GB2412598A

GB2412598A - L shaped practice putting target

Info

Publication number: GB2412598A
Application number: GB0409958A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sydney Anthony Holl Whitehouse
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-30
Filing date: 2004-05-05
Publication date: 2005-10-05
Anticipated expiration: 2024-05-05
Also published as: GB0409958D0; GB0407106D0; GB2412598B

Abstract

A putting device comprises a generally L shaped housing having limbs A, B joined at a corner 9. The first limb A defines a ramp 2 up which a golf ball may travel, and the second limb B points upwardly, such that a golf ball which arrives at the top of the ramp will cause the housing to tip about the corner 9 to a second position in which the second limb contacts the ground and the first limb points upwardly (see fig's 4-7). Side cheeks 4 may be provided to prevent the ball from rolling off sideways, and the second limb may define a ramp which allows the ball to exit the housing when the housing assumes the second position (see fig's 10-13), with the weights of the limbs being such that the housing returns to its original position when the ball exits. Alternatively, the second limb may be provided with a removable barrier 6 which prevents the ball from exiting when the housing assumes the second position. The device may be adapted to nest with other such devices so that a number of devices may be stacked for display, transportation etc. (see fig. 9).

Description

Title: Putting Trainer The invention relates to a practice putting device,

which consists of a free-standing structure, simulating a golf hole, which may be placed anywhere convenient, such as indoors on a carpet or outdoors on grass, for practicing putting.

Background

Former devices of this type have usually incorporated moving parts, some with batteries, and often involving expensive constructions with moving parts.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved device which does not have any moving parts.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention a practice putting device comprises a generally L- shaped housing adapted in use to lie in a first stable position on a generally flat horizontal surface over which a golf ball can be putted towards the device, with the rear of one limb of the housing in contact with the flat surface and the other limb pointing in generally upward direction, and wherein the upper surface of the said one limb presents a ramp up which a golf ball can roll on being putted towards the device, and wherein the position of the upper end of the ramp relative to the rear corner between the two limbs is such that when in use a golf ball arrives at the top of the ramp a turning moment will be created about the said corner, causing the device to pivot like a see saw about the corner, which becomes a fulcrum, so that the device rocks from the first position in which it rests on the rear of the first limb to a second position in which it rests on the rear of the said other limb.

Preferably the limbs includes side cheeks so that a ball will not tend to roll sideways off the device.

If the ball is still travelling in a forward direction at the top of the ramp the rocking of the device from its first to its second position is further assisted by the impact of the ball on the face of the upwardly pointing limb.

Satisfactory operation of the device depends on the said other limb lying beyond the fulcrum formed by the corner between the rear faces of the two limbs, measured in a direction in which the ball has to travel towards the device to run onto and up the ramp formed by the first limb.

In one embodiment the said other limb may include a generally flat upper surface which when the device has rocked into the said second position presents a ramp down which the ball can run, and leave the device in the same direction of travel.

If the turning moment created by the weight of the said one limb acting about the fulcrum is greater than that due to the weight of the said other limb acting in the opposite sense about the fulcrum, the device will rock back and assume its said first position, ready to receive another putt, after the ball has run off the ramp formed by the said other limb In a modification of this one embodiment the said other limb may include a barrier which prevents the ball from running off the said other limb and serves to retain the ball thereon, the weight of the ball serving to retain the device in its said second position with the ball trapped in place.

In a second embodiment the said other limb includes a recess in which a ball will nest to retain the ball in the device just beyond the fulcrum, so that the device will remain in its said second position.

A barrier may also be provided in this second embodiment to prevent a ball leaving the recess.

Where provided a barrier may form a permanent feature of the construction of the said other limb, or may be removable to allow a ball in use to leave the said other limb of either embodiment.

Preferably the barrier is located at the far end of the recess in the said other limb (measured in the direction of ball movement onto and up the first limb ramp), and comprises an end-wall or stop, so that in use a ball which still has some momentum as it reaches the recess cannot carry on beyond the recess without scaling the barrier.

Clearly if a ball has sufficient momentum it may jump out of the recess and clear the barrier but this is akin to the situation where a ball has been hit too hard during a putt, so that although it may run true and in line with the hole, it will nevertheless not drop into the hole and remain there, but because of its excessive momentum, it will momentarily enter the hole as it passes thereover, and instead of remaining in the hole, it will carry on in the original direction of travel, beyond the hole.

