KR100269085B1 - Billiard ball cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a billiard ball cleaning device used to wash or polish a billiard ball to polish. The apparatus of the present invention has a housing, a cylindrical washing tub extending upwardly from the housing and having an access opening at an upper end thereof, and a washing cloth disposed under the washing tub to support a plurality of billiard balls and contacting the billiard balls. A rotating disc, an impeller separating the billiard balls from each other, and a rotating disc driving the rotating disc so that the billiard ball is planetary in the washing machine, and the impeller is pushed by the billiard ball. It consists of a drive means for rotating. In addition, the housing and the washing tub is provided with a washing liquid supply device having a cartridge-type washing liquid reservoir, a relatively soft lining having a plurality of protrusions projecting inward in the radial direction on the inner circumferential surface of the washing tub detachably attached. It is. The lining has a plurality of ridges formed at substantially equal intervals along the inner circumferential surface, which serves to reduce the kinetic energy of the billiard ball and to change the direction of movement thereof.

Description

Billiard ball cleaning device

The present invention relates to a device for washing a game ball, such as a billiard ball, and more particularly, to a billiard ball cleaning device designed to wash and polish its surface while rotating a plurality of billiard balls in various directions.

In general, the billiard ball should be cleaned frequently to remove dirt, spots, finger marks, etc. from the surface during use. This is because if the game is played using a dirty billiard ball, the direction of the billiard ball is not constant and the moving distance is shortened, thereby reducing the enjoyment of the game.

Surface cleaning of billiard balls is often performed by hand. That is, after applying the cleaning agent to each one of the billiard balls after use, and rubbed strongly with a cotton fabric or the like to wash and at the same time give a gloss. By the way, since most billiards rooms provide dozens or hundreds of billiard balls for games at a time, the number of billiard balls to be washed is proportionately increased. To wipe a large number of billiard balls by hand like this, it takes not only a long time but also requires a very difficult and cumbersome washing operation. In addition, when a large number of customers play billiards at a time, there is not enough time for wiping the contaminated billiard balls, and there is a problem in that an extra billiard ball is prepared in advance or an employee who polishes the billiard balls must be hired separately.

In view of this problem, in British Patent Publication No. 2189156A, a drive motor is housed in an upper portion of a housing, which drive motor is connected to a washing belt through a transmission, and the washing belt is in frictional contact with a plurality of balls contained in a container. It is proposed a ball washing device disposed in the lower portion of the housing. The container is installed in the housing at the bottom of the washing belt, and consists of a tray having a compartment for accommodating the balls. In addition, the housing has an externally accessible detergent reservoir, which is attached to the detergent reservoir and configured to supply the detergent to the surface of the ball via the wash belt.

The ball cleaning device of the British Patent Publication has an advantage over the manual washing method in that a plurality of balls can be automatically cleaned, but the ball is rotated about one axis only by the washing belt during the washing process. As a result, much of the surface of the ball remains barely polished. In addition, since only a specific portion of the ball is continuously brought into frictional contact with the cleaning belt, there is a fear that the ball may be unevenly rolled. Moreover, when the tension of the cleaning belt is not sufficient, it is difficult for the cleaning belt to reliably frictionally contact the ball placed on the tray, and as a result, some of the balls may not be cleaned at all. In addition, the ball washing apparatus of the British patent is not only able to effectively remove the cleaning agent remaining on the ball after washing, but also is unsuitable for polishing the surface of the ball.

