This invention relates to golf putting practice devices and, more particularly, to golf putting practice devices of the type embodying a mechanism for kicking a ball back to the person making a putt thereinto.
Golf putting practice devices employing various ball return mechanisms mounted therein have been heretofore known in the art. One improvement over the prior art embodies a spring powered flipper device to return the ball, as demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,720. In operation, a motorized mechanism retracts a flipper device against the tension force of an elongated spring member and then releases it to rotate freely forwardly through the contracting force of the spring and, thereby, contact the ball forcefully and send it back to the person. The flipper is again retracted, through the power of the motorized mechanism, into the operational position for returning the next putt.
Although the embodiment of the aforementioned patent results in a putt return device significantly smaller than that of prior art, the profile of the housing and the attached ball tray provide a limited target for putting practice. Also, the amount of torque generated by the motorized mechanism to retract the flipper is sufficient to cause injury if the user's finger is accidentally placed between the flipper and the housing during retraction. It is a primary object of the present invention to afford novel improvements over the golf putting practice devices heretofore known in the art.
One of the primary objects of the present invention is to afford a novel putting practice device that incorporates a two-part flipper device resiliently connected between a flipper section and supporting base section by a resilient means in a manner that allows the flipper portion to stop if obstructed by an object while retracting, thus preventing injury to the user or damage to the device.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device with a lower profile and larger ball receiving tray to provide an improved, more realistic putting target.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device, which embodies a flipper device of a substantially reduced size and a coaxially mounted torsion spring, constituted and arranged in a novel manner inside the device for returning a ball putted therein.
Yet another object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device with a flipper apparatus that consistently returns a ball in a path perpendicular to the front of the device in a more efficient manner.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device that can use either DC or AC power for operation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device with a means for monitoring battery power to the device and for indicating when battery replacement is necessary.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device with a means to automatically shutoff power to the device after a set period of time of inactivity to conserve battery power.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel golf putting practice device which is practical and efficient in construction and operation, and which may be more readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is to be considered the best mode in which to apply these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.
The present invention provides a golf putting practice apparatus with a housing and ball tray for receiving a golf ball putted therein. The invention is particularly characterized by a ball return mechanism comprised of a two-part flipper apparatus, resiliently connected between the flipper and base sections and having a torsion spring coaxially mounted and engaging the base section of the flipper resiliently for ejecting a ball from the ball tray. The flipper apparatus affords safe operation during the retraction of the flipper and prevents accidental injury to the user or damage to the device if the flipper is engaged, obstructively, while retracting into the operational position at the rear of the ball tray. This invention incorporates a means to automatically deactivate the device after a set period of inactivity to preserve battery power, and provides an adaptor means to use a/c power for operation.
The present invention affords novel safety means as well as reduced spatial requirements over the prior art. The size reduction of the housing portion results in a device with a lower profile, larger ball tray for putting practice, increased portability, and an overall more realistic putting target.
The above and related objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the presently preferred, albeit illustrative, embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:
A game device in the form of a golf putting practice device 10, embodying the principles of the present invention, is shown in
The golf putting practice device 10 is of the same general type as shown in the heretofore mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,720 and embodies in general, a housing 12, a base 11, a ball tray 14 into which a golf ball may be putted, a flipper device 16 disposed in an operative position in the housing 12 for returning the ball from the ball tray 14 to the person making the putt, and a microprocessor 60 that controls the electronic functions of the device 10.
In the use of the device 10, a ball is putted from a position in front thereof upwardly across the front ramp 20 into the ball tray 14 and rolls by gravity downwardly across the floor 24 into the ball pocket 28 from which it is ejected forwardly from the device 10 by the flipper device 16 while a simultaneously produced sound effect is emitted as positive feedback for the successful putt.
The present invention contains a novel, two-part flipper device 16, as shown in detail in
The two sections 40, 41 of the flipper device 16 are resiliently connected by the coaxially mounted resilient connector 44. The flipper base 41 provides the rotational energy that turns the flipper section 40 through the connection at the power arm 57 of the base and the rotating arm 55 of the flipper. The two arms 55, 57 are normally bonded together by the force of the two end extensions 46 of the resilient connector 44, thereby causing the two sections 40, 41 to rotate in unison. Referring now to
Referring to
The flipper base 41 also contains the pivot plate 68 and the brake 43. The pivot plate 68 engages the pivot arm 36 of the adjacently disposed drive wheel 34 during rotation about the axle 31, as shown in
The torsion spring 38 engages the flipper base 41 at the spring cavity 47 and around the axle sleeve 45 and axle 32, as shown in
The flipper device 16 is pivoted in a rearward direction through the connection with the drive wheel 34, which is comprised of a gear wheel having a plurality of protruding pivot arms 36 that extend downward from underneath. The pivot arms 36 are constructed and arranged to engage the flipper device 16 and leaf switch 51 in such a manner as to open the normally closed switch 51 to interrupt the power to the motor 66 when the flipper device 16 is in the normally retracted operative position, as shown in
The drive wheel 34 is coupled, through a mechanical means comprised of a plurality of reduction gear members 37, to the motor 66 mounted to the base 11 of the device 10. The flipper device 16 is normally positioned in the retreated position inside the face of the housing 12 by the rotation of the drive wheel 34 through the power of the motorized mechanical means. As the drive wheel 34 rotates, the pivot arm 36 closest to the pivot plate 68 of the base 41 of the flipper 16 engages the base 41 at the intersection of the pivot arm 36 with the pivot plate 68. Continued rotation of the drive gear 34 pivotally retracts the flipper device 16 from the released extended position and retains the flipper 16, against the resilient force of the torsion spring 38, in the retracted operative position along the rear face of the ball tray 14, as shown in solid lines in
Referring to
The ball tray 14 embodies side rib 54 members comprised of a vertical projection of a portion of the wall at each side of the ball tray 14 in a manner to retain the ball 52 traveling into the interior of the ball tray 14, unless said ball is directed thereto at excessive speed.
