GB2257917A

GB2257917A - Scrummage training machine

Info

Publication number: GB2257917A
Application number: GB9215277A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Ambrose Richter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-07-20
Filing date: 1992-07-17
Publication date: 1993-01-27
Also published as: ZA925257B; GB9215277D0; GB9115806D0

Abstract

The machine includes a support frame 1 mounted on the body of the machine to pivot about a horizontal axis 2. A pad carrier 3 is slidably guided by the frame 1 for movement in a forward-rearward direction A, B, and a pad 4 is mounted at one end of the carrier 3. A spring 6 acts between the frame 1 and the opposite end of the carrier 3, and a double-acting pneumatic actuator 7 is connected in parallel with the spring 6, acting between the frame 1 and carrier 3, to move the pad both forwards and rearwards. Springs 10 and 11 act between the frame 1 and the body to resist pivotal movement of the frame, and a second double-acting pneumatic actuator 12 acts between the frame 1 and the body structure for moving the pad in an up-and-down direction. The cylinders 7, 12 are pneumatically operated and are arranged to automatically vent to atmosphere via adjustable restrictors when not in operation, thereby acting as dampers. <IMAGE>

Description

SCRUMMAGE TRAINING MACHINE TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to scrummage training machines for use in training players in Rugby Football and similar games.

BACKGROUND In known scrummage training machines the trainee players push against a pad which is often arranged to move against spring loading. Whilst this provides useful training experience the machine does not accurately simulate the variations in reaction forces which the player would experience in a real scrummage.

It has previously been proposed to incorporate variable hydraulic reaction to the thrust applied by the player.

(See GB 2 031 737 A for example.) It has also been proposed in US 3 897 060 to include passive hydraulic dampers in parallel with the spring loading.

An general aim of the present invention may be viewed as being to provide a form of scrummage training machine which even more closely simulates the action of a real scrummage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect the present invention proposes a scrummage training machine which includes a body and a pad having a front pushing surface, the pad being movable relative to the body, and spring means acting between the pad and the body such as to oppose a thrust applied to the pushing surface of the pad by a player, in which fluid-powered actuator means is further arranged to act between the pad and the body in parallel with the spring means.

Thus, when operated appropriately, the actuator means can act to reduce the reaction force supplied by the spring means to simulate the reduction in reaction which sometimes occurs in a real scrummage.

The actuator means is preferably arranged to vent fluid therefrom via restrictor means so as to act as a damper to movement of said pad. The restrictor means preferably includes an adjustable restriction, thereby permitting the amount of damping to be controlled.

The actuator means is preferably operated from a source of pressure gas. Gas control is quieter than hydraulic control, and the compressibility of gas tends to absorb some of the impact when players impact hard against the pad.

The actuator means is preferably arranged to be vented to atmosphere when not supplied with pressure gas from the said source. Thus, the machine can still be used with the trainees pushing against the spring means when gas power is not available. The machine preferably includes valve means which is biassed to vent the actuator means to atmosphere. The valve means is preferably pilot operated by gas pressure from the said source to connect the respective actuator means to a control valve arrangement. Thus, in the event of a loss of gas pressure from the source the first valve means will thus automatically return to a position where the respective actuator means is vented to atmosphere.

The machine preferably further includes a control valve arrangement which can be operated to alternately connect one side of the actuator means to the gas source and vent the opposite side of the actuator means to atmosphere. The control valve arrangement may be manually operated, preferably by a joystick control.

According to a second aspect, the invention further proposes a scrummage training machine which includes a body and a pad having a front pushing surface, the pad being movable relative to the body, and the machine including fluid-powered actuator means arranged (i) to oppose a thrust applied to the pushing surface of the pad by a player, and (ii) to move the pad generally in the same direction as said thrust.

Thus, the actuator means may move. the pad to both oppose the thrust applied by the players or to move the pad in the direction of the thrust, in the manner of a real scrummage.

The actuator means preferably comprises a piston moveable in a cylinder, and although two oppositely acting piston-and-cylinder devices may be used, the actuator means is preferably arranged to be doubleacting by fluid pressure acting on opposite sides of said piston.

According to a third aspect, the invention proposes a scrummage training machine which includes a body and a pad having a front pushing surface, the pad being movable relative to the body and the machine including reaction means for opposing a thrust applied to the pushing surface of the pad by a player, and fluidpowered actuator means for moving the pad relative to the body in an up-and-down direction generally in the plane of the pad.

The provision for powered up-and-down movement of the pad simulates the vertical motion of a real scrummage.

The reaction means may comprise spring means or further fluid-powered actuator means for example.