Preferably, where a barrier is provided and the device has rocked into its said second position, the presence of the barrier and the position of the ball is such that if the ball is stationery there is no tendency for the ball to leave the device Looked at another way, the device proposed by the present invention is constructed so that as a golf ball arrives at the top of the ramp of the first limb, the centre of gravity of the combination of ball and device shifts beyond the fulcrum defined by the underside corner of the housing (measured in the direction of ball movement), so that a previously stable equilibrium position of the device no longer exists and the device will pivot as described into a new position of stable equilibrium in which the first limb is now elevated and the said other limb occupies the down position.

This rocking or tipping of the device into the second stable position signals that the ball putted towards the device would have been successfully "holed", on a green.

Where the ball is free to run off the other limb so that the device rocks back into its first position as the ball leaves the device, the latter automatically reverts to its first position after each putt, and a player can putt a number of balls in succession towards the device.

Where the ball is retained in the device so that it remains in the second position, only one ball is needed, since after each putt the player can simply use his putter to tap the elevated limb of the device to cause it to pivot backwards and revert to its former position with the rear of the side cheeks of the first limb once again flat on the ground. In doing so the ball, which had been nested in the device is now free to roll back down the first limb ramp and to leave the device in the direction from which it was putted ready to be putted again towards the waiting device.

The tipping action, which indicates the successful "holing" of a ball, is dependent upon the weight of the different parts of the structure being such that the device is stable in its first position before a ball arrives, but that when a ball reaches the upper end of the ramp, the centre of gravity of the device is shifted so that the device tips about the fulcrum, so that the ball will either run off the said other limb or will be retained in the device as above described.

In the drawings: Fig I is a perspective view of a housing embodying the invention, Fig 2 is a side elevation, Fig 3 is a front elevation, Figs 47 are a sequence of side elevations showing the pivoting of the housing following the arrival of a golf ball, Fig 8 is a three quarter rear perspective view of a modified form of construction of the limb B of the structure to improve the nesting of one housing relative to another for display and/or storage, Fig 9 illustrates two housings nesting one in the other, and Figs 10 to 14 are a sequence of side elevations showing the pivoting sequence of another device embodying the invention, in which the ball is not retained in the device but is free to roll off the device.

Detailed description of the drawings

The same reference numerals apply to the same parts in each of the Figures in the drawings.

The device comprises a housing which includes two limbs A and B the rear faces of which subtends an angle of greater than 90 , typically in the range 110 -140 .

As shown in Fig 1 a ramp 2 leads up from a front edge 1 to a rear semicircular edge 3.

Side cheeks 4 ensure a ball which runs onto and up the ramp will not run off sideways, and a lower edge of the side cheeks also form the base on which limb A will rest when in its first position awaiting a putt. The ramp surface 2 extends between and structurally joins the cheeks 4.

The semi-circular edge 3 is spaced from the face of a panel 5 which structurally joins the side cheeks 4 where they extend along the limb B. to form with the panel 5 a recess into which a golf ball will nest. This gap can be seen at 8 in Fig 2. It is in this compartment that a ball is trapped when it reaches and rolls beyond the top of the ramp.

A panel, 6 closes off the compartment and ensures the ball remains therewithin as the housing rocks to its second position. The notional centre of gravity before a ball enters the device is shown at 7. When the ball passes the top edge 3 of the ramp and lodges in the gap 8, the centre of gravity of the structure (now including the ball), moves to the right (in Fig 2), so that it is now to the right of the fulcrum or pivot point 9. This causes the housing to pivot in a clockwise manner (as shown in Fig 2) so that it will now rest on limb B instead of limb A The front elevation of Fig 3 shows the open end 1 of the ramp 2 leading up from the front edge to the rear curved edge 3. The internal width of this ramp is approximately 10cm which corresponds to the diameter of a standard golf hole.

Figs 4 to 6 show how the device responds to the arrival of a golf ball 10 which runs up the ramp, to where its weight plus any impetus from its forward movement, will cause the housing to tip in a clockwise manner to the position shown in Fig 6, where it will remain in this stable position.

