TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to device for the preparation and resurfacing of the sport court and in particular relates to a sport clay court maintenance device.

BACKGROUND ART

The sport courts, especially the tennis courts, need continuously the repairing of the playing surface regularity at the end of every match and in case of big games during the breaks of the same.

Furthermore, to ensure that the playing court is uniformly compact it is necessary to water it regularly to avoid becoming overly dry and dusty as a result.

Finally, because of the dusty nature of the sport clay court, it is necessary to periodically clean the demarcation lines of the different playing areas.

The recovery process is usually done manually by workers using special brushes or dragging nets in order to level out any imperfections on the playing surface. This manual process takes a long time and does not always guarantee an optimal result.

In order to speed up the recovery operations some motorized devices are known, such as small tractors or caddies, which are equipped with brushes or pulling nets. These devices are driven by maintenance workers and guarantee reduced execution time compared to fully manual procedures.

For maintaining the proper soil moisture, the workers watered the soil with hydrants or with proper irrigation systems.

The main disadvantage of known devices, whether manual or motorized, is the need to involve one or more workers to conduct such operations and the need to perform various tasks in a sequential manner with a consequent increase in the execution time. Another disadvantage is the difficulty to perform all these operations in a uniform manner throughout the sport court quickly enough to be consistent with the breaks taken during a match, for example, between a set and the next in the case of a tennis match. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to propose a sport clay court maintenance device allowing to perform independently and quickly all the steps required to the complete restoration of the clay areas of the sport courts, such as cleaning the lines, levelling and moistening the surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the invention are shown below with particular reference to the attached drawings in which:

- figure 1 shows a schematic frontal view of the device;

- figure 3 shows a perspective front-top view of the device of figure 1 ;

- figure 4 shows a schematic side view of the device of figure 1 ;

- figure 5 shows a schematic side view of a particular of the device of figure 1 ;

- Figure 6 shows a perspective bottom-side view of a particular of a first embodiment of the device of figure 1 ;

- figure 7 shows a schematic side view of a particular of the device of figure 6 in a frontward condition;

- figure 8 shows a schematic side view of a particular of the device of figure 6 in a backward condition;

- Figure 9 shows a top view of a sport court with two devices in the forward condition on the left and in the backward condition on the right;

- figure 10 shows a schematic front view of a second variant of the device of figure 1 ; - figure 1 1 shows a schematic side view of the device of figure 10;

- figure 12 shows a perspective front-side view of the device of figure 10;

- figure 13 shows a front view of a third variant of the device;

- figure 14 shows a side view of the device of figure 13;

- figure 15 shows a perspective front-top view of the device of figure 13. BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to figures 1 -15, numeral 1 indicates a sport clay court maintenance device.

In the preferred embodiment the sport clay court 20 maintenance device 1 includes a base means 2 having a plurality of wheels 30 which provide support for a device 1 and allow its moving. The plurality of wheels 30 includes both idle wheels both driving wheels 31 both steering wheels. The base means 2 houses inside motor means 51 which are connected to the driving wheels 31.

The device 1 also includes support means 3 and 4 fixed to the base means 2 and supporting brush means 8 and 9 which total width is equal the width of the sport court 20.

A first support means 3 is linked to the base means 2 perpendicularly respect to the moving direction of the device 1 and parallel to the surface of the sport court 20.

The second support means 4 are connected to the first support means 3, protruding through one side of the base 2 with total width equal to the total width of the sport court 20 and having wheels 30 for supporting them during the device 1 moving. Each second support means 4 has at least a proper driving wheel 31 which is connected by a common shaft to a drive median wheel 31 placed under the base means 2 and all-the driving wheel 31 are driven by motor means 51.

Inside the base means 2 are accommodated battery means 50 for supplying the motor means 51 of the driving wheels 31 .

A pivoting support means 5 with two arm means 6 is rotably linked to the support means first 3 and second 4 about an axis parallel to the same and driven by actuator means.

The actuator means comprise linear actuators 25 whose first end is connected to the support means first 3 and second 4 and whose second end is connected to a arm means 6 of the pivoting support means 5 in order to implement a rotation. Alternatively the actuator means includes rotary actuators rotating a drive shaft 15 which transmits the rotation to the pivoting support means 5 by means of a belt or chain 16.

