JPS6118917Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a pitching practice machine that automatically determines whether a pitched ball is a strike or a ball, and notifies the pitcher of the determination result, and in particular the details of the strike. This system is designed to further categorize and notify pitchers, thereby contributing to the evaluation of pitcher's skill and improvement of pitching motivation.

Pitching practice machines that determine whether a pitched ball is a strike or a ball and notify the pitcher have been known for some time, but since they can only determine whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, they are not used as play equipment. If the ball is used, it is monotonous and cannot provide sufficient enjoyment to the user, and if it is used for the purpose of improving skills, there is a distinction between a soft ball that can cause you to get hit, and a difficult ball that you have to give up. This did not contribute much to skill improvement.

The present invention has been devised to eliminate such drawbacks, and one embodiment thereof will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the outline of the present invention, in which 1 is a pitcher and 2 is a ball. Reference numeral 3 denotes a plate-shaped target to which the ball 2 is thrown, and is set at a predetermined distance from the pitcher 1, for example, 18.44 meters, and is slightly inclined. 4 is a protective net provided behind the target 3, and 5 is a stand that supports the target 3 and the net 4. A cable 6 connects the pitching practice machine body 7 and the target 3.

The target 3 has a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 2, and is divided into a ball area 31, a send-off area 32, and a hitting area 33 from the periphery toward the center. The send-off area 32 and the hitting area 33 are the areas where the pitched ball hits when it passes through the strike zone, and when the ball hits the send-off area 32, the batter is usually unable to hit the ball or is allowed to hit it. This corresponds to the case where the ball passes through a course that does not result in a ball hitting the batter, and the pitcher, especially the pitcher, must throw to beat the batter. Therefore, the pitcher 1 must control the ball 2 so that it always hits this area 32. The hitting area 33 is an area where the pitcher should not throw too much when the ball 2 passes through a course that the batter can normally hit easily. However, since this area 33 is within the strike zone, it is absolutely necessary for practicing throwing Suilike.

In each area of the target 3, rubber switches that are turned on when the ball 2 hits are distributed at a predetermined density, and any rubber switch is turned on no matter where in the target 3 it hits. The structure of the rubber switch RS is shown in FIG. 3. In the figure, reference numeral 3a denotes a durable substrate that will not be easily damaged even if the ball 2 hits it, and serves as the substrate for the target 3. Reference numerals 3b and 3f form fixed contacts with conductor portions mounted on the substrate 3a. 3d is a conductive rubber sheet laminated with an insulating sheet 3c interposed therebetween. 3e is a durable surface protection sheet laminated on this sheet 3d. Now, when the ball 2 hits this rubber switch RS, a force in the direction of the arrow is applied to the protective sheet 3e and the conductive rubber sheet 3d.
is recessed, and the conductive rubber sheet 3d short-circuits between the conductor parts 3c and 3f via the hole in the insulating sheet 3c. When the ball 2 falls, the sheets 3d and 3e elastically return to their original states and the rubber switch RS is turned off. Rubber switch RS in the same area
are connected in parallel to each other as shown in FIG. 4, so no matter where the ball 2 hits within the same area, the same output is output from the same output terminal. Also, three areas 3
The rubber switches RS in 1, 32, and 33 are connected in parallel for each region, and are divided and output for each region as shown in the equivalent circuit of FIG. Note that 31a,
Numerous rubber switches 32a and 33a in each region 31, 32, and 33 are represented as one.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the main parts of the training machine main body 7, where 8 is a control section and 9 is a display device for notifying pitching results. The control section 8 is comprised of a general control circuit 10 equipped with input terminals Ia ₁ to Ia ₃ that receive outputs from each region 31, 32, and 33 of the target 3, an oscillator 11 that generates a count pulse P, etc., which will be described in detail later. do. In the display device 9, 12 is a strike S, a ball B
and a count display section that displays the out count 0 by the number of horizontal display elements n, . . . lit up;
1, m2, m3, and the presence or absence of a runner is displayed on the diamond display section. Reference numeral 14 denotes a hitting display section which displays the hitting result of the virtual batter when the pitched ball 2 hits the hitting area 33, and displays each base hit, a hit ball, a missed hit, and a hit hit by lighting the front element 1. Reference numeral 15 is a segment type score display section that displays the score in the current inning. Each display section in the display device 9 is controlled by outputs from output terminals Oao to Oai of the general control circuit 10.

