a seesaw style, and user can therefore simulate the gradient around a golf course when he stands on the stage device  1 .  
         [0028]     The stance plate  16  is installed on the said second support  12 .  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , which shows the action of stance plate  16  according to the present invention when laterally inclined and when moved up/down, wherein the first control set  14  is used to control lateral inclination toward left or right. The first control set  14  is installed on the carrier  111  of the first support  11  and is linked to the link slot  121  of the second support  12 , in order to control the inclination of the second support  12  with respect to the first support  11 . The first control set  14  includes: a motor  141 , a lengthwise axis control key set  142  (installed on the stance plate  16 ) for controlling the status of operation, a drive component  143  which is driven by motor  141 , a link component  144  which is linked by the drive component  143 , and a buffer component  145  which is assembled to the link component  144 , in which the motor  141  is installed on the carrier  111  such that the link component  144 , which is controlled by the drive component  143  for moving up/down, controls the linked inclination of buffer component  145  and the second support  12 .  
         [0030]     Referring to FIGS.  5 A˜ 5 C, which are pictorial drawings showing the action of lengthwise inclined stance plate, the action of moving up/down control set  15 , and adjusting the inclination of hitting stage and stance plate according to the present invention. The second control set  15  for controlling the forward and backward inclination of stance plate  16  is installed on the carrier  112  of the first support  11  and is linked to the link slot  122  of the second support  12 , in order to the inclination of the second support  12  with respect to the first support  11 . The second control set  15  includes: a motor  151 , a lengthwise axis control key set  152  (installed on the stance plate  16 ) for controlling the status of operation, a drive component  153  driven by the motor  151 , a link component  154  linked by drive component  153 , and a buffer component  155 , which is assembled to the link component  154 ; in which the motor  151  is installed on the carrier  112  such that the link component  154 , which is controlled by the drive component  153  for moving up/down, controls the linked inclination of buffer component  155  and the second support  12 . When the stage of stance plate  16  is tilted, the ball-hit base  21  linked by pivot  161 , guide plate  163 , and pivot  162  keeps horizontal. The reason is that, when stance plate  16  is tilted, pivot  162  works as a center such that guide plate  163  can compensate the distance generated by inclination, and through the pivoting of pivot  161 , the horizontality of ball-hit base  21  is thus kept even if stance plate  12  is tilted.  
         [0031]     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 6A , the ball-hit device  2  includes: a ball-hit base  21 , a ball-hit stage  22 , a ball-feed device  23  for feeding golf ball  4  to ball-hit stage  22 , a ball-deploy device  24  for delivering golf ball  4 , and a ball-guide pipe  237  for linking to ball-supply device  3 . One side of the ball-hit base  21  is connected to stance plate  16  through pivot  162 , guide plate  163 , and pivot  161  in order to keep ball-hit base  21  horizontal when stance plate  16  is tilted. On the ball-hit base  21  a ball-hit stage  22  is installed. On the ball-hit stage  22  a round hole  224  which is correspondent to the hole  213  of ball-hit base  21  is provided such that the golf ball  4  can be delivered upwards for hitting, and on the ball-hit stage  22  four rollers are installed with respect to the ball-hit base  21  such that the ball-hit stage  22  slides on the ball-hit base  21 , and thus varies between low-position swing and T-shot (high-position swing). More over, a front latch object  221  and a back latch object  222  are respectively installed at the front and back ends beneath ball-hit stage  22 , The front latch object  221  corresponds to long hole  214  and is locked to screw  2221 . The back latch object  222  corresponds to long hole  215  and provides a recover spring  212  for fixing to latch seat  216  of ball-hit base  21  in order to serves as a reciprocating mechanism for sliding ball-hit stage  22  back and forth. Further, at one side beneath the ball-hit stage  22  a slope guide sheet  223  is provided. The slope guide sheet  223  corresponds to the slide block  232  of ball-feed device  23  through long slot  217 . When slide block  232  is moved up/down (to deliver golf ball  4  upwards), the slope guide sheet  223  is driven back and forth, and thus controls the variation between low-position swing and T-shot (high-position swing) for user&#39;s hitting.  
         [0032]     Wherein, the ball-feed device  23  includes a motor which is controlled by a control circuit  230 , in which a pulley  2311  is installed on the motor  231 , and a link wire  2312  on the pulley  2311  is fixed on the slide block  232 , wherein slide block  232  is installed on the support rod  232  outside the pipe object  234  in order to slide up/down, while two sensors  235 ,  236  are installed above for displacement adjusting of low-position swing and high-position swing, and a control key set  239  installed on the stance plate  16  is used to control the scenario that user wants to simulate. Above the pipe object  234  a guide via  2340  is provided in order to link a track  238  such that golf ball  4  can pass through, wherein the track  238  is provided for linking ball-feed device  23  and ball-deploy device  24  such that the golf ball  4  fed from ball-supply device  3  can be guided into ball-deploy device  24  by way of ball-guide pipe  237  and then reach ball-feed device  23 .  