The present inventors have developed a rotor blade type ball washing device that can solve the drawbacks of the conventional ball washing device cited above, and obtained US Patent No. 5,546,629 on August 20, 1996. The patented ball washing device comprises a generally cylindrical housing having an access opening at the top and a closed bottom, a spindle rotatably installed at the bottom of the housing and extending vertically along the center axis of the housing; A turntable fitted to the spindle and adapted to rotate therewith, the turntable having a support surface for supporting a plurality of game balls, and coupled to the spindle so as to be able to rotate relative to the turntable, each game A plurality of recesses for accommodating the ball in a separated state are rotated along the circumference, and the spindle and the turntable are driven to rotate together so that the game ball rotates irregularly and simultaneously pushes the rotating blade. It is provided with a driving means to make a planetary movement around the. The turntable and the rotary blade are configured to move up and down between the lowered position where the game ball is washed and the raised position where the game ball is polished. A sleeve-type cleaning cloth cartridge is detachably attached to an inner surface of the housing, and a washing solution storage chamber is provided under the turntable. The wash liquid in the wash liquid reservoir is pumped by the impeller and supplied to the game ball through the channel on the side wall of the housing.

However, the ball washing apparatus of the US patent is disadvantageous in that the manufacturing cost is high because it requires a device for lifting the turntable and preventing the overspeed of the rotary blade as well as being bulky and heavy. In addition, since the cleaning solution is continuously supplied to the billiard ball during the cleaning process, waste of the cleaning solution is severe and it is difficult to protect the cleaning solution from contamination.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art as described above, the object of which is a small, light, low production price, as well as a billiard ball cleaning device that can be polished by automatically cleaning a plurality of billiard balls To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a billiard ball cleaning device that can cause irregular rotational movements in the billiard balls, and can make the billiard balls oily movement at a limited speed.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a billiard ball cleaning device which can perform washing by applying a controlled amount of the washing solution to the billiard ball, and block the billiard ball from the wash solution to perform polishing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for washing and polishing a billiard ball, comprising: a housing, a washing tub extending upwardly from the housing and having an access opening at an upper end thereof; A rotating disc having a cleaning cloth for supporting and contacting the billiard ball, an impeller disposed on an upper side of the rotating disc and separating the billiard balls from each other; It can be achieved by a billiard ball cleaning device comprising a lining having two ridges, and a drive means for rotating the rotating disk.

In addition, the billiard ball cleaning device of the present invention further includes a cleaning solution supply means, the cleaning solution supply means, a disposable cleaning solution storage cartridge disposed in the interior of the housing, and attached to the inner circumferential surface of the cleaning tub directly to the billiard ball A washing liquid applying pad in contact with the washing liquid applying pad, a washing liquid supplying and discharging washing liquid to the washing liquid applying pad, a fluid pump for pumping the washing liquid in the washing liquid storage cartridge into the washing liquid supplying discharge, and stirring means for stirring the washing liquid in the washing liquid storage cartridge. It consists of.

1 is a plan sectional view of a billiard ball cleaning device according to the present invention, showing a state of washing six billiard balls at once.

Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the billiard ball cleaning device according to the present invention.

3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing one of a plurality of raised portions formed at equal intervals along the inner circumferential surface of the lining.

4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a modified example of a ridge formed of a dovetail groove opened downward and a ridge block detachably fitted to the groove.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 2 showing a disposable washing liquid storage cartridge and a fluid pump constituting part of the washing liquid supplying device.

Figure 6 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the structure of the intermediate hose detachably connected to the outlet of the cleaning liquid storage cartridge.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the X-ray of FIG. 1, which clearly shows the cleaning liquid supply and discharge for spraying the cleaning liquid with the liquid permeable coating pad attached to the inner surface of the cleaning container.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 7, showing the positional relationship between the inlet and the outlet of the washing liquid supply / exhaust.

9 is an enlarged view showing that the billiard ball is in direct contact with the pad because the elastic flap is turned clockwise during the washing process.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view similar to FIG. 9, in which an elastic flap is turned counterclockwise while the billiard ball is blocked from the pad during the polishing process.

