FR3126626A1 - ACCESSORY INTENDED FOR RECEIVING A GOLF BALL EQUIPPED WITH AT LEAST ONE SENSOR AND DEVICE FOR MANAGING A GOLF COURSE PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE SUCH ACCESSORY - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a golf bogey (5) characterized in that it comprises at least one humidity sensor. The invention also relates to a device for managing a golf course comprising at least one bogey according to the invention. Figure to be published with abstract: Fig. 2

Description

ACCESSORY INTENDED FOR RECEIVING A GOLF BALL EQUIPPED WITH AT LEAST ONE SENSOR AND DEVICE FOR MANAGING A GOLF COURSE PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE SUCH ACCESSORY

The invention relates to a golf bogey equipped with at least one sensor and to a device for managing a golf course provided with at least one such bogey.

On a golf course, the number of holes in which the golfer must hit the golf ball is generally eighteen, possibly nine holes. The distance between the holes varies from around 100 m to more than 500 m. The area surrounding each hole is called the green. A green is an area of a few square meters to several hundred square meters with dense grass and a minimum height. The green is perfectly watered and drained to allow optimal movement of the ball on the grass. The areas connecting the greens are called fairways and are made up of grassy strips defining a more or less wide alley. Thus, an entire golf course covers several hectares or even tens of hectares. It is therefore important to manage the various parts of the field as well as possible, therefore the greens and the fairways, taking into account the specificities of use of each area. In particular, the mowing and watering of the golf course must be optimal, in order to maintain the quality of the greens and fairways in all circumstances and in all seasons, regardless of the number of golfers present on the course.

The holes of a golf course are equipped with an accessory for receiving golf balls. This accessory is made of a rigid material, for example metal, making it possible to avoid any modification of the diameter and/or the depth of the hole, while preventing water and/or debris from accumulating in the hole. Such an accessory or bowl is frequently designated by the English term BOGEY which will be used preferentially subsequently. In order to facilitate the recovery of the balls, CA-A-3 103 776 discloses a bogey equipped with a system for ejecting the ball from the volume of the bogey. US-A-2017 239 540 discloses a device for tracking and locating the locations of bogeys on a golf course. The system uses connected masts. A bogey also allows the vertical position of a pole of a flag. Such a pennant allows the golfer to locate at a distance of several tens of meters or even hundreds of meters the exact position of the hole into which he must return the ball. We know from US-B-5354052 a pennant pole equipped with sensors detecting the presence or not of a ball in the bogey. Thus, known prior art bogeys are generally provided with means for tracking and/or managing the ball relative to the bogey.

During a game of golf, players move on the greens and fairways, which potentially affects the quality of the grass, by trampling. Furthermore, during play, golf clubs can damage the grass on the greens. In order to maintain a constant and optimal quality of the turf on the various parts of the course, in particular at the level of the greens, so that all players experience similar playing conditions at all times and to allow the growth of the turf, the reception holes of the balls, and therefore bogeys, are regularly moved on the green and/or between the greens. This also makes it possible to vary the courses and thus to reinforce the interest of the game for a golfer. In all cases, it is therefore essential to maintain the quality of the greens and fairways, that is to say the grass cover of the golf course, which is homogeneous and durable over time. In order to optimize the management of a golf course and in particular the irrigation, it is known from US-A-2020/0108 303 to use robots moving on the golf course. These robots communicate with each other and with a central unit. They are able to collect various parameters such as the presence of an object on the course, the presence of a golfer and also the humidity level of the grass at various locations on the green and/or selected and predefined fairways. Also known from WO-A-2017/192381 is a system for optimizing the maintenance of a golf course based on a layout of the various parts of the course, each part being characterized by its geography, its configuration in terms of obstacles , bogeys, grass coverage and other parameters. Software ensures individualized maintenance of each part by optimizing various factors such as consumables, time spent, water for irrigation.