Next, the operation of the training aircraft will be explained. When the ball 2 thrown by the pitcher 1 hits any area of the target 3, an output is generated from the corresponding switches 31a to 33a and introduced into the control circuit 10. This circuit 10
is provided with a strike counter SC corresponding to input terminals Ia ₁ and Ia ₂ , and a ball counter BC corresponding to input terminal Ia ₃ , so if the pitch is a strike, the counter SC counts up, and if it is a ball, the counter SC counts up. Counter BC counts up. However, in the present invention, when ball 2 hits the hitting area 33, it is assumed that the batter in the batter box at home plate (referred to as a virtual batter) hits this ball 2, and the result of the hit is determined with a certain probability. Allocate home runs, hits, average hits, etc., calculate out counts, scores, etc. based on that, and
Since pitcher 1 is made to feel as if he is actually playing baseball, the strike counter SC does not simply count up because ball 2 hits the strike zone. Not that I will. That is, the input when the ball 2 hits the hitting area 33 is input to the input terminal Ia ₁
4 bits that are always counted
Based on the contents of the hexadecimal counter 16 at that time, the hitting results are distributed as shown in FIG. The counter 16 constantly counts the count pulses P from the oscillator 11 inputted through the input terminal Ibo, 0→1→2...15, 0→1→2
…Count repeatedly like 15. The frequency of this count pulse P is sufficiently fast (several Hz or more) compared to pitcher 1's pitch interval, so even if pitcher 1 continuously pitches into the hitting area,
The probability of the count content of the counter 16 at that time should be proportional to the distribution shown in FIG. 7, and there will be no deviation from this distribution. Therefore, the hitting result when pitching into the hitting area 33 is entirely a matter of "luck," and it will likely cause pitcher 1 to overheat.

Next, the relationship between the counter 16 and the input to Ia ₁ is shown in FIG. In the same figure, M is the input terminal Ia ₁
This is a 4-bit memory that stores the current contents of the counter 16 when an input is received. F is a flip-flop that is set by the input to Ia ₁ and reset after 10 seconds;
At the rising edge of the output, the contents of the counter 16 are stored in the memory M.
and outputs the contents of memory M to decoder DC while there is an output. The above decoder DC is memory M
Based on the content of the hitting results, the hitting results are output in correspondence as shown in FIG. 7, and the display elements 1, .

In Fig. 8, BC is a 2-bit ball counter connected to the input terminal Ia ₃ that receives the output from the ball area 31, and counts up every time there is an input to Ia ₃ , and outputs when the count reaches "4". It is reset when BCO is generated. SC is an input terminal Ia ₂ that receives the output from the send-off area 32
This is a 2-bit strike counter connected to the 2-bit strike counter. This counter SC uses an AND gate AG and an OR gate OG so that it will count up even if the ball 2 hits the hitting area 33 and the result is a "miss" or a "foul" when the strike counter SC is not "2". associated with the decoder DC via. This strike counter SC is reset when the count reaches "3" and the 2-bit out counter CO
count up. In other words, three strikes increase the out count when a batter goes out. This count counter OC is counted even when there is a hit, and it is reset when there is a 3-out, and at the same time, the output OCO is used to
Reset the ball counter BC and strike counter SC. Note that the strike counter SC and ball counter BC are reset by any output, such as a hit, a single, a triple, or a home run. The contents of the three counters SC, BC, and OC are expressed as the number of lit display elements n of the count display section 12.

The ball counter BC is reset when the count reaches "4", and its output BCO shifts the contents of the shift register SR for the diamond display part to the left by 1 bit, and also shifts the contents of the shift register SR for the diamond display section to the left by 1 bit, and also shifts the contents of the shift register SR for the diamond display part to the left by 1 bit.
Store “1” in SR1. This shift register SR consists of 3 bits, the lowest bit SR1 goes to 1st base, the 2nd bit SR goes to 2nd base, and the 3rd bit SR goes to 2nd base.
3 corresponds to third base, and when the bit content is "1", the corresponding base on the diamond display section 13 is lit. The above-mentioned left shift pulse SRP is generated for four balls, one for a single hit, two for a double, three for a triple, and four for a home run. Note that the input to SR1 is only "1" in any case. Therefore, in the case of a double hit, "1" is stored in the second bit SR2 of the shift register SR. Cu is a score counter that stores scores.
Count up the contents pushed out from SR3 of the shift register SR. For example, first when a double is hit, SR2 = 1, but when a triple is subsequently hit, this "1" is pushed out from SR3, The counter cu becomes "0001", that is, "1". Since the contents of this counter cu are displayed on the score display section 15, the score at this time is "1". The contents of this shift register SR are cleared by three-out, that is, by output OCO. The contents of the score counter cu are cleared by pressing the clear switch 17 shown in FIG. This clear switch 17 is connected to the control section 8 and the display device 9.
It serves to initialize all the contents of .