♣ Explanation of symbols for main part of drawing ♣

10 housing 12 wash tub

18: cover 20: lining

22: washing liquid application pad 24: billiard ball

26: electric motor 30: rotating disk

34: cleaning cloth 38: impeller

42: wash liquid storage cartridge 44: fluid pump

46: supply hose 48: cleaning liquid supply and exhaust

50: return hose 82: metal beads

84: permanent magnet 90: relief valve

92; Diaphragm 96: Solenoid

98: main return spring 104: elastic flap

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

1 and 2, it can be seen that the billiard ball cleaning device of the present invention includes a housing 10 and a substantially cylindrical washing tub 12 extending upward from the housing 10. The housing 10 has a front inclined surface 10a in which a series of push buttons 14 are arranged, and a control board 16 is installed inside the inclined surface 10a to control the operation of the washing apparatus. The washing tub 12 has an access opening 12a at its upper end, which is closed by a cover 18.

In addition, a lining 20 made of a relatively soft material, such as rubber, is detachably installed on the inner circumferential surface of the washing tub 12. The lining 20 has a plurality of elastic protrusions 20a extending radially inward, and these elastic protrusions 20a absorb noise due to the intense movement of the billiard ball during the washing and polishing process described later. Serves to reduce the In addition, the lining 20 has a cutout portion 20b, and the liquid permeable washing liquid application pad 22 is disposed on the cutout portion 20b to apply the washing liquid to the billiard ball 24 during the washing process.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality of ridges 20c are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the lining 20 at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction. Since these ridges 20c protrude radially inward from the inner circumferential surface of the lining 20, the billiard balls 24 collide with them during the washing and polishing process to lose some of the kinetic energy, and also the direction of movement. Will change dramatically. Although FIG. 1 shows six ridges 20c of the lining 20, the number may be increased or decreased as necessary.

4 shows a modification of the lining ridges. The ridge part 21 of this modification consists of the dovetail groove 21a opened downward, and the ridge block 21b which detachably fits in this groove 21a. When the detachable raised block 21b is used in this way, when the elastic protrusion 21c of the raised block 21b is badly worn, the life of the lining 20 can be extended by replacing it with a new one.

Inside the housing 10, an electric motor 26 capable of forward and reverse rotation is installed, and the electric motor 26 has an output shaft 28 extending vertically upward. The output disk 28 is fixed to the rotating disk 30 via the hub 32 at the same height as the bottom of the washing tub 12 to rotate at the same speed as the output shaft 28 of the electric motor 26. . The rotating disc 30 supports the billiard ball 24 and rotates, and has a washing cloth 34 detachably attached to an upper surface thereof. The cleaning cloth 34 is preferably made of a material having excellent cleaning effect, for example, cotton fabric, without damaging the billiard ball. In addition, in attaching the cleaning cloth 34 to the rotating disk 30, for example, the Velcro fastener 36 may be used to easily remove the cleaning cloth 34 from the rotating disk 30 if necessary.

On the other hand, the impeller 38 is rotatably supported by the hub 32 of the output shaft 28 via the bearing 39. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the impeller 38 has a plurality of, for example, six radial blades 40, each of which has a respective billiard placed on a rotating disc 30. By isolating the balls 24, the billiard balls 24 are prevented from colliding with each other during the washing or polishing process described later. In addition, the impeller 38 is pushed by the billiard ball 24 in accordance with the rotation of the rotary disk 30 to rotate at a much lower speed than the rotary disk 30, so that the billiard ball 24 of the washing cylinder 12 Allows meteor movement around the longitudinal axis.

2 and 5, it can be seen that the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 and the fluid pump 44 are installed up and down in parallel with the electric motor 26 in the housing 10. The fluid pump 44 serves to pump the washing liquid in the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 to the washing liquid supply and discharge pump 48 installed next to the washing tub 12 through the supply hose 46. The washing liquid supplying and dispensing 48 sprays a portion of the washing liquid to the washing liquid applying pad 22 and returns the rest to the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 through the return hose 50.

