Patent Application
20080300064
The apparatus relates to a mounting device for a flag pole, and in particular, to a ferrule and coupling member for mounting the flag pole in a golf cup.
In order to support a golf flag pole within a golf cup, the flag pole is typically attached to a ferrule, which is usually formed from a soft metal, such as aluminum, zinc or a zinc alloy, at a lower end of the flag pole. The metal ferrule facilitates insertion of the flag pole into a receiving hole positioned in the center of the golf cup, which is often fabricated out of plastic. In this manner, the flag pole is positioned to display the pin flag and hole location to an approaching golfer.
When the traditional metal ferrule is received in the plastic golf cup hole, there can be a tendency for the two components to stick together. When this occurs, golfers can pull a portion of or the entire golf cup out of the ground when they attempt to remove the pin. This problem is even more pronounced in a desert or high humidity environment where sand or moisture can be trapped between the cup and ferrule to allow the ferrule and cup to stick together.
In an effort to reduce sticking between the ferrule and cup, various modifications to the ferrule have been employed. For instance, ribs have been provided along the sides of the ferrule body so as to reduce the contact area between the ferrule and cup. In addition, the side walls of the ferrule have been tapered inwardly to further minimize contact area and permit easier pole removal. However, these solutions have the shortcomings that the ribs often leave insufficient contact area to provide a stable coupling, and the tapered side walls may result in excessive leaning of the flag pole or render the flag susceptible to movement even in moderate breezes.
As golf is a sport primarily undertaken outdoors, under normal weather conditions, different types of debris or other material may blow into the golf cup. Leaves, sand, small rocks, grass clippings, dirt, and the like may regularly fall into the golf cup and become trapped between the ferrule and the ferrule receiving hole. This causes debris to become jammed between the ferrule and the cup, which can cause them to stick together and even result in the golfer at least partially removing the cup from the ground. In addition, debris such as sand or rocks jammed between the plastic walls forming the receiving hole and the soft metal of the ferrule can cause damage to the cup and ferrule that expedites wear and corrosion.
The sand and dirt on a golf green often contain fragments of flint or quartz. In addition, many courses use torpedo sand—fine aggregate with sharp edges that promotes sharp, straight blades of grass—as a component of the golf green. These fragments may become lodged between the ferrule and the receiving hole, causing them to stick together and further creating abrasions as they are rubbed between the metal ferrule and the plastic sleeve. Over time, as the golf flag pole is repeatedly removed and then placed back within the receiving hole, any of these fragments lodged between the ferrule and receiving hole may wear down the plastic of the golf cup and cause damage to the soft metal ferrule and/or wear its outer diameter to a smaller dimension. All of this may result in the ferrule and inner wall of the receiving hole having insufficient contact, which leads to a flag pole that may lean, shift, or even fall under certain conditions. This corrosion and abrasion problem may necessitate periodic replacements of both the metal ferrules and the plastic golf hole cups.
Debris accumulated in the cup hole may also result in a flag pole and attached ferrule that cannot be properly inserted into the receiving hole because the debris interferes with the proper insertion of the ferrule into the hole. The situation can leave the golf flag pole insufficiently supported in the cup and may cause the pin to tilt or even fall over in a breeze. A downed or tilted pin is not useful to an approaching golfer because it provides misleading information about the exact pin location.
One attempt to address these issues involves installing a metal insert into the golf hole cup to receive the metal ferrule. While the metal insert avoids wearing the plastic cup itself through repeated removal and insertion of the ferrule, such a solution still has several drawbacks. The metal-to-metal wear can still scratch or damage the ferrule and insert, and if the ferrule metal and insert metal are different, any moisture in the cup could lead to other issues such as galvanic wear. Furthermore, the metals that are typically used for ferrules or inserts (i.e., zinc, aluminum, bronze) are still soft compared to much of the sand, rocks, or other particulate matter that commonly falls into a golf cup. Therefore, even with a metal insert this debris can still lead to scratches, small deformations, and accelerated wear and corrosion of the metal ferrule and metal insert.
Accordingly, there is a desire for a mounting device for a flag pole and a golf cup that provides wear resistance and allows ease of pole insertion and removal without disturbing the cup embedded within the ground.