The actuator means for providing the up-and-down movement is preferably arranged to vent fluid therefrom via restrictor means so as to act as a damper to movement of said pad. The restrictor means preferably includes an adjustable restriction, thereby permitting the amount of damping to be controlled.

The machine preferably includes a source of pressure gas for operating the actuator means. The actuator means is preferably arranged to be vented to atmosphere when not supplied with pressure gas from the said source. The machine preferably includes valve means which is biassed to vent the actuator means to atmosphere. The valve means is preferably pilot operated by gas pressure from the said source to connect the respective actuator means to a control valve arrangement.

The machine preferably includes a control valve arrangement which can be operated to alternately connect one side of the actuator means to the gas source and vent the opposite side of the actuator means to atmosphere. The control valve arrangement may be manually operated, preferably by a joystick control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a scrummage training machine of the invention, and Figure 2 is a circuit diagram of pneumatic control apparatus included in the machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The scrummage training machine includes a support frame 1 mounted on the main body structure of the machine (not shown) to pivot about the axis of a substantially horizontal axle 2. The body structure may be of any convenient form, and will most commonly be in the form of a rigid framework. A pad carrier 3 is slidably supported and guided by the support frame 1 for movement in opposite forward and rearward directions A, B, transverse to the axle 2. At one end of the pad carrier 3 there is mounted a resilient pad 4 which has a front pushing surface 5 disposed substantially perpendicular to the direction A-B for a trainee player to push against.At the opposite end of the carrier 3 a first spring 6 acts between the support frame 1 and the pad carrier 3 such that a thrust applied to the pad 4 by a trainee will urge the carrier 3 to move in direction A against the action of the spring 6.

A first double-acting pneumatic actuator 7 is connected in parallel with the spring 6, acting between the support frame 1 and the pad carrier 3. A second spring 10 acts between the support frame 1 and the body structure to resist pivotal movement of the support frame such that the pad 4 moves in a downward direction C, and a third spring 11 acts between the support frame and the body structure to resist pivotal movement of the support frame in the opposite direction D. Thus, if the thrust applied to the pad 4 has an appropriate non-horizontal component the pad 4 will move against the action of one of the springs 10 and 11. A second double-acting pneumatic actuator 12 is connected to act between the support frame 1 and the body structure of the machine. The actuator 12 is shown connected in parallel with the spring 11, although, being double acting, it could be connected in parallel with either of the second and third springs 10 or 11. The function of the two actuators 7 and 12 will be explained below.

The pneumatic actuators 7 and 12 are of similar construction and both have similar pneumatic control arrangements, one of which is shown in Fig. 2. Each actuator comprises a hollow cylinder 15 which sealably contains an axially slidable piston 16 coupled to a piston rod 16a. The spaces on each side of the piston 16 are connected to respective pilot operated spring loaded valves 17 and 18 which, in their rest positions, vent both ends of the cylinder to atmosphere. With suitably large pipework, ports and passages between the valves 17, 18 and the cylinder 15 the piston is free to move virtually unhampered and the pistons and cylinders thus have very little effect on the operation of the machine as described above.In a preferred arrangement however, the pistons and cylinders can be arranged to operate as dampers by including small bore pipework, ports and/or passages between the valves 17, 18 and cylinders 15 and/or by incorporating restrictors on the exhaust ports of valves 17 and 18. If the restrictors are in the form of adjustable throttle valves 22 and 23 the damping effect can be controlled at will. Such damping can enable the strength of the springs 6 and 11 to be reduced by around 50%. The damping also controls the sudden reaction of the springs when the trainees cease to load them making the machine safer and more realistic to use.

When it is required to bring the pneumatic cylinders into operation a push-button operated valve 19 is operated to send a pilot signal simultaneously to the two valves 17 and 18 by connecting them to a source of pressurised air 20. This source may conveniently comprise an electrically driven compressor or, if the machine is required to be operated independently of a power supply, a bottled air supply.

The valves 17 and 18 thus act to connect the two ends of the cylinder 15 to a joystick-operated three position control valve 21 which is spring biassed to a central rest position in which it acts to close the connections from both ends of the cylinder 15. Thus, the position of the piston in the cylinder is substantially fixed, although any impact of a trainee with the pad 4 will be absorbed by movement of the piston 16 within the cylinder due to compression of the air entrapped within the cylinder. Movement of the valve 21 to either of its other two positions acts to admit pressure gas from the source 20 to a respective end of the cylinder 15, simultaneously venting the opposite end of the cylinder to atmosphere. This results in movement of the actuator to move the pad 4 back and forth, or up and down as appropriate, to simulate commonly encountered movements of a Rugby scrummage.

