Patent Application
20240216782
The instant application is generally directed toward a throwable location marking device and associated methods. For example, the instant application is directed toward a visible location marking device configured to be placed on a golf course surface to mark a location of a golf ball.
Errant golf shots (e.g., tee shots landing away from a defined fairway) are often difficult to locate. As such, improvements to present golf play and/or tools are desired to help locate errant shots and to help maintain a relatively fast pace of golf play.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key factors or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
According to an aspect, a location marking device includes a first portion including a weighted section. The location marking device also includes a second portion connected to the first portion. The location marking device further includes a catch member attached to at least one of the first portion or the second portion. The location marking device still further includes a latch member attached to the other of the second portion or the first portion. The catch member has an operative position relative to the latch member in which the latch member contacts and maintains the catch member in a fixed position with respect to the latch member such that the second portion is located in a first position adjacent the first portion. The catch member has an inoperative position relative to the latch member in which the latch member is separated from the catch member such that the second portion is located in a second position spaced from the first portion wherein the second portion is free to move relative to the first portion. The catch member is configured to move from the operative position to the inoperative position upon an impact with a surface.
According to an aspect, a location marking device includes a first portion having a weighted section. The location marking device also includes a second portion that extends from a first end to a second end. The first end is connected to the first portion at a connection location. The location marking device further includes a visual indicator attached to the second end of the second portion. The location marking device is configured to be placed on a surface of a golf course. The weighted section of the first portion is located at a location opposite the connection location such that the second portion extends away from the surface and the visual indicator is positioned a distance away from the surface in order to be visually located by a golfer traversing the golf course.
According to an aspect, a method of marking a location of a golf ball on a golf course including visually locating a golf ball on a golf course. The method also includes placing a location marking device on a surface of the golf course. The location marking device includes a first portion including a weighted section. The location marking device also includes a second portion connected to the first portion. The location marking device further includes a visual indicator attached to the second portion. The location marking device indicates a location of the golf ball for a golfer to locate the golf ball in order to maintain a desired pace of play.
The following description and annexed drawings set forth certain illustrative aspects and implementations. These are indicative of but a few of the various ways in which one or more aspects may be employed. Other aspects, advantages, and/or novel features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the annexed drawings.
The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the claimed subject matter. It is evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are illustrated in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the claimed subject matter. Relative size, orientation, etc. of parts, components, etc. may differ from that which is illustrated while not falling outside of the scope of the claimed subject matter.
It is to be appreciated that a golf course, country club, etc. may wish to maintain a particular pace of play during golf rounds. In some instances, the pace of play can often be slowed by errant golf shots. These errant golf shots can sometimes position a golf ball in a location that is relatively difficult to find prior to continuation of playing the golf hole. A first golfer who hit the errant shot will often take time to locate the golf ball and slow the pace of play below a desired speed or length of time taken to play the golf hole. In other instances, players may simply lose sight of their golf shot (e.g., their shot or drive from a tee box). In these instances, a second golfer who may be a member of the first golfer's playing group may be traversing a space between the tee box and the green of the hole in order to reach the location of his/her own golf ball. The second golfer may, while traveling to the location of his/her shot, see the golf ball belonging to the first golfer (e.g., after the first golfer's tee shot).
Previously, the second golfer may try to provide spoken word direction or hand signals to the first golfer regarding location of the first golfer's golf ball. In other examples, the second golfer may place a hat, golf club cover, towel, etc. on the course to help the first golfer locate the lie of his/her golf shot. However, these methods are often not especially effective, and the first golfer may require undue time to locate the golf ball prior to the first golfer's next shot. In cases when additional golfers are playing behind the golfers searching for errant shots, their pace of play is also slowed and can result in relatively slow golf play for several golf holes. The present disclosure includes apparatus and methods to significantly decrease the amount of time to locate golf balls on the golf course, thereby helping maintain a desired pace of play on the golf course.
Referring now to the drawings,
Referring now to
It is to be appreciated that one or more golfers can also use the location marking device 204 for tee shot or driving practice to mark initial hits of golf balls onto the surface 202 (e.g., flight length of ball) or final resting locations of golf balls (e.g., drive length), etc. Additionally, one or more location marking devices 204 can provide a visual representation of where a golfer tends to hit a golf ball, average length of drives of the golf ball, etc. In yet further examples, the location marking device can represent a target on the surface 202 such that a golfer can practice golf shots of particular desired distances. These examples are not meant to be limiting, and, indeed, myriad examples of uses of the location marking device 204 can help a golfer improve his or her golf game in addition to improving the pace of play on a given golf course.