As shown in FIG. 5, the washing | cleaning liquid storage cartridge 42 is a disposable thing thrown away once, and is provided with the washing | cleaning liquid discharge port 52 and the washing | cleaning liquid introduction port 54 in the lower end and the upper end. The washing liquid outlet 52 is connected to the inlet 58 of the fluid pump 44 through the intermediate hose 56, and the washing liquid inlet 54 is connected to the return hose 50. The supply hose 46 is connected to the discharge port 60 of the fluid pump 44. 6, the washing | cleaning liquid discharge port 52 is blocked by the breakable soft diaphragm 62, and the external thread part is provided with the external thread part. The intermediate hose 56 has a blade portion 56a and a locking jaw 56b, and a nipple 64 having a female screw portion is slidably coupled to one side of the locking jaw 56b, and the other side of the locking jaw 56b. The rubber ring 66 is fitted. Therefore, when the nipple 64 is screwed into the washing liquid discharge port 60, the diaphragm 62 of the washing liquid discharge port 52 is ruptured by the blade portion 56a of the intermediate hose 56, so that the intermediate hose 56 and the washing liquid are ruptured. The storage cartridges 42 are in communication with each other. At this time, the rubber ring 66 is in close contact with the tip of the washing liquid discharge port 52 to prevent the leakage of the washing liquid. The washing liquid inlet 54 is detachably connected to the return hose 50 in the same manner. Therefore, after the washing liquid is used up, the nipple 64 can be loosened and the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 can be replaced with a new one.

The fluid pump 44 has a rotating shaft 70 rotatably supported by the pump casing 68 via a bearing 72, and the pump blade 74 is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 70, the rotating shaft ( At the bottom of 70), a driven pulley 76 is installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the driven pulley 76 is operatively connected to the drive pulley 80 of the electric motor 26 by a belt 78. Therefore, the pump blade 74 of the fluid pump 44 rotates in response to the operation of the electric motor 26 to force the washing liquid in the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 to be fed to the washing liquid supply and drainage 48 through the supply hose 46. do. On the other hand, the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 contains beads 82 made of magnetic metal, and the permanent magnet 84 is attached to the pump blade 74 of the fluid pump 44. As the pump blade 74 rotates, the metal beads 82 rotate together in the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 due to the attraction of the permanent magnets. As a result, the washing liquid is strongly stirred, and additives such as abrasives contained in the washing liquid are removed. It is possible to prevent the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 from settling to the bottom.

As shown in Figure 7 and 8, the cleaning liquid supply and discharge 48 is supplied with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid storage cartridge 42 through the supply hose 46 to spray a controlled amount of the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid application pad 22 The remaining washing liquid is returned to the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 through the return hose 50.

The washing liquid supply / discharge 48 is formed of upper and lower cases 86a and 86b and has a cylindrical casing 86 having a pressure chamber 88 therein and a hydraulic pressure in the pressure chamber 88 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. The relief valve 90 which sprays the washing | cleaning liquid in the pressure chamber 88 to the said washing | cleaning liquid application pad 22 as it increases is provided. In addition, a diaphragm 92 is provided in the casing 86, and the diaphragm 92 has an edge portion between the upper and lower cases 86a and 86b of the casing 86 when the screws are assembled. One end of the push rod 94 is fixed to the diaphragm 92. A solenoid 96 is arranged around the push rod 94, which solenoid 96 advances the push rod 94 with the diaphragm 92 upon excitation to reduce the volume of the pressure chamber 88. The cleaning liquid in the pressure chamber 88 is sprayed to the application pad 22 through the relief valve 90. On the other hand, the main return spring 98 is disposed at the other end of the push rod 94 to press the push rod 94 and the diaphragm 92 to increase the volume of the pressure chamber 88. Thus, when the solenoid 96 is demagnetized, the push rod 94 and diaphragm 92 are retracted and retracted by the main return spring 98, thereby increasing the volume of the pressure chamber 88 again.