The two control valves 21 which operate the respective cylinders 7 and 11 will normally be operated via a single joystick control for use by a trainer. Thus, for example, forward and rearward movements of the joystick may result in up and down movement of the pad 4 by means of the actuator 12 whilst left and right movement of the joystick results in back and forth movement of the pad by means of actuator 7.

A machine may incorporate two (or more) similarly operated pads on a single body structure, each operated by a respective joystick so that the two pads can be moved independently. The joysticks can be mounted on the machine or at a remote location.

The valves 17 and 18 could be operated from separate control valves instead of the single valve 19, or they could both be operated manually. It will also be appreciated that each double-acting actuator could be replaced by two oppositely single acting actuators, operated by the respective valves 17 and 18.

The most important action of the actuators is that which produces a reaction in direction B to forward thrust applied to the pad 4. Thus, a very simple form of the machine could simply incorporate one single acting pneumatic actuator in place of the double acting actuator 7. However, it is much preferred to have the facility to provide forward and rearward motion of the pad 4 to simulate a real scrummage. Similarly, whilst not essential, the facility for pneumatically generated up and down motion of the pad is highly desirable.

Although the gas used will normally be air, nitrogen or another gas could also be used.

Claims

1. A scrummage training machine which includes a body and a pad having a front pushing surface, the pad being movable relative to the body, and spring means acting between the pad and the body such as to oppose a thrust applied to the pushing surface of the pad by a player, in which fluid-powered actuator means is further arranged to act between the pad and the body in parallel with the spring means.

2. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 1, in which the actuator means is arranged to vent fluid therefrom via restrictor means so as to act as a damper to movement of said pad.

3. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 2, in which said restrictor means includes an adjustable restriction.

4. A scrummage training machine according to any preceding claim, including a source of pressure gas for operating the actuator means.

5. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 4, in which the actuator means is arranged to be vented to atmosphere when not supplied with pressure gas from the said source.

6. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 5, including valve means which is biassed to vent the actuator means to atmosphere.

7. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 6, in which said valve means is pilot operated by gas pressure from the said source to connect the respective actuator means to a control valve arrangement.

8. A scrummage training machine according to any of Claims 4 to 7, including a control valve arrangement which can be operated to alternately connect one side of the actuator means to the gas source and vent the opposite side of the actuator means to atmosphere.

9. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 8, in which said control valve arrangement is manually operated.

10. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 9, in which said control valve arrangement is operated by a joystick control.

11. A scrummage training machine which includes a body and a pad having a front pushing surface, the pad being movable relative to the body, and the machine including fluid-powered actuator means arranged (i) to oppose a thrust applied to the pushing surface of the pad by a player, and (ii) to move the pad generally in the same direction as said thrust.

12. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 11, in which said actuator means comprises a piston movable in a cylinder, and in which said actuator means is arranged to be double-acting by fluid pressure acting on opposite sides of said piston.

13. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 11 or 12, including spring means in parallel with said actuator means and in which said actuator means is gas-powered.

14. A scrummage training machine which includes a body and a pad having a front pushing surface, the pad being movable relative to the body and the machine including reaction means for opposing a thrust applied to the pushing surface of the pad by a player, and fluid-powered actuator means for moving the pad relative to the body in an up-and-down direction generally in the plane of the pad.

15. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 14, in which the actuator means is arranged to vent fluid therefrom via restrictor means so as to act as a damper to movement of said pad.

16. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 15, in which said restrictor means includes an adjustable restriction.

17. A scrummage training machine according to any of Claims 14 to 16, including a source of pressure gas for operating the actuator means.

18. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 17, in which the actuator means is arranged to be vented to atmosphere when not supplied with pressure gas from the said source.

19. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 18, including valve means which is biassed to vent the actuator means to atmosphere.

20. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 19, in which said valve means is pilot operated by gas pressure from the said source to connect the respective actuator means to a control valve arrangement.

21. A scrummage training machine according to any of Claims 17 to 20, including a control valve arrangement which can be operated to alternately connect one side of the actuator means to the gas source and vent the opposite side of the actuator means to atmosphere.

22. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 21, in which said control valve arrangement is manually operated.

23. A scrummage training machine according to Claim 22, in which said control valve arrangement is operated by a joystick control.

24. A scrummage training machine in accordance with Claim 10 and Claim 23, in which said two control valve arrangements are operated by a common joystick control.

25. A scrummage training machine substantially as described with reference to the drawings.