JPH0425157Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention relates to a strike zone discriminator used in baseball, softball, etc., and more specifically to a strike zone discriminator used when pitchers or batters practice. .

(B) Prior art Generally, in baseball, etc., to determine whether or not it is a strike, an extension line is assumed from the home plate and a predetermined part of the batter's body, a strike zone is assumed in space based on this, and the strike zone is determined by the ball. This is done by judges and others who determine whether the mark has passed or not.

(c) Problems that the invention attempts to solve By the way, the above-mentioned strike judgment is based on 150 km/
This method requires an extremely high level of skill to determine the moment when a high-speed ball, reaching speeds of up to 100 m, passes through a strike zone assumed in space.

Furthermore, when a pitcher practices in the bullpen, etc., he cannot always rely on the highly skilled umpire mentioned above, and the catcher or pitcher makes his own decisions, but it is extremely difficult for pitchers to make decisions on the edge of the corner that they want based on their personality. This is difficult, and accurate judgment is often not made. Furthermore, when the strike zone changes due to rule revisions, pitchers and batters also need to practice to remember the new strike zone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a strike discriminator that solves the above-mentioned problems by clearly indicating the strike zone using a suspended dividing member that matches the strike zone.

(d) Means for solving the problem The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances. For example, as shown in Fig. A stand 3 comprising a member 1 and a pole 2 erected at a predetermined distance from the strike zone.
and a tension member 4 made of an elastic body such as a rubber cord that connects these poles 2 and the ridge portion of the partition member 1, and the partition member is made of a strong elastic body or a string-like member that does not stretch or contract, In addition, the tension member is made of a weak elastic body, and the form of vibration when the partition member and the tension member come into contact with the ball is greatly different, and furthermore, when the string-like member forming the partition member contacts the ball, It is made of a material that generates a scraping sound, and is characterized in that the partition member 1 is elastically suspended in a suspended state in alignment with the strike zone.

(E) Effect Based on the above configuration, when the ball passes outside the partition member 1 and it is difficult to determine whether it is a strike or not,
When the ball comes into contact with the dividing member 1, the dividing member 1 emits vibration or sound to determine that it is a strike. On the other hand, when the ball does not contact the partitioning member 1, the partitioning member 1 remains stationary and can be identified as a ball. Note that if the ball passes inside the partition member 1, it is clearly determined to be a strike by visual inspection.

(F) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the strike discriminator 6 has a pole 2 erected at the four ends of a stand 3, and a collar 5 is fitted to the pole 2 so as to be able to move up and down. . Further, each collar 5 has a bolt 7 screwed therein for fixing the collar 5 at an arbitrary position, and a hook 8 is fixedly provided.
On the other hand, a string-shaped partition member 1 formed by connecting the sides of a rectangular parallelepiped is provided in accordance with the strike zone, and the string member 1a extending in the horizontal direction of the partition member 1 does not stretch and is relatively soft. The string member 1b extending in the vertical direction is made of a rubber string having relatively strong elasticity. Also,
The string members 1a and 1b constituting the partition member 1 are made of a material that generates a scraping sound when a ball touches them.
Further, on each of the four upper and lower ridges of the partitioning member 1, there are tension members 4 made of rubber strings with relatively weak elastic force.
The other ends of these tension members 4 are hooked onto hooks 8 provided on the collar 5.

Since the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, the present strike discriminator 6 has a stand 3 placed on the butter box part of the ground, and a hook 8 of the collar 5 fixed to the pole 2 of the stand 3.
Then, it is assembled by hooking the tension member 4 connected to the partition member 1. Note that the vertical height and width of the strike zone vary depending on the height of the batter, but the vertical string member 1b of the partitioning member 1
Since the collar is made of a rubber string, a desired strike zone can be set by loosening the bolt 7 and adjusting the collar 5 up or down. At this time, the horizontal size defined by the home base H always has the same area because the horizontal string member 1a of the partition member 1 does not expand or contract.

The partitioning member 1 suspended in the air defines a strike zone, and the pitcher throws the ball to the catcher on the other side of the strike zone. As shown in FIG.
a, b or these string members 1a, 1b
If the ball partially touches (c, d, e), it is determined to be a strike, and if it passes outside without touching the partitioning member 1 (f, g), it is determined to be a ball. At this time, if the ball passes through the partition member 1, it can be easily determined as a strike by visual inspection, and if the ball touches the partition members 1a and 1b, the string member 1
A and 1b vibrate and can easily be determined as a strike. Furthermore, even if the ball partially touches the string members 1a and 1b (c, d), the tension member 4 is made of a rubber string with weak elasticity, and the partition member 1 is also made of a flexible, soft and light member. Therefore, the horizontal string member 1a of the partition member 1 escapes in the vertical direction, and the vertical string member 1b escapes in the left and right directions, so that the ball does not deviate greatly from the flight direction, and the catcher can easily catch the ball. For example, even if the ball hits the non-stretchable horizontal string member 1a head-on as shown in e, the string member 1a, which is stretched with a weak rubber string 4 and made of a soft material, escapes upward or downward. ,
Even if the ball is slightly deflected, the string member 1a will not be cut.