On the other hand, the stroke adjustment rod 100 is provided on the side opposite to the push rod 94 in the pressure chamber 88. One end of the stroke adjustment rod 100 is screwed to the casing 86 to enable the length adjustment in the up and down direction, the other end of the stroke adjustment rod 100 is a predetermined distance from one end of the push rod 94. It is to prevent the advancement of the push rod 94 by maintaining the contact with the stroke adjusting rod 100 during the forward movement of the push rod 94. Therefore, by rotating the stroke adjusting rod 100 to adjust the distance from the tip of the push rod 94, the forward and backward lengths of the push rod 94, that is, the stroke, are determined, and the stroke of the push rod 94 is determined. Since the volume reduction amount of the pressure chamber 88 is changed by the change, the injection amount of the washing liquid through the relief valve 90 can be adjusted appropriately.

In addition, an auxiliary return spring 102 is provided between the stroke adjusting rod 100 and the tip of the push rod 94. The auxiliary return spring 102, like the main return spring 98, has a push rod 94 and The diaphragm 92 is urged to increase the volume of the pressure chamber 88.

The operation of the solenoid 96 is controlled by the operation of the pushbutton 14 installed in the housing 10. The pressure chamber is repeatedly moved and retracted by the push rod 94 and the diaphragm 92 by repeating the excitation and the element. The cleaning liquid in 88 is automatically dispensed to the application pad 22 through the relief valve 90.

Referring back to Figure 1, it can be seen that the elastic flap 104 is attached to one side of the cleaning liquid application pad 22. The elastic flap 104 is turned clockwise when the rotating disk 30 and the impeller 38 rotate in the forward direction as shown in FIG. 9 to expose the coating pad 22. As a result, the billiard ball 24 comes into contact with the application pad 22, and the washing liquid is applied to the surface thereof. On the other hand, when the rotating disk 30 and the impeller 38 rotate in the reverse direction as shown in Fig. 10, the elastic flap 104 is turned counterclockwise to cover the coating pad 22. Therefore, the billiard ball 24 can no longer come into contact with the application pad 22, and the application of the washing solution is stopped.

Next, the operation of the billiard ball cleaning device of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described.

First, the billiard ball 24 to be cleaned is placed on the cleaning cloth 34 of the rotating disc 30 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the start button is pressed to start the electric motor 26 to rotate in the forward direction. . Accordingly, the rotating disk 30 rotates forward at the same speed as the electric motor 26, and the billiard ball 24 rotates by frictional contact with the cleaning cloth 34 and at the same time centers the longitudinal axis of the washing cylinder 12. It is a meteor movement clockwise. According to the meteor movement of the billiard ball 24, the impeller 38 is pushed by the billiard ball 24 and rotates slowly in the clockwise direction. During the planetary motion process, the billiard ball 24 collides with the ridge 20c of the lining 20 to rapidly change the direction of movement and lose a part of the kinetic energy. Therefore, the billiard ball 24 is to be uniformly washed throughout the entire surface while planetary movement at a much lower speed than the rotary disk (30).

On the other hand, the fluid pump 44 shown in FIG. 5 is driven in accordance with the operation of the electric motor 26 to supply the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid storage cartridge 42 through the supply hose 46 to the cleaning liquid supply and exhaust shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. It is sent to (48). At this time, the permanent magnet 84 attached to the pump blades 74 by circularly moving the metal beads 82 in the washing liquid storage cartridge 42 to uniformly stir the washing liquid and to prevent precipitation of the abrasive contained in the washing liquid.

When the washing liquid is supplied to the pressure chamber 88 of the washing liquid supply and drain 48, the solenoid 96 repeats the excitation and the element a given number of times in a given time period. When the solenoid 96 is excited, the push rod 94 and diaphragm 92 move forward to reduce the volume of the pressure chamber 88 so that the wash liquid in the pressure chamber 88 passes through the application valve through the relief valve 90. Sprayed on (22). On the other hand, when the solenoid 96 is demagnetized, the push rod 94 and the diaphragm 92 are retracted by the main return spring 98 and the auxiliary return spring 102, which have been compressed, and are returned to their original positions. The cleaning liquid supply and discharge 48 repeats this operation to automatically supply the cleaning liquid to the application pad 22.