Such golf course management solutions are complex to implement and require either the presence of several robots distributed on the golf course or a long and tedious initial parameter collection work. Moreover, the regular movement of the bogeys does not facilitate the implementation of these solutions, especially when the bogeys are relatively complex and adapted to facilitate either their location or the ejection of the balls.

The invention proposes a simple, compact means, easy to set up and move, suitable for providing information on at least one parameter that can be used in the context of a management device, in particular irrigation, a golf course.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an accessory for receiving a so-called bogey golf ball provided with a volume for receiving a golf ball, said accessory having dimensions adapted to be inserted in a removable manner into a hole made in at least part of a golf course, characterized in that it comprises at least one sensor of the humidity of the environment surrounding said accessory.

The presence of a humidity sensor makes it possible to use the bogey as an organ for collecting information concerning the humidity of the environment in which it is placed, therefore de facto humidity in the ground in the vicinity of the hole. inserting the bogey into the green. The invention thus makes it possible to have a mesh of the golf course with humidity sensors placed in relevant zones in terms of management of the irrigation of the golf course since these are the greens. Moreover, the humidity sensor being integrated into the bogey, it will de facto always be in the green used by the players and therefore placed on the green whose quality of grass must be maintained at an optimal level. The fact that the sensor is movable, with the bogey, makes it possible to obtain a large number of measurements, over a long period and/or at various points, with a limited number of bogeys. The invention does not modify the function of the bogey for receiving the golf ball. Thus, in no way does the invention hinder or influence the insertion of the golf ball into the bogey.

According to advantageous but not mandatory aspects of the invention, such an accessory may include one or more of the following characteristics:

The humidity sensor extends outside of the accessory.

The sensor is housed in an element fixed to the free end of the wall defining the volume for receiving the accessory, beyond the bottom of the accessory.

The humidity sensor extends from the outer face of the element.

The accessory includes at least one other sensor for a parameter other than humidity.

The other sensor is chosen from among a temperature sensor, a pH sensor, salinity, resistivity, Redox potential, sunshine, a presence detector or other.

The accessory comprises a device for transmitting the data collected by the at least one humidity sensor to a remote management and control module.

The data transmission unit is removably connected to the shaft of a flag inserted removably into the accessory, said shaft defining an antenna.

The accessory includes a bogey geolocation device.

The invention also relates to a device for managing a golf course comprising at least one control module for at least one means of irrigation or watering at least part of the golf course, characterized in that said device is provided with at least one accessory for receiving a so-called bogey golf ball conforming to any one of the preceding characteristics.

According to advantageous but not mandatory aspects of the invention, such a device may include one or more of the following characteristics:

The command module manages several golf courses.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly on reading the following description, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

is a simplified partial view in perspective of a green with a hole equipped with a bogey in accordance with one embodiment of the invention and equipped with a flag,

is a perspective view from above, on another scale, of a bogey in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an external part of the humidity sensor not being illustrated for greater readability,

is a top view, at the same scale, of the bogey of the ,

is a perspective view, at the same scale as the , of a part of the bogey receiving the humidity sensor, the external parts of the latter being illustrated and

is a perspective view, at another scale, of the interior of the part of the bogey shown in , without the external parts of the humidity sensor.

There illustrates part of a golf course called green 1. This is an area of grass forming the playing surface and surrounding a hole intended to receive a golf ball. The green is a perfectly watered and drained grassed area. The lawn is dense and made up of certain species of grasses whose leaves are adapted to frequent and very short cuts, the height of the cut being measured in millimetres. The height of cut influences the movement of the bale, in particular its speed. Thus, a green mowed more than 2 mm is said to be "slow", because the ball is slowed down quickly. Another important characteristic of a green is its hardness: a so-called “soft” green will stop the ball quickly. The hardness of a green depends not only on the hardness of the ground but also on the density of the grass. Thus, on a golf course, watering or irrigation, therefore de facto water management, are essential and must be managed permanently in an optimal way, whatever the climatic conditions to offer a quality of play. equal throughout the year.