In particular, when the ball 10 passes through a corner of the strike zone, it is most delicate to determine whether it is a strike or not.
As shown in , string members 1a, 1
If the string member 1a, 1b touches and passes, it can be easily determined that it is a strike due to the vibration of the string members 1a, 1b. Also,
As shown by i, the outside of the partition member 1 is connected to the string member 1a,
Similarly, if the string member touches 1b and passes, it can be easily determined that it is a strike due to the vibration of the string member. Then, as shown by j, when passing outside without touching the partition member 1 and touching the tension member 4, the tension member 4 vibrates and the vibration is propagated, causing the partition string member 1 to also vibrate. However, since the tension member 4 is made of a weak rubber string, and the partition member 1 is either not stretchable or made of a strong elastic body and extends in three directions, the vibration of the ball hitting the partition member 1 directly The form of vibration is largely different from the vibration propagated from the suspension member 4, and a ball j that hits only the suspension member 4 can be easily determined to be a ball.

Furthermore, especially for advanced players, aim at the corners and the very edge of the area, and the strike judgment in this case is 1.
Although it is difficult to understand, the string member 1 constituting the partition member 1
A and 1b generate a scraping sound when the ball touches the ball even slightly, and even if the vibration is so subtle that the string member does not vibrate, it is possible to immediately determine whether or not it is a strike.

In addition, both the horizontal string member 1a and the vertical string member 1b of the partitioning member 1 may be made of elastic members such as rubber strings, or both may be made of soft members that do not stretch or contract.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the stand 3 is constructed integrally to ensure stability, but it may be constructed as separate left and right members for compactness when stored.

Furthermore, a sounding device such as a bell may be installed at a corner of the partition member 1 to make it clear whether a strike is being made or not.

(g) Effects of the invention As explained above, according to the invention, it is possible to easily and reliably determine whether it is a strike or a ball without using a highly skilled umpire, and it is possible to accurately and efficiently perform pitcher control exercises. In addition, it is possible to accurately and efficiently practice the batter's pitch selection skills.

In addition, since strikes are determined using the string-like dividing member 1 formed by connecting the sides of a rectangular parallelepiped that divides the strike zone, it is not affected by right-handed pitching, left-handed pitching, or the type of curve ball such as curve or shoot. ,
It is possible to always accurately determine whether it is a strike or not.

In particular, in the case of advanced players, most of the ball touches or comes close to the string-like members 1a and 1b because they aim for corners, but if the ball contacts only the tension member 4 made of a weak elastic body, When it comes into contact with the partitioning member 1 made of a string-like member, i, h, c, e,
The vibration form of the dividing member 1 is greatly different, and it is possible to very easily make an accurate strike judgment based on the dividing member 1 without being confused by the tension member 4.

In addition, it is preferable for pitchers to pitch just near the periphery of the strike zone, including the corners.
In this case, it is extremely difficult to determine a strike, but in the case of the present invention, since the string-like members 1a and 1b generate a scraping sound when they slightly touch the ball, it is not possible to immediately and accurately determine whether or not it is a strike. , not only pitchers, but also umpires, catchers, and even batters, can be trained accurately and efficiently.

Furthermore, since the partitioning member 1 is elastically suspended by the tension member 4 made of a weak elastic body, even if a ball hits the string-like members 1a and 1b that make up the partitioning member 1, the string-like members will immediately escape. The catcher is able to catch the ball without significantly deflecting the ball.

Furthermore, if the horizontal string member 1a of the partitioning member 1 is made of a non-stretchable member and the vertical string member 1b is made of a member having elastic force, the strike area in the horizontal direction due to the home base H will not change.
The vertical strike width and height can be easily adjusted according to the batter's height.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the strike discriminator according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is its front view, Fig. 3 is its side view, Fig. 4 is its top view, and Fig. 5 shows its relationship with the ball. FIG. 1... Division member, 1a, 1b... String member (horizontal string member, vertical string member), 2... Pole, 3...
Stand, 4... tension member, 5... collar, 6...
...Strike discriminator, 7...Bolt, 8...Hook.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A cord-like partitioning member formed by connecting the sides of a rectangular parallelepiped that partitions a strike zone, a stand equipped with a pole that stands at a predetermined distance from the strike zone, and these poles and a tensioning member made of an elastic body such as a rubber cord that connects the ridge portions of the partitioning member, and the partitioning member is made of a strong elastic material or a string-like member that does not stretch, and the tensioning member is weak. A material that is made of an elastic body, has a greatly different form of vibration when it hits the ball between the partitioning member and the tensioning member, and also generates a scraping sound when the string-like member that makes up the partitioning member comes into contact with the ball. A strike discriminator, characterized in that the dividing member is elastically suspended in a suspended state in alignment with the strike zone.