The ball pocket 28 is located along the central axis C of the ball tray 14, as shown in
The lever switch 50 is comprised of a horizontal planar member embodying pivot pins 39 on either side thereof as fulcrums. When mounted in the device 10, this allows pivotal movement of the lever switch 50 when engaged by the ball 52 in the ball pocket 28. Consequently, the downward force on the ball pocket end of the lever switch 50 causes the opposite end to move in a corresponding upward direction which, thereby, engages and closes the normally open leaf switch 53, as shown by broken lines in
The device 10 contains a novel housing 12, as shown in
Referring now to
The microprocessor 60 embodies a means to detect if the power falls below a determined threshold for operation and a flashing means that engages the light emitting diode 63 mounted in the housing 12, electrically, in a blinking pattern to indicate the battery components must be replaced. If replacement is not completed within the set time limit, the microprocessor 60 activates a means to automatically shutoff power to the device 10 to prevent improper operation. The microprocessor 60 also turns off power to the device 10 if the mechanism is not activated within a set a time period to conserve battery life.
Referring to
The operation of the putting practice device according to the present invention shall be described next as summarized. Referring to
The activation of the motor 66 causes, through connective engagement to the mechanical means, the drive wheel 34 to rotate and move the conjoined pivot arm 36 out of a connective position with the flipper base 41, thereby releasing the retracted flipper device 16 to pivot forward freely through the rotational energy of the torsion spring 38 until halted through contact of the stop 65 of the brake 43 with the axle sleeve 42, obstructively. The force of the forwardly moving flipper 16 ejects the ball 52 from the ball pocket 28 and sends it back to the person making the putt.
The subsequent rotation of the drive wheel 34 advances a succeeding pivot arm 36 into an engaged position with the pivot plate 68 of the flipper base 41 and thereby rotates the flipper device 16 in a rearwardly direction against the resilient force of the torsion spring 38 until the forwardly advancing pivot arm 36 (trailing the engaged pivot arm 36) engages the leaf switch 51. This interrupts power to the motor 66, consequently halting and retaining the flipper device 16 in the retracted operative position inside the housing 12 along the rear of the ball tray 14 and ready to return the next putt.
If during operation the flipper section 40 is obstructed by an object 74 while retracting, the resistance causes the resilient connector 44 to expand, thereby releasing the flipper section 40 from the retracting force of the motorized mechanism and halting its rearward motion while the flipper base 41 continues rotation and automatically interrupts power to the motor 66 by opening switch 51. Further, the resilience of the connection of the flipper section 40 to the base section 41 allows an object 74 to be easily removed by manually pivoting the flipper device 16 slightly forward until the object is dislodged.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention affords a novel golf putting practice device that embodies a novel two-part flipper apparatus to provide safe operation during retraction of the flipper. Further, the coaxially mounted torsion spring member engages the flipper device at the base section to provide the rotational energy for the ball return function. This arrangement requires a minimum amount of space to house the ball return mechanism. The resulting lower profile of the housing and the larger ball tray receiving area afford an improved and more accurate target for putting practice.
Next, it will be seen that the present invention provides a novel housing that incorporates a bumper that contacts the ball along the rear of the ball tray to reduce rebounding of the ball entering therein and further guide the ball into the ball pocket.
Further, it will be seen that the present invention provides a novel putting practice device that embodies an automatic timing mechanism to turn off power to the device if the device is not operated within a set period of time to conserve battery power.
It will also be seen that the present invention affords a novel putting practice device that is extremely portable, practical and efficient in construction and operation, and is more readily and economically produced commercially.
Yet further, it will be seen that the present invention affords a novel putting practice device with a means to measure battery power and cause the light emitting diode to operate in a blinking fashion if the power drops below a determined operating value. In addition, the same means automatically deactivates the device if the power remains below the minimum operating value for a predetermined amount of time.
It will also be seen that the present invention affords a novel putting practice device that can use either DC or AC current for operation.
While the present invention has been shown and described herein in connection with a golf ball, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the principles of the present invention may be used in connection with any ball-return practice apparatus (for example, one used with a soccer ball or a billard/pool ball), thereby to test the accuracy of a player's driving of the ball relative to a designated target and an automatic return of the ball to or adjacent to its point of origin. Of course, the ball-return practice device would be adjusted in its configuration and dimensions relative to the dimensions of the ball.
Thus, from the illustration and description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, and that all matter herein set forth or shown is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
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