Here, a hole is represented in green 1, it being understood that the exact position of the hole in the green may vary from that represented. For example, when the green is circular, which is frequent, the hole is substantially in a central position. The circular hole shown in is provided with an artificial rim 2. To facilitate reading, a pennant or flag 3 is shown attached to the rim 2 by the pole 4. Alternatively, it is positioned elsewhere. Such a flag 3 allows the player to view the location of the hole on the green. The player thus materializes the goal, therefore the hole, to be reached by the ball which he is going to set in motion. It is understood that, whatever the means of fixing the flag 3, the latter must not interfere with the race of the ball in the direction of the hole or affect its trajectory.

The holes present on a golf course are all equipped with an accessory or bowl for receiving 5, temporarily, golf balls, known per se and not illustrated. Such an accessory will subsequently be designated by the English term Bogey, frequently used in the field of golf. There illustrates such a bogey 5. The latter is made of a rigid material, insensitive to bad weather, to thermal variations encountered on a golf course, resistant to shocks and crushing. The bogey 5 is, for example, metallic or made of polymers. Its dimensions are standardized and adapted on the one hand to that of the holes in which it is housed and on the other hand, to the dimensions of a golf ball. A bogey 5 must thus have a reception volume V of the golf ball of 10.8 cm in diameter and 10.16 cm in depth. Its dimensions, standardized, make it possible to receive in a removable and frictionless manner a golf ball with a standardized diameter of 42.67 mm. In general, if the external diameter of a bogey 5 is close to the internal diameter required in order to adapt to the minimum clearance to the diameter of the hole in the green 1, its height is greater than that required to receive the ball. For example, its total height is close to 15 cm.

the respective dimensions of the golf ball and of the volume V of the bogey 5 allow the reception of a ball in the volume V when the bogey 5 is equipped with a flag 3 whose pole 4 is fixed on the bottom 6 of the volume V For this, the bottom 6 is provided in the central position with an orifice 7 for temporarily receiving the free end of the shaft 4. The latter is thus held vertically in the central position on the bottom 6 of the volume V, without interfering with the reception of the golf ball in volume V.

As is particularly apparent from the , the bottom 6 is provided with cutouts 8 regularly provided on the bottom 6. These cutouts 8, the number and/or shape of which are variable, allow the flow of water and/or any debris such as leaves , grass or earth, outside the volume V of the bogey 5. For this, the bottom 6 is positioned in the bogey 5 so as to provide a space between the bottom 6 and the lower end 9 of the cylindrical wall 10 defining the volume V. At least one opening 11 made at the level of the end 9 allows the evacuation to the outside of the elements and of the water passing through the cutouts 8. Thus, the bottom 6 is kept free as much as possible from all stains.

An element 12, also cylindrical with a circular base, is located in the extension of the end 9. This element 12 has, in the example, a diameter identical to that of the volume V. Alternatively, its diameter is different or it does not is not cylindrical with a circular base. This element is either fixed in a permanent manner on the end 9, by welding, gluing or made in one piece with the wall 10, or fixed in a removable manner, by screwing, clipping, magnetic connection or other.

The element 12, shown alone in Figures 4 and 5, defines a receiving and protective housing for at least one humidity sensor. There represents an element 12 of cylindrical shape with a circular base, therefore of shape similar to that of the bogey 5. If the external diameter of the element 12 is identical, in the example, to that of the cylindrical wall 10 defining the volume V, its height is less. It is generally between 30 mm and 80 mm. The upper face 13, looking at the , of the element 12, therefore the face intended to be in contact with the end 9 of the wall 10, is provided with at least one orifice 14. The number and/or the position of such an orifice 14 is variable . The orifice 14 allows the passage of an antenna, for example of the wired type, allowing a data collection module to exchange data, via a transmission module, with a control and management module remote from the bogey 5 Such an antenna can either extend into the bogey. As a variant according to a preferred embodiment, the transmission module is connected with the end of the shaft 4 via a dedicated contactor, of the rocker switch type. Thus, the shaft 4 is used as a rigid external antenna and in a vertical position, which optimizes the transmission.