On the base means 2 is placed a tank 17 which is connected via pipes at least to a pump means and to a plurality of nozzles 18 arranged along the support means, first 3 and second 4. The tank 17 contains water or other suitable liquid for watering or treating the surface of the sport court 20.

The device 1 also includes trajectory control means consisting of transmitter and receiver means 40, such as laser transmitters and photo-detectors, placed at the ends of the second support means 4, that interact with the target means 41 placed at the ends of the court 20 and determine the position and trajectory of the device 1 .

Finally the device 1 includes steering wheels which are oriented by steering means to change the trajectory of the device 1 according to certain needed adjustments elaborated by the processing unit 42. Alternatively the steering wheels are moved in differential axial rotation by proper steering motors.

The device 1 comprises light and/or acoustic warning means 46 to signal when the device 1 is moving and comprises obstacle detector means 44 in the device movement direction fit to stop in case of a collision. To improve the safety of people on the sport court 20, the device 1 includes shock absorber means 45 conformed as cushion or as protective casing.

A processing unit 42 is placed inside the base means 2 to elaborate the information acquired by transmitter and receiver means 40 and to check and eventually correct the trajectory of the device 1 .

A first variant of the preferred embodiment of the device 1 has control means that comprise odometer means 43 connected to the wheels placed near the ends of the device 1. Said odometer means 43 measure the distance taken by each end of the device 1 and allows to determine any changes in the trajectory respect the desired one. A second variant of the preferred embodiment of the device 1 also include a hopper means 10 tied to the support means, first 3 and second 4, and having a plurality of slots for distributing recovery material onto the sport court 20 in order to fill any holes or depressions, and then restoring the surface of the sport court 20.

A third variant of the preferred embodiment of the device 1 also includes a fan means 12 which is connected to the base means 2 in a central position. The fan means 12 through a plurality of ducts 13 and nozzles located on the support means, first 3 and second 4, blows air over the surface of the court 20.

The fan means 12 can also be equipped with a heating means, not shown in the figures, which is connected or integrated within the fan means 12 to heat the blowing air onto the surface of the sport court 20 and thus to improve the overall efficiency of the device 1 when it is used to dry the sport court 20.

The operation of the preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the device 1 , in a forward condition A, covers a path from the bottom 21 of the sport court 20 towards the centre 22 of the latter during which the first brush means 8 is kept in contact with the surface of the court 20 while the second brush means 9 is maintained detached from the surface.

On a backward condition R, the device 1 covers a path from the centre 22 to the bottom 21 of the sport court 20, and the processing unit 52 controls the inversion of the brush means, first brush 8 and second 9, so that the second brush means 9 contacts the surface of the sport court 20.

If the surface of the sport court 20 does not have the necessary moisture, the device 1 waters the surface with the liquid inside the tank 17 which is sent by the pump means to the nozzles 18.

The processing unit 20 continuously receives from the transmitter and receiver means

40 the distance between the two ends of the device 1 with respect to the target means

41 on the bottom 21 of the sport court 20 in order to detect any slipping of the device 1 and correct its trajectory acting onto the steering wheel. The first variant of the device has an operation similar to the preferred embodiment except for the use of odometer means 43 instead of transmitter and receiver means 40 as a means to measure the distance between the two ends of the device 1 respect to the target means 41 placed on the bottom 21 of the sport court 20.

The operation of the second variant of the device 1 provides to spread any material, contained in the hopper means 10, onto the surface of the sport court 20. Such material may be of the same type of the sport court 20 and can be used to repair any holes or depressions.

The operation of the third variant of the device 1 includes a drying phase of the playing surface through the air-blowing, even heated, through fan means12, very useful when it is necessary to restore the surface after a rainstorm in the case of the open air sport court.

The main advantage of the present invention is to provide a sport clay court maintenance device allowing to perform independently and quickly all the steps required for the complete restoration of the clay areas of the sport courts, such as cleaning the edge lines, levelling and moistening the surface.