Referring to
Turning now to
In use, the coupling member 50 is received in the annular pocket 22 such that the outer wall 56 of the coupling member 50 is adjacent with the annular retention wall 20 of the tube liner 12. Preferably, the coupling member 50 is inserted into the pocket 22 from the bottom of golf cup hole liner 10 and retained therein by at least one fastening member 69. As illustrated in
Turning now to
The angled surface 40 also forms an annular extension or lip 38 on the ferrule 30. For example, the lower angled surface 40 inclines outwardly from the side wall 49 forming the annular lip 38 where the ferrule 30 has an outer diameter D3 larger than an outer diameter D4 of the side wall 49 (
The first bore 44 extends into the ferrule 30 and preferably terminates in an inwardly extending annular lip 48, upon which the flag pole 11 may come to rest when inserted into the bore 44. The ferrule 30 also preferably includes the second or bottom bore 46 so that any loose debris that may have fallen into the golf hole cup 10 can be pushed or trapped into the bore 46 when the ferrule 30 is inserted into the coupling member 50. In this way, any loose debris will have less opportunity to impede the entry of the ferrule 30 because such debris will be received in the bore 46 rather than between the ferrule 30 and the coupling member 50. As a result, the ferrule 30 will be more likely to achieve the desired quality of contact with the coupling member 50. A preferred embodiment has the bore 46 in direct connection with the bore 44, with the transition between the two defined by the annular lip 48, but it will be appreciated that the relative depths of these bores could vary and that the bores 44 and 46 may not connect at all (i.e., they may have a segment of material between them). It will also be appreciated that the bore 46 may not be present in certain embodiments of the ferrule 30.
In a preferred form, both the ferrule 30 and the coupling member 50 are constructed from substantially the same non-metallic material such as a ceramic, and preferably substantially the same ceramic composite material. In one embodiment, the ferrule 30 and coupling member 50 are formed primarily from an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) composite, such as aluminum oxide composites provided by CerCo, LLC (Shreve, Ohio), but it will be appreciated that the composite material could also contain zirconium oxide, silicon nitride, and/or mixtures thereof. The ceramic material may also include a minor component or secondary material. For example, the minor component may include any mineral within the spinel class of minerals, another crystalline material, or an amorphous (i.e., noncrystalline). For example, the minor component may be MgAl2O4. For purposes herein, spinel refers to a class of minerals which crystallize in the isometric system with an octahedral habit.
Ferrules and coupling members constructed from the same ceramic materials have many advantages over the conventional metals or plastics used to construct ferrules and receiving holes of the prior art. Preferred composites for the ferrules and coupling members described herein have Vickers hardness numbers in excess of about 980HV5 (kg/mm2), which is generally hard enough to substantially resist damage from any debris, rock, sand, and the like found on a golf course or putting environment. Preferred materials also exhibit a tensile strength of about 18 kpsi or greater (ACMA Test #4) and a compressive strength of 235 kpsi or greater (ASTMC-773-74). Rather than being scratched or damaged by debris, the ceramic ferrules and coupling members described herein preferably crush or pulverize any debris trapped between them generally due to the hardness of the ceramic material used to form the ferrule and coupling member. In addition, the preferred composites are generally chemically inert and generally pose little variation upon exposure to moisture or temperature gradients. In addition, because the ferrule 30 and coupling member 50 are of the same non-metallic materials, they are generally not subject to galvanic corrosion.
The ferrule 30 and coupling member 50 formed from ceramic composites may also be fabricated to greater tolerances than their metal and plastic counterparts. Prior metal/plastic ferrules and cup receiving holes, for example, feature tolerances that generally create a gap of about 0.030 to about 0.050 inches or greater therebetween when assembled. On the other hand, the ferrule 30 and coupling member 50 formed from the above-described ceramic materials may be fabricated to have a gap 90 of only about 0.005 to about 0.010 inches between the coupling member inner wall 58 and the side wall 49 of a coupled ferrule 30 (
In addition to increased tolerances, the use of ceramic materials for the ferrule 30 and coupling member 50 also permits a smoother surface than prior plastic and metal components. For example, the ferrule side wall 30 and/or the coupling member inner wall 58 may have a surface finish of about 16 RMS or less, which is smoother than most machined or cast metal and many processed plastics (i.e., a typical metal ferrule has a surface finish of about 20 to 40 RMS). This smooth surface finish permits the ferrule 30 to slide in and out of the bore 52 of the coupling member 50 with low friction and in some cases minimize, and preferably eliminate, sticking or galling of the ferrule in the hole liner.
Thus, the golf cup and flag pole assembly 8 allows the ferrule 30 to easily slide in and out of the coupling member 50 with minimal, if any, sticking. At the same time, the embodiments herein minimize, and preferably eliminate, scratching, corrosion, or other damage because the ferrule 30 and coupling member 50 have a relatively tight gap 90 therebetween and because they are both hard enough to generally prevent debris from damaging the ferrule 30 and the coupling member 50. The small gap 90 also allows substantial contact between the ferrule 30 and the coupling member 50 to form a more desirable level of stability for flag pole 11. The chamfer 54 and the angled contact surface 40 further provide additional stability. Thus, the embodiments herein generally keep the ferrule stable and allow it hold the flag pole 11 straight even in the presence of wind, moisture, or debris.
While embodiments of the described apparatus have been described in the foregoing, it will be understood that other details, materials, and arrangements of parts and components are possible which are within the scope of the claims and are intended to be included herein.