To facilitate reading, the collection module and the transmission module are schematically illustrated by an electronic support plate 15 visible in . The remote control and management module, known per se, is not illustrated. Such a plate 15 is held in position, in a removable manner, in the internal volume V12 of the element 12. Access to the volume V12 is via a cover 16, here defining the face 13. here the cover 16 is screwed. Alternatively it is clipped.

It is conceivable that the electronic plate 15 receives the sensors and/or organs fitted to the bogey 5. Thus all the sensors present are united on the same support plate 15, which facilitates the assembly and maintenance of the bogey 5. Among the various sensors and /or organs equipping the plate 15, we can cite a GPS, a sensor of temperature, pH, resistivity, RedOx potential, oxygen, sunshine, presence, pollutants or any other parameter likely to influence the management of the golf course and/or the practice of golfers. Similarly, the volume V12 of the element 12 receives any element necessary for the operation of the sensor(s) and of the plate 15. This is, for example, a battery, a relay or the like. Thus the bogey 5 is powered either by a battery or by a wired connection with a known energy source. Elements placed outside the bogey but electronically linked to it may be present and collect other parameters. By way of example, we can cite a rain gauge, an anemometer or the like.

At least one humidity sensor is housed in volume V12. It is illustrated, at , by four cylindrical rods with a circular base 17. Here the rods 17 are identical and regularly distributed over the outer face 18 of the wall 19 defining the volume V12. In another embodiment, the distribution and/or the length of the rods are different. Rods 17 extend radially beyond face 18, in a plane parallel to face 13 when cover 16 is in place to block access to volume V12. Rods 17 form the active part of sensors, advantageously humidity sensors. As a variant, certain rods are dedicated to the collection of parameters other than humidity. Due to the position of the rods 17, the measurement of the humidity, or of other parameters, is carried out in the soil near the bottom 6, around the bogey 5, in an area where the roots of the grass are mainly located. . In order to allow the bogey 5 to be inserted and removed from the hole, the rods 17 are retractable. For this, they are telescopic, screwable, mounted in umbrella or other.

In another embodiment not shown, at least one humidity or other parameter sensor extends under element 12, from face 20 opposite face 13 when cover 16 is in place. Such a sensor then performs, by virtue of its configuration, a depth measurement of a parameter in the ground under the bogey 5. This position of the sensor in the axial extension of the bogey 5 is used in certain configurations of the greens and/or for the collection of certain parameters.

Alternatively, the bogey is equipped with an air humidity sensor in addition to the soil moisture sensor. In such a case, the sensor is located in the upper part of the bogey 5, to have the aerial part of the bogey located outside the hole, for example at the level of the edge of the bogey. other sensors can be placed in the aerial part of the bogey or close to it, for example sensors for air temperature, sunshine, a rain gauge or others.

Due to the ease of movement of the bogey and therefore of the sensor(s) and/or associated elements, it is easy to obtain a precise situation on a large surface of one or more parameters measured, this over a more or less long period. In other words, in the case of the use of humidity sensors, one obtains not only an instantaneous visualization of the green(s) in which the humidity level is low or too important but also a history over several days or even several weeks or months. Thus, information is available on the behavior of one or more green(s) depending, for example, on weather and/or playing conditions and/or other parameters likely to affect the growth or condition of the turf, for example the presence of a pollutant in the ground.

