Patent Application
20060211520
This invention generally relates to golfing and putting practice devices.
The game of golf is a pastime that many persons spend a great deal of time practicing to obtain and maintain proficiency. One aspect of the game is putting. Although putting practice facilities are available at golf courses, because the putting swing has a low-range of motion and weather conditions are not always permitting, many persons practice putting in the confines of their home, office, or hotel room.
Many golf course greens slope, or “break.” One problem with in-home putting practice is the lack of putting practice surfaces that slope. In order to provide as accurate a simulation of putting greens as possible for in-home putting practice, numerous putting practice devices, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,412 (the '412 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,166, simulate the sloping and rolling nature of golf greens. Although accurately depicting the surfaces of putting greens, many of these practice devices have deficiencies stemming from two inherent attributes: (i) a putting surface and (ii) a system which creates the slopes and angles in the putting surface.
These attributes create problems in prior art, such as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,655,971 and 6,746,338, producing devices which are cumbersome to move and store. Providing golfers with a simulated putting surface requires space to store the device, ability to move the device between storage and use, and time to set up the practice putting device. For persons traveling, with limited storage space, or with limited time, owning and setting up a putting practice device which provides the angles and slopes of a putting surface may not be feasible.
Current putting practice devices are also difficult to maintain and service. Many current devices, such as the '412 patent and U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,522, contain moving mechanical parts such as air bladders and springs to create the angles in the putting surface. These mechanical parts are located under the putting surface. When these devices become inoperable, they are difficult to repair and replace due to their location.
Current putting devices are also expensive to purchase. Because the devices contain multiple parts, their cost of manufacture is high, and this cost is passed along to the consumer.
a is a side view of a device for raising carpet to create sloped putting surfaces illustrating the manner in which the carpet is pierced by the device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
b is a side view of a device for raising carpet to create sloped putting surfaces illustrating the manner in which the carpet is raised to create the desired sloping angle, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
One embodiment of the current invention comprises a handle attached to a wire form adapted to pierce and raise carpet to create a sloped surface for putting practice. Sloped surfaces can be created on surfaces such as, but not limited to, tacked carpets, untacked carpets, and large area rugs. The wire form is comprised of a single wire extending from the handle and ending in a sharp tip. In variations, the handle and the wire form are integrally formed. In other variations, the wire form can be a dual strand wire form to increase stability and strength. Typically, the wire form extends away from the handle in a helix, spiraling in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, then becoming generally straight along a path generally parallel to the helix's longitudinal axis, and finally ending in a short spiral. The direction of the short spiral is opposite the direction of the helix. For example, if the helix extends away from the handle in a clockwise direction, the spiral would be a counter-clockwise spiral. In variations, the wire form creates an acute angle, such as a hook, to the generally straight section instead of comprising of a short spiraled section. The acute angle and/or spiraled section are necessary when raising the carpet in order to prevent the sharp tip from piercing material or scratching a floor underlying the carpet, such as, but not limited to an underlying hardwood floor. Additionally, the acute angle and spiraled section provide vertical stability to the device, creating a larger frictional surface area with the underlying floor or material than a single sharp tip would provide. Other variations of the device include a sheath covering the wire form. The sheath acts as a protective device during non-use, protecting the wire form from damage and providing protection from the wire form's sharp tip.
One method of using the embodiment to raise a carpet and create a sloped putting surface comprises piercing the carpet and rotating the device. The carpet is pierced by placing the sharp tip on the surface of the carpet and pressing the sharp tip into the carpet by rotating the device in the direction of the sharp-tipped spiraled section of the wire form. For example, for a wire form comprising a clockwise helix and a counter-clockwise spiral, the device is rotated in a counter-clockwise manner to pierce the carpet. Once the tip has pierced the carpet, the device is rotated in the same direction until the carpet is placed at the beginning of the helix. In variations, the counter-clockwise rotation is not needed to pierce and place the carpet at the clockwise helix. In devices where the wire form creates an acute angle with the helical longitudinal axis instead of comprising of a spiraled tip, the entire device is placed at an angle to the carpet, with the sharp tip placed on the carpet. The sharp tip pierces the carpet by a user holding the handle and pressing downwardly while pivoting the device around the handle, hooking the carpet onto the sharp tip. In both carpet piercing variations, upon reaching the beginning of the helix, the device is rotated in the direction necessary to move the carpet up the helix and towards the handle. For example, a device containing a helix extending away from the handle in a clockwise direction would need to be rotated clockwise in order to raise the carpet. Upon reaching the desired sloping angle, the user stops rotating the device. The device is then checked for stability, taking care that the device is generally vertical and will not tip when a golf ball travels across the sloped area. Once secure, a golf ball is putted across the sloped surface. In variations, the golf ball is putted towards a ball-catching device or putted across multiple sloped surfaces. Additional sloped surfaces are created using the same method used to create a single sloped putting surface described above. In variations, additional devices are used to change the sloping angle in the original sloped putting surface.
In one embodiment, the device can resemble a golf object. The handle is an object such as a golf ball, a club head, or a pin flag, and is sized to fit the grip of an average adult. The sheath can be a corresponding object such as a golf tee, club shaft, or flag pole. In other variations, the device can resemble any object, such as, but not limited to a football helmet, a flower, and/or an automobile.
Terminology
The term “or” as used in this specification and the appended claims is not meant to be exclusive; rather the term is inclusive meaning “either or both”.
References in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “a preferred embodiment”, “an alternative embodiment” and similar phrases mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all meant to refer to the same embodiment.
