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EP-4735127-A1 - METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MAKING A HOLE IN A GOLF GREEN

EP4735127A1EP 4735127 A1EP4735127 A1EP 4735127A1EP-4735127-A1

Abstract

Device (30) for making a hole in a golf green (100), the device (30) having a a weight propulsion device, arranged to propel a weight (5) reciprocally along said weight path between first endpoint and said second endpoint so that the weight (5) strikes against the cutting cylinder (4) when the weight (5) is at a location along said weight path, in turn urging the cutting cylinder (4) in the longitudinal direction (L). The weight propulsion device comprises a first electric motor (7), arranged to drive a drive axle (18) to rotate about a rotary axis (18a) under influence of a rotary force provided by the first electric motor (7); a spring means (50), being arranged to be activated, in a first stage and against a spring force of the spring means (50), whereby a potential energy is stored in the spring means (50); and in a second stage to release the potential energy by relaxing the spring means (50) a force mediating device, arranged to, during the first stage, engage the drive axle (18) with the spring means (50) to mediate the rotary force to the spring means (50) in turn activating the spring means (50); and, during the second stage, disengage the drive axle (18) from the spring means (50) to allow the spring means (50) to release the potential energy independently of a rotary movement of the drive axle (18). The invention also relates to a method.

Inventors

  • FALK, Carl Gustav

Assignees

  • KSAB Utemiljö AB

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240626

Claims (16)

  1. 1. Device (30) for making a hole in a golf green (100), the device (30) having a longitudinal direction (L), a radial direction (R) and an angular direction (A), the device (30) compris- ing a cutting cylinder (4) with an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction (L) and an open end being freely movable along the longitudinal direction (L); a structure, comprising guide means (1) defining a weight path having a first endpoint and a second endpoint; a weight (5), in engagement with said guide means (1) to be guidedly movable along said weight path; and a weight propulsion device, arranged to propel the weight (5) reciprocally along said weight path between said first endpoint and said second endpoint so that the weight (5) strikes against the cutting cylinder (4) when the weight (5) is at a location along said weight path, in turn urging the cutting cylinder (4) in the longitudinal direction (L), c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the weight propulsion device comprises a first electric motor (7), arranged to drive a drive axle (18) to rotate about a rotary axis (18a) under influence of a rotary force provided by the first electric motor (7); a spring means (50), being arranged to be activated, in a first stage and against a spring force of the spring means (50), whereby a potential energy is stored in the spring means (50); and in a second stage to release the potential energy by relaxing the spring means (50) and to thereby transform the potential energy into kinetic energy of the weight (5) striking against the cutting cylinder (4); and a force mediating device, arranged to, during the first stage, engage the drive axle (18) with the spring means (50) to mediate the rotary force to the spring means (50) in turn activating the spring means (50); and, during the second stage, disengage, using an active or passive disengagement mechanism, the drive axle (18) from the spring means (50) to allow the spring means (50) to release the potential energy independently of a rotary movement of the drive axle (18).
  2. 2. Device (30) according to claim 1, the force mediating device comprising a crank (22), arranged to pivot about said rotary axis (18a); and a linear force device, connected to the crank (22) at a distance from the rotary axis (18a), wherein the crank (22) is arranged to convert said rotary force into a linear force applied to the linear force device, and s wherein the linear force device is arranged to apply a linear force to the spring means (50) during the first stage to activate the spring means (50).
  3. 3. Device (30) according to claim 2, wherein the linear force device is a pulling device (40), arranged to apply a pulling force to the spring means (50) during the first stage to w activate the spring means (50).
  4. 4. Device (30) according to claim 2 or 3, the force mediating device further comprising a drive pin (21), the drive pin (21) being eccentrically arranged in relation to the rotary axis (18a) and arranged to be forced, by the drive axle (18), to move along a circular path in a is plane perpendicular to the rotary axis (18a), the drive pin (21) further being arranged to push the crank (22), thereby forcing the crank (22) to pivot about the rotary axis (18a), wherein the first electric motor (7) is arranged to activate the spring means (50) in the first stage by moving the drive pin (21), in turn pushing the crank (22), in turn generating said linear force, and 0 wherein the spring means (50) is arranged to, during the second stage, apply a linear force to the linear force device in turn applying the linear force to the crank (22), the crank (22) as a result pivoting ahead the drive pin (21) about the drive axis (18a).
  5. 5. Device (30) according to any preceding claim, wherein the spring means (50) com-5 prises a spiral spring arranged to be compressed or elongated during the first stage, and/or a gas spring.
  6. 6. Device (30) according to claim 5, wherein the spring means (50) is arranged along the weight path, such as around the weight path. 0
  7. 7. Device (30) according to any preceding claim, wherein a total longitudinal direction (L) weight (5) amplitude is between 50 and 200 mm, such as between 70 and 120 mm, and/or wherein a total longitudinal direction (L) weight (5) amplitude is at the most 150 mm, such as at the most 100 mm.
  8. 8. Device (30) according to any preceding claim, further comprising a soil expulsion piston (9), arranged to be activated to drive out a soil cylinder out from the cutting cylinder (4).
  9. 9. Device (30) according to claim 8, wherein the soil expulsion piston (9) is a hydraulic piston.
  10. 10. Device (30) according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising a hydraulic pump (26) driven by a second electric motor (25), and wherein the soil expulsion piston (9) is provided with pressurized hydraulic fluid, such as oil, by said hydraulic pump (26).
  11. 11. Device (30) according to claim 10, wherein the hydraulic pump (26) is arranged to pressurize the hydraulic fluid when driven by the second electric motor (25), and to allow the pressure of the hydraulic fluid to decrease, preferably to atmospheric pressure, when not driven by the second electric motor (25).
  12. 12. Device (30) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the first motor (7) and the second motor (25) are one and the same.
  13. 13. Device (30) according to claim 12 wherein the first motor (7) is arranged to only drive the drive axle (18) when driving in a first direction and to only drive the hydraulic pump (26) when driving in a second direction.
  14. 14. Device (30) according to any preceding claim, further comprising a battery (31), arranged to power the first motor (7) and/or the second motor (25).
  15. 15. Method for making a hole in a golf green (100), c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the method comprises the steps of a) providing a device (30) according to any preceding claim; b) positioning said device (30) in a first location (102) on the golf green (100) oriented s so that its longitudinal direction (L) is vertical; c) activating the weight propulsion device to move the weight (5) reciprocally and as a result repeatedly striking the cutting cylinder (4) so that the cutting cylinder (4) by each stroke is driven down into the ground; and d) when a desired hole depth is reached, lifting the cutting cylinder (4) upwards, w thereby removing a resulting soil cylinder from the hole.
  16. 16. Method for moving a hole in a golf green (100) from a second location (101) to a first location (102), comprising the steps according to claim 15 and further comprising the additional steps of is e) positioning the device (30) at the second location (101), at which a hole already exists in the ground; and f) activating a soil expulsion device of the device (30) so that a soil expulsion piston (9) of the device (30) pushes the soil cylinder our from the cutting cylinder (4) and into the existing hole. 0