         [0033]     The ball-deploy device  24  is box  240  in which a shaft  242  and four associated rod objects  243  are provided, wherein the shaft  242  is driven by the motor  241  outside the box  240 . When shaft  242  rotates, the golf ball  4  guided in by the ball-guide pipe  237  that locates beneath can be delivered through rod objects  243  to the track  238  that locates above, and then sent to ball-feed device  23 ; wherein, on the track  238  a sensor  2381  is installed at a location with span of three balls for controlling the delivering operation of motor such that at least three golf balls  4  stay in the track  238 .  
         [0034]     Ball-supply device  3  is a seat object  30 , on which an enclosure  31  is provided to form a basin for collecting golf balls  4 , in which a bottom plate  32  is installed inside the seat object  30 , and at the low-lying position of bottom plate  32  a ball-guide outlet  321  is provided to link to the ball-guide pipe  237 . Under the bottom plate  32  a motor  33  is installed to control the rotation of poke rod  311  in the ball-collect basin. Poke rod  311  is used to prevent multiple balls in ball-collect basin from jamming and accordingly insures the golf balls  4  can be sent to ball-guide pipe  237  through ball-guide outlet  321 .  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIG. 6B ˜ 6 D, which is a pictorial drawing that shows the operation of feeding ball. The motor  231  of ball-feed device  23  is controlled by a control circuit  230 . The motor  231  has a pulley  2311  which drives the fixed slide block  232  of a link wire  2312 . The slide block  232  is installed on the support rod  233  outside the pipe object  234  in order to slide up/down. Also, the slide block  232  is linked to the bottom seat  2341  inside pipe object  234 , where the bottom seat  2341  is shaped polygon (as shown in  FIG. 7D ) and a ball stand  2342  is installed inside. The ball stand  2342  is used to hold golf ball  4  and a sensor  2345  is installed at its bottom to notify for resending ball when a ball has been hit. Above the pipe object  234  a via  2340  is provided to link to a track  238  for guiding a golf ball. On the track a sensor  2381  is installed at a location with span of three balls for controlling the delivering operation of motor  241  in the ball-deploy device  24  such that at least three golf balls  4  stay in the track  238 . Under the via  2340  a gate  2343  is provided, where the gate  2343  is linked to bottom seat  2341 . When ball stand  2342  is empty, the bottom seat  2341  moves down to a certain depth, the gate  2343  is pulled down to allow ball rolling in, the resist rod  2344  above the via  2340  is then closed after releasing ball to prevent another ball from rolling down, and thus completes the delivering of golf ball.  
         [0036]     Referring to FIGS.  7 A˜ 7 D, which are pictorial drawings demonstrating the operations of feeding ball and ball-hit stage. Above the pipe object  234  as aforementioned two sensors  235 ,  236  are installed. One of these two sensors is higher while the other is lower in order to control the displacement adjusting for low-position swing and high-position swing when slide block  232  is moved up/down. On the slide block  232  a rod object  2321  is installed. When slide block  232  is moved upwards the slope guide sheet  223  at bottom of the ball-hit stage  22  is linked and moved back and forth such that the ball-hit stage  22  is moved forward, the user therefore can simulate the swing of low-position. However, the slope route of slope guide sheet  223  is provided simply for controlling sliding of ball-hit stage  22  during low-position swing. In other words, the ball-hit stage  22  does not slide during T-shot (high-position swing). Instead, the rod object  2321  of slide block  232  slides into one side of slope guide sheet  223 , and simply pushes the golf ball  4  to a height for high-position swing. After hitting, the sensor  2345  at the ball stand  2342  of bottom seat  2341  can tell whether the ball is hit and call for a reloading of ball. The bottom seat  2341  is shaped polygon and a recovery spring  23411  is installed inside in order to recover and keep the verticality of the bottom seat as well as to wait for the falling of next ball after a ball is hit. When the slide block  232  is moved downwards, by way of fixed recovery spring  212  that installed on the back latch object  222  to the latch seat  216  of ball-hit base  21 , the ball-hit stage  22  is recovered to original position and waits for next operation of moving upwards.  
         [0037]     In summary, the three major parts according to the present invention are: stance stage device  1 , ball-hit device  2 , and ball-supply device  3 , which introduces an invention that the practitioners can simulate irregular terrain around the actual golf course, and the practitioners can perform better at the actual golf course after practicing.