The term “couple” or “coupled” as used in this specification and the appended claims refers to either an indirect or direct connection between the identified elements, components or objects. Often the manner of the coupling will be related specifically to the manner in which the two coupled elements interact.
Directional and/or relationary terms such as, but not limited to, left, right, nadir, apex, top, bottom, vertical, horizontal, back, front and lateral are relative to each other and are dependent on the specific orientation of a applicable element or article, and are used accordingly to aid in the description of the various embodiments and are not necessarily intended to be construed as limiting.
The term “wire form” as used in this specification and the appending claims is meant to convey a wire-like device, but is not meant to only refer to a metallic device formed from wire stock.
The term “composite” as used in this specification and appending claims refers to a complex material in which two or more distinct and structurally complementary substances such as, but not limited to, metals, ceramics, glasses, and polymers, are combined.
Referring to
The wire form 24 extends away from the handle 14 in a generally helical first portion 22 and ends in a second portion 26 containing a short spiraled section 28. The helix 22 can spiral away from the handle 14 in a generally clockwise direction. Alternatively, the helix 22 can extend outwardly from the handle 14 in a generally counter-clockwise direction. For a carpet to fit between the helical loops 16, each helical loop 16 must be spaced at an appropriate distance from adjacent helical loops 16 and the wire form 24 must be of a correspondingly appropriate thickness to the circumference of the generally cylindrical helix 22. The second portion 26 of the wire form 24 can contain a short section 30 generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the helix 22. The second portion 26 ends with a short spiraled section 28 containing a sharp tip 32 designed to pierce carpet. The spiraled section 28 spirals in a direction opposite the direction the helix 22 extends away from the handle 14.
The device 10 can be constructed of any suitable material in any suitable manner. The handle 14, wire form 24, and sheath 12 can be comprised of different material types. In some variations, the handle 14 can be comprised of a composite wood product, the wire form 24 can be comprised of a metallic material, and the sheath 12 can be comprised of a composite material, such as a polymeric base including a loading of fiberglass. In an additional variation, the wire form is comprised of a composite material such as, but not necessarily, Kevlar™.
One Method of Lifting Carpet to Create Sloped Putting Surfaces
Referring to
Once the carpet reaches the beginning or distal end 34 of the helical spiral portion 22, the user rotates the device 10 in the direction opposite the direction the user was rotating the device up to that point if the user is using a device 10 with a short spiraled section. Accordingly, the carpet travels along the helix 22 towards the handle 14. Because the device 10 is in a vertical position, by traveling towards the handle 14, the carpet is raised off the floor 105 and creates a sloped putting surface 110.
Upon reaching the desired carpet height to create the sloping putting surface 110, the device 10 is checked for stability. Once stable, the user retrieves a golf ball and golfing putter and putts a golf ball across the sloped putting surface 110. In variations, instead of putting a golf ball across the sloped putting surface 110, the user will instead repeat the method to create additional sloped putting surfaces potentially forming a complex multi-slopped putting surface more accurately representative of actual putting greens. Upon placing one or more carpet break devices 10 into the carpet, the user practices putting a golf ball across the sloped putting surfaces 110. In variations, a user putts a golf ball towards a golf catching device, such as, but not limited to, a machine designed to catch and return golf balls, or a drinking receptacle such as, but not limited to, a Dixie™ cup.
Generally, referring to
The greatest structural difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is the integrated handle 38 and wire form 24. The integrated handle 38 allows the device 36 to be manufactured from a single material, eliminating separate components on the device. This variation of the device can lead to potentially lower manufacturing costs, thereby leading to lower costs to the consumer than the two piece device 10, as shown in
Generally, referring to
The hook section 46 of the second portion 26, or the acute angle variation described above may be more suitable for persons with thick carpet laid on top of a foam pad. Because of the pliable, yet sturdy nature of such a carpet, a large piercing force may need to be exerted onto the sharp tip 32. The hook-shaped devices 42 can provide this force. Additionally, hook-shaped devices 42 provide users an alternative device to avoid piercing underlying carpet pads. Because the method used to pierce a carpet with a hook-shaped device 42 is different than the method used to pierce a carpet with a spiral-tipped device 10, some users can find the hook-shaped device 42 easier to pierce carpet with. Using this device 42 with an integrated handle described in the second embodiment above can provide additional strength for highly tensile carpets.
In all other aspects, the hook shaped device 42 for lifting carpet is typically the same as the first device 10 for lifting carpet: (a) a handle 14 and (b) a wire form 24 comprising: (i) one helical portion 22 and (ii) a second portion 26 containing a straight section 30 and a sharp point 32.
The various preferred embodiments and variations thereof illustrated in the accompanying figures and/or described above are merely exemplary and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention. It is to be appreciated that numerous variations to the invention have been contemplated as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. All variations of the invention that read upon the appended claims are intended and contemplated to be within the scope of the invention.
The specific configurations of the device can vary substantially. For example, the device may also be comprised of a motor to provide the user relief from employing manual power to raise a carpet. In such a variation, the motor can be battery powered or the motor may receive power through a wall outlet. In other variations and embodiments, the device may be comprised of a pulley system, piercing the carpet and being raised through the cable-pulley system. Such a variation can be a motorized or a manual system. Furthermore, the dimensions of any device described are not limited in any manner whatsoever, so that such devices can be used to create indoor “putt-putt golf” courses, should a user so desire. In additional variations, the handle of the device can also act as the sheath upon either detaching from the wire form or if the wire form folds or otherwise fits into the handle.