On the other hand, as the impeller 38 rotates in the forward direction as shown in FIG. 9, the elastic flap 104 is turned clockwise to expose the cleaning liquid application pad 22, and as a result, the cleaning liquid is a billiard ball 24. It is applied to the cleaning efficiency is greatly improved. This cleaning operation is continued for a preset time.

When the washing of the billiard ball 24 is finished, the electric motor 26 starts to rotate in the reverse direction. Accordingly, the rotating disk 30 rotates at the same speed as the electric motor 26, and the billiard ball 24 rotates by frictional contact with the cleaning cloth 34 and at the same time centers on the longitudinal axis of the washing cylinder 12. It will make a meteor movement in the counterclockwise direction. According to the planetary motion of the billiard ball 24, the impeller 38 is pushed by the billiard ball 24 and rotates slowly in the counterclockwise direction. During the counterclockwise planetary motion process, the billiard ball 24 collides with the ridge 20c of the lining 20 to rapidly change the direction of movement and lose a part of the kinetic energy. As a result, the billiard ball 24 has a stable planetary motion at a much lower speed than the rotary disk 30, and the entire surface of the billiard ball 24 is in friction contact with the cleaning cloth 34 evenly.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 10, as the impeller 38 rotates in the reverse direction, the elastic flap 104 is flipped counterclockwise to cover the cleaning liquid application pad 22, as a result of the cleaning liquid application pad 22 The washing solution remaining in the is not applied to the billiard ball 24. Therefore, the cleaning cloth 34 rubs the billiard ball 24 to remove the cleaning liquid and foreign matter on the surface thereof, whereby the billiard ball 24 is polished. This glossing operation continues for a preset time. During the polishing process, since the solenoid 96 of the cleaning liquid supply / exhaust 48 is kept in the element state, the cleaning liquid is not sprayed on the cleaning liquid application pad 22.

When the washing and polishing of the billiard ball 24 is finished through the above-described process, the cover 18 is opened, and the billiard ball 24 is taken out of the washing tub 12 and used again. After the billiard ball cleaning device is operated for a long time, the worn cleaning cloth 34 and the cleaning solution storage cartridge 42 are replaced with new ones.

As described in detail above, the billiard ball cleaning device of the present invention is not only small in size, light in weight, and low in manufacturing price, but also causes a stable rotational motion and a planetary motion in the billiard ball. It can provide an excellent effect that the controlled amount of the washing liquid can be applied to the billiard ball in a controlled manner.

Claims (5)

In the device for cleaning the billiard ball to polish, A rotating cylinder having a main body, a washing tub extending upwardly from the main body and having an access opening at an upper end thereof, a rotating disk disposed at a lower portion of the washing tub to support a billiard ball and in contact with the billiard ball; And a wing wheel arranged to separate the billiard balls from each other, an attachment plate installed on the inner surface of the washing tub and having a plurality of ridges disposed at intervals along the inner circumferential surface, and rotating the rotating disc to rotate the billiard ball. Billiard ball cleaning device comprising a drive for inducing and idle movement. The billiard ball cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the ridge of the additional plate is detachably installed. The billiard ball washing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a washing solution supply device for supplying a washing solution to the billiard ball. The washing liquid supplying apparatus of claim 3, wherein the washing liquid supplying device comprises: a washing liquid storage tank installed in the main body so as to be interchangeable; Billiard ball cleaning device, characterized in that consisting of a washing liquid supplying and discharging the washing liquid in the fluid pump for pumping the washing liquid in the washing liquid reservoir to the washing liquid supply and discharge. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the billiard ball is allowed to contact the applicator pad when the rotating disk and the vane wheel are rotated forward, and the billiard ball does not contact the applicating pad when the rotating disk and the vane wheel are reversed. Billiard ball cleaning device characterized in that it further comprises an elastic plate.