The invention also relates to a device for managing a golf course and more particularly for managing the irrigation, or the watering according to the chosen technique, of at least one golf course or at least the greens of at least one golf course. Such a device comprises at least one control module for at least one means of irrigation or watering of at least one green of at least one golf course. The control module is remote from the zone of the golf course equipped with at least one bogey in accordance with the invention, therefore remote from the green(s) and/or fairway(s) equipped with bogey(s). Advantageously, the control module is located in a room dedicated to the maintenance of the golf course(s). As a variant, the control module is installed in a temporary room or a vehicle, when the device is used occasionally. Advantageously, the control module is connected to meteorological information services and, if necessary, to other services available in connection with the management of a golf course. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence in the control module, management is constantly optimized and adapted, in particular, water management in a golf course.

The control module is connected, preferably wirelessly, to at least one element 12, more precisely to the transmission module present on the electronic plate 15 of each element 12. Thus, several bogeys 5 communicate the collected data, therefore to the minus the humidity level in the environment immediately surrounding the bogey 5, to the control module which, either automatically, will initiate the starting or stopping of the irrigation or watering or issues an alert which will be taken taken into account by a user, the latter triggering if necessary, a corrective action, therefore either starting or stopping irrigation or watering. It is conceivable that a control module in accordance with the invention can manage several tens or even hundreds of bogeys 5 in accordance with the invention, distributed over one or more golf course(s) and therefore ensure, remotely, the management of of golf, at least with regard to the watering or irrigation of the greens or other areas concerned.

Furthermore, if parameters other than humidity are collected, the control module can initiate other actions, for example programming mowing, moving bogeys to rest the green, re-turfing, phytosanitary treatment or any other action. Similarly, if presence detectors or a device for warning of the presence of a player, maintenance personnel or an animal are present on the bogey 5 or close to the latter, it is advantageous to couple them to the control module so that the latter manages irrigation or watering, or more generally any action, depending on the presence or not of people, objects or animals on the green(s). One can also imagine that, when the presence of an animal is detected, for example by camera, on a green, the control module initiates an action aimed at driving the animal away, this action possibly being the triggering of watering, a visual and/or audible or other alarm. Similarly, an object detection, for example a branch, can be taken into account by the control module.

If the bogeys 5 are preferably intended for use on a golf course, it is possible to use them, with a suitable control module, on other types of terrain, to monitor the state of the latter, in particular when the land is grassed. Mention may thus be made of a sports field, a racecourse, a meadow or more generally an agricultural field.

Claims (11)

Accessory (5) for receiving a so-called bogey golf ball provided with a volume (V) for receiving a golf ball, said accessory having dimensions adapted to be inserted in a removable manner into a hole made in at least part of a golf course, characterized in that it comprises at least one sensor (17) of the humidity of the environment surrounding said accessory. Accessory according to Claim 1, characterized in that the humidity sensor (17) extends outside the accessory (5). Accessory according to Claim 2, characterized in that the said sensor (17) is housed in an element (12) fixed to the free end (9) of the wall (10) defining the volume (V) for receiving the accessory (5), beyond the bottom (6) of the accessory Accessory according to Claim 3, characterized in that the humidity sensor extends from the outer face (18) of the element (12). Accessory according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one other sensor for a parameter other than humidity. Accessory according to Claim 5, characterized in that the other sensor is chosen from among a temperature sensor, a pH, salinity, resistivity, Redox potential, sunshine sensor, a presence detector or the like. Accessory according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a device for transmitting the data collected by the at least one humidity sensor (17) to a remote management and control module. Accessory according to Claim 7, characterized in that the data transmission member is connected in a removable manner to the pole (4) of a pennant (3) inserted in a removable manner in the accessory (5), the said pole ( 4) defining an antenna. Accessory according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a device for geolocating the position of the bogey. Device for managing a golf course comprising at least one control module for at least one means of irrigation or watering at least part of the golf course, characterized in that the said device is provided with at least one accessory (5) for receiving a so-called bogey golf ball in accordance with any one of the preceding claims. Device according to Claim 10, characterized in that the control module manages several golf courses.