Since the device of the present invention is constructed as described above, it not only determines strikes and balls for each pitch, but also determines hits, hits, etc., and displays the pitch results according to baseball rules. Can be done. Therefore, from a pitcher's point of view, it allows them to know how much control they have, and allows them to pitch as if they were actually playing baseball.
You can get excited about pitching and improve your pitching technique. Also, if you were to stand next to target 3 with a bat and look at ball 2 thrown by pitcher 1, you would be able to discern which course would be easier to hit and which course would be harder to hit. You can also wear it. Therefore, this pitching practice machine is also useful for improving batting techniques.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the target 3 and the main body 7 are connected by a cable 6, but the length is 10 meters or more, so it is heavy and inconvenient to carry and difficult to store. Therefore, the signal is transmitted from the target 3 to the main body 7 wirelessly. FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which a transmitter 18 is provided on the target side and a receiver 7a is provided on the main body 7 side. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the main parts of the transmitter 18 side, and is 31
A to 33a are the rubber switches described above. 18
d is a remote control IC that scans switches 31a to 33a from 8f and switches 8g and 8.
The switch input signals are received by the switches h and 8i, and two types of codes corresponding to each switch are synchronized with the basic clock of the switch 8e and output from the switch 8j in PCM. This is a transistor 8c, a resonant coil 8b, and an ultrasonic speaker 8a.
is input into the receiver 7a as an ultrasonic signal. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the receiver 7a and the main body 7. A portion 7a is a receiver, and 73 is an ultrasonic microphone which receives the signal from the aforementioned 8a. 74 is an amplifier 75 which is a waveform shaping and filter circuit, and 76 is a restorer whose main function is to convert a serial signal into a parallel signal. That is, three types of codes corresponding to the switches 31a to 33a are sent by PCM, returned at 76, and sent to the general control circuit 1.
It is input to 0. Note that these circuits 7a and 18 are almost the same as a remote control circuit for a television or the like. The general control circuit 10 makes the three types of codes correspond to the original switches, and then performs various controls according to the baseball rules in the manner described above. If you do this,
Since the cable 6 is no longer required, it is very convenient to carry.

As mentioned above, the pitching practice machine of the present invention not only classifies pitches thrown into strikes and balls, but also classifies strikes into the hitting zone and send-off zone and notifies them, thereby improving the pitcher's skill. It can contribute to increasing the desire to pitch. Furthermore, when the ball enters the hitting zone, the result of the hit is reported so that the pitcher or the virtual batter can enjoy the feeling of being in an actual baseball game, which is further useful for increasing pitching motivation and improving skills. Moreover, according to the present invention, the target is simply divided into three zones, and when the target enters the hitting zone, it is automatically divided into single hits, long hits, etc. with a certain probability, and is displayed. There is no need to provide a complicated sensor that detects the speed of the ball and the course the ball has taken in small sections, making the device extremely simple.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the proposed pitching practice machine, Figure 2:
Figure: Plan view of the target, Figure 3: Cross-sectional view of the main parts of Figure 2, Figure 4: Circuit diagram of the main parts of the switch in Figure 2, Figure 5: Equivalent circuit diagram of the switch in Figure 2, Figure 6:
A block diagram of the main parts of the main body of the training aircraft, Fig. 7: An explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of Fig. 6, Fig. 8: A block diagram of the main parts in the general control circuit of Fig. 6, Fig. 9: Other embodiments. FIG. 10: A block circuit diagram of the main parts of the transmitter. FIG. 11: A block diagram of the main parts of the receiver. Code, 1...Pitcher, 2...Ball, 3...Target,
7... Training machine body, 9... Display device, 31... Ball area, 32... Seeing off area, 33... Hitting area.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] In a pitching practice machine that divides the target to which a ball is thrown into a strike area and a ball area on the outer periphery, and is provided with means for determining and notifying which of the above areas the thrown ball has hit. , divides the strike area into a hitting area and a send-off area around the hitting area, and determines a certain probability that one of multiple types of situations will occur according to baseball rules if the ball hits the hitting area or if the batter hits. A pitching practice machine characterized by being provided with base hit notification means for responding to base hit notification means, and display means for displaying at least base advance status of batters and runners in response to the output of the base hit notification means.