Screen baseball system including screen shutter

• US 10,350,476 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2017
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Realyagu Zone Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Realyagu Zone Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Seung Jin, Kwon, Han Jo, Kim, Hyoung Gon
• Primary Examiner(s): Aryanpour, Mitra
• Application Number:
  US15/695,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20180065020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 473421, 473422, 473451, 124 411, 124 7, 124 78, 124 32, 124 34
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0034 during flight
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2069/0008 for batting
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2069/401 substantially vertically, e.g. for baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2069/402 giving spin
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/10 Positions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/801 Contact switches
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/00 Electric or electronic controls for exercising apparatus of preceding groups; Controlling or monitoring of exercises, sportive games, training or athletic performances
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0002 for baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/40 Stationarily-arranged devices for projecting balls or other bodies golf cups with ball ejector means A63B57/405; traps for clay-pigeon targets F41J9/18
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/406 with rotating discs, wheels or pulleys gripping and propelling the balls or bodies by friction
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0054 Features for injury prevention on an apparatus, e.g. shock absorbers mats or the like for absorbing shocks for jumping A63B6/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/022 Backstops, cages, enclosures or the like, e.g. for spectator protection, for arresting balls
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/06 Indicating or scoring devices for games or players , or for other sports activities
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0622 Visual, audio or audio-visual systems for entertaining, instructing or motivating the user

Abstract

The present invention provides a screen baseball system including a pitching machine that shoots a baseball, a screen, having a screen hole through which the baseball passes, and a screen shutter including a safety screen configured to close the screen hole. The present invention can fundamentally prevent a safety incident from occurring during a screen baseball game.

Claims

1. A screen baseball system comprising:

an image unit;

a pitching machine that shoots a baseball;

a screen that plays an image projected from the image unit and has a screen hole through which a baseball shot from the pitching machine passes;

a shooting signal device that applies a baseball shooting signal to the pitching machine through a control unit; and

a screen shutter that is provided between the pitching machine and the screen, comprises a safety screen that closes the screen hole, and is operated in conjunction with the baseball shooting signal applied from the shooting signal device;

wherein the image unit projects a first warning image onto the screen when the control unit fails to detect shooting of the baseball after applying the baseball shooting signal to the pitching machine, and projects a second warning image different from the first warning image onto the screen when the control unit detects that the screen shutter is in the opened state; and

wherein the screen shutter comprises;

a frame;

rotary shafts on which the safety screen is wound and which are located inside the frame;

a timing belt to which the safety screen is fixed;

pulleys that are coaxially coupled to an end of the rotary shafts and on which the timing belt is wound;

a holding part that fixes the frame; and

one or more driving parts that drive one or more of the pulleys,

wherein one or more of the driving parts are operated, thereby rotating one or more of the pulleys, so that the safety screen closes the screen hole.

2. The screen baseball system according to claim 1, wherein the screen shutter is operated in any one of a closed state and an opened state and the safety screen closes the screen hole in the closed state, wherein the screen shutter is operated in any one of the closed state and the opened state by the control unit.

3. The screen baseball system according to claim 2, wherein when the shooting signal device applies a baseball shooting signal to the control unit, the control unit operates the screen shutter in the opened state and operates the pitching machine such that the pitching machine shoots a baseball.

4. The screen baseball system according to claim 3, wherein the screen shutter is automatically operated in the closed state when a predetermined period of time elapses after the screen shutter starts to be operated in the opened state.

5. The screen baseball system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit detects whether the baseball is shot from the pitching machine, and when the control unit fails to detect shooting of the baseball after applying the baseball shooting signal to the pitching machine, the control unit operates the screen shutter in the closed state.

6. The screen baseball system according to claim 1, wherein when one or more of the pulleys are rotated by a predetermined angle, the driving parts rotate one or more of the pulleys in a reverse direction by the predetermined angle.

7. The screen baseball system according to claim 6, wherein the driving parts rotate one or more of the pulleys in the reverse direction by the predetermined angle, so that the screen shutter is automatically operated in the closed state when a predetermined period of time elapses after the screen shutter starts to be operated in the opened state.