Description

Method and device for making a hole in a golf green The present invention relates to a method and a device for making a hole in a golf green. The invention also relates to a method and a device for moving a hole in a golf green from a second location to a first location. In the game of golf, the object is to get the golf ball in a hole using as few strokes as possible. The hole in question is normally located in an area with short-kept grass called a "green". Due to the wear on the grass of such a golf green during play, by players walking around and playing near the hole, the hole is conventionally moved around the green regularly. It may also be the case that hole positions presenting different levels of playing difficulty are desirable in various situations, such as during golf competitions. When the hole is moved from the second to the first location, a new hole must be made in the first hole location. This typically entails lifting a cylinder of soil and grass, leaving a cylindrical hole in the green ground. The lifted cylinder can then be placed in the old hole, at the second location, providing the filled-in hole at the second location with an intact grass surface. This way, the hole can be moved frequently without damaging the green. However, conventional hole cutters suffer from various problems. The hole to be cut is normally about 20 cm deep and 10 cm of diameter. Some conventional cutters use a combination of twisting and pushing on a circular-cylindrical cutting blade, which is worked downwards into the soil until the desired depth is reached. This process may very well take several minutes to finalize, and it would be desirable to shorten this time. Also, the process of releasing the lifted soil cylinder into the old hole, which is normally achieved via a manually actuated lever, is time consuming. Since such hole cutting devices are used outdoors, under rough conditions and for prolonged periods of time, it is also important that they are built from sturdy components that can provide reliable operation for long periods of time. At the same time, it is important that a hole cutter is not too heavy or bulky, so that it can be handled be greenkeepers when out and about on the golf course. The present invention solves the above described problems. Swedish application SE 2050971-7 describes a green hole cutter and a method for cutting a hole in a green. The green hole cutter comprises a weight that is driven by a propulsion device, as well as a soil expulsion piston. The weight is selectively used to drive a hole cutting cylinder or the soil expulsion piston. Hence, the invention relates to a device for making a hole in a golf green, the device having a longitudinal direction, a radial direction and an angular direction, the device comprising a cutting cylinder with an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction and an open end being freely movable along the longitudinal direction; a structure, comprising guide means defining a weight path having a first endpoint and a second endpoint; a weight, in engagement with said guide means to be guidedly movable along said weight path; and a weight propulsion device, arranged to propel the weight reciprocally along said weight path between said first endpoint and said second endpoint so that the weight strikes against the cutting cylinder when the weight is at a location along said weight path, in turn urging the cutting cylinder in the longitudinal direction. The weight propulsion device further comprises a first electric motor, arranged to drive a drive axle to rotate about a rotary axis under influence of a rotary force provided by the first electric motor; a spring means, being arranged to be activated, in a first stage and against a spring force of the spring means, whereby a potential energy is stored in the spring means; and in a second stage to release the potential energy by relaxing the spring means and to thereby transform the potential energy into kinetic energy of the weight striking against the cutting cylinder; and a force mediating device, arranged to, during the first stage, engage the drive axle with the spring means to mediate the rotary force to the spring means in turn activating the spring means; and, during the second stage, disengage the drive axle from the spring means to allow the spring means to release the potential energy independently of a rotary movement of the drive axle. In some embodiments, the force mediating device comprises a crank, arranged to pivot about said rotary axis; and a linear force device, connected to the crank at a distance from the rotary axis. In some embodiments, the crank is arranged to convert said rotary force into a linear force applied to the linear force device. In some embodiments, the linear force device is arranged to apply a linear force to the spring means during the first stage to activate the spring means. In some embodiments, the linear force device is a pulling device, arranged to appl