Referring now to
The location marking device 204 includes a catch member attached to at least one of the first portion 300 or the second portion 306. The catch member is configured to cooperate with a latch member that is attached to the other of the second portion 306 or the first portion 300. In other words, the catch member can be located on either the first portion 300 or the second portion 306. The latch member is located on the opposite portion.
The catch member is movable from an operative position relative to the latch member to an inoperative position relative to the latch member. The operative position is one in which the latch member contacts and maintains the catch member in a fixed position with respect to the latch member (as shown in
Referring now to
As shown the second portion 206 can include a visual indicator 400. The visual indicator 400 can aid the first golfer in locating his golf ball. It is to be appreciated that the visual indicator 400 can include any of an emoji, an arrow, a golf ball design, printed words, a printed phrase, etc. In many examples, the visual indicator 400 is relatively easy to see from a distance so that the first golfer can spy the location marking device 204 as the first golfer is traversing the surface 202.
In some examples, the first portion 300 can be between about 4-inches and about 6-inches in diameter while having a thickness of between about 1½-inches and about 3-inches. Of course, these example measurements are not meant to be limiting. Additionally, the visual indicator 400 can be a spring-loaded emoji or character that can be triggered by a shifting of weight within the first portion 300. In some examples, the visual indicator 400 can be located about 12-inches to about 14-inches from the surface 202 when the catch member is in the inoperative position.
In some examples, when the first golfer finds his/her golf ball, the first golfer can also pick up the location marking device 204 and move the catch member from the inoperative position (e.g., deployed or open) to the operative position (e.g., closed or non-marking). In some examples, this movement of the catch member from the inoperative position to the operative position includes adding energy to the location marking device 204. In some examples, the added energy is stored as potential energy in a spring or a spring-like device such that the potential energy can be later released as the location marking device 204 hits the surface 202 to release or extend the visual indicator 400.
Referring now to
In some examples, the weighted section 504 of the first portion 502 is located at a location opposite the connection location 512 such that the second portion 506 extends away from the surface 202 and the visual indicator 514 is positioned a distance away from the surface 202 in order to be relatively easily visually located by a golfer traversing the golf course.
In some examples, the location marking device 500 can be constructed of a foam-filled nylon material in any number of suitable shapes, words, symbols, etc. As previously noted, the weighted section 504 is located such that a portion of the location marking device 500 (e.g., the second portion 506) will stand upright after being placed on the surface 202. In some examples, the second portion 506 will locate the visual indicator 514 at a distance of between about 12-inches and about 14-inches above the surface 202 in order to be relatively easily seen by the first golfer. Additionally, in some examples, the second portion 506 can be formed of a cylinder that is between about 2-inches and about 4-inches in diameter. It is also contemplated that the second portion 506 can include the weighted section 504 and the shown, wider diameter, cylinder of the first portion 502.
In some examples, any version of the location marking device 204, 500 can be collected by its owner (e.g., the second golfer) when the first golfer and the second golfer reunite, such as at the green of the hole, or at a clubhouse of the golf course. Additionally, there may be examples when the location marking device 204, 500 is owned by the individual golfer playing at the golf course. In other examples, the location marking device 204, 500 can be owned and distributed by the golf course.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing at least some of the claims.
Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. The order in which some or all of the operations described should not be construed to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated having the benefit of this description. Further, it will be understood that not all operations are necessarily present in each embodiment provided herein. Also, it will be understood that not all operations are necessary in some embodiments.
Many modifications may be made to the instant disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter. Unless specified otherwise, “first,” “second,” or the like are not intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering, etc. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. for features, elements, items, etc. For example, a first component and a second component correspond to component A and component B or two different or two identical components or the same component.
Moreover, “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, illustration, etc., and not necessarily as advantageous. As used in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. In addition, “a” and “an” as used in this application are to be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Also, at least one of A and B or the like means A or B or both A and B. Furthermore, to the extent that “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to “comprising.”
Also, although the disclosure has been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/478,241, filed Jan. 3, 2023 and entitled “LOCATION MARKING APPARATUS AND METHODS,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63478241 | Jan 2023 | US |