A light tap in the direction of the arrow 11 in Fig 7 (such as by means of a putter) will tip the housing to its first position. The reverse tipping action at the same time propels the ball 10 back down the ramp, so that it will run to a position a short distance in front of the edge 1, from where a further putt can be attempted.

The housing is preferably constructed as a one piece plastics moulding.

In manufacturing the housing it is necessary to take into account the need for the centre of gravity to be correctly positioned to provide the above tipping moment when the weight of the ball is added to the weight of limb B. If the limbs need to be balanced, the thickness of the plastics material may be altered as between one part of the housing to another, or weights can be added, for example to the underside of the ramp 2, or to the end panel 5.

It has been found that the overall weight of the housing should be approximately 80 grams.

The side cheeks 4 can be extended beyond the rear of the panel 5 (see Fig 8) and by flaring the side cheeks where they extend beyond the ramp, so one housing can be nested into other as shown in Fig 9. This reduces the space required for storing and/or displaying the devices for retailing, and reduces the volume occupied by a plurality of such devices when packed for transportation or stacking.

In an alternative embodiment the panel 6 (shown in Figs 1 and 2) is omitted so that due to its momentum the ball is free to leave the device and roll off the RH limb B. Once it has left the device, the turning moment about the fulcrum point 9 (see Fig 2) causes the device to rock back from the position shown in Fig 6 to the position shown in Fig 1 but this time without the ball in position.

The panel 6 may be made removable so that the device can be used to retain the ball (as illustrated in Figs 4,6 and 7) or to allow the ball to roll off the RH limb B and leave the device as just described.

Figs 10 to 14 illustrate this alternative mode of use. In the device shown in Figs 10 to 14 the ramp surface 2 of the LH limb A merges with a similar ramp surface 12 in the RH limb B so that there is a smooth downwardly sloping surface down which the ball can roll when the device rocks about the fulcrum point 9 to the position shown in Fig 12.

By ensuring that there is an appropriate anticlockwise turning moment about the point 9 when the ball leaves the surface 12 (as shown in Fig 13) , the device will immediately rock back to its original position as shown in Fig 14, ready to receive another putt.

Claims

1. A practice putting device comprising a generally L-shaped housing adapted in use to lie in a first stable position on a generally flat horizontal surface over which a golf ball can be putted towards the device, with the rear of one limb of the housing in contact with the flat surface and the other limb pointing in generally upward direction, and wherein the upper surface of the said one limb presents a ramp up which a golf ball can roll on being putted towards the device, and wherein the position of the upper end of the ramp relative to the rear corner between the two limbs is such that when in use a golf ball arrives at the top of the ramp a turning moment will be created about the said corner, causing the device to pivot like a see saw about the corner, which becomes a fulcrum, so that the device rocks from the first position in which it rests on the rear of the first limb to a second position in which it rests on the rear of the said other limb.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the limbs includes side cheeks so that a ball will not tend to roll sideways off the device.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the said other limb lies beyond the fulcrum formed by the corner between the rear faces of the two limbs, measured in a direction in which the ball has to travel towards the device to run onto and up the ramp formed by the first limb.

4. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the said other limb includes a generally flat upper surface which when the device has rocked into the said second position presents a ramp down which the ball can run, and leave the device in the same direction of travel.

5. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the turning moment created by the weight of the said one limb acting about the fulcrum is greater than that due to the weight of the said other limb acting in the opposite sense about the fulcrum, so that in use the device will rock back and assume its said first position, ready to receive another putt, after a ball has run off the ramp formed by the said other limb

6. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the said other limb includes a barrier which in use prevents a ball from running off the said other limb and serves to retain the ball thereon, the weight of the ball serving to retain the device in its said second position with the ball trapped in place.

7. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the said other limb includes a recess in which a ball will nest so as in use to retain the ball in the device just beyond the fulcrum, so that the device will remain in its said second position.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7 wherein a barrier is provided to prevent a ball leaving the recess.

9. A device as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8 wherein the barrier forms a permanent feature of the construction of the said other limb.

10. A device as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8 wherein the barrier is removable to allow a ball to leave the said other limb.

11. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein the barrier is located at the far end of the recess in the said other limb (measured in the direction of ball movement onto and up the first limb ramp), and comprises an end- wall or stop, so that in use a ball which still has some momentum as it reaches the recess cannot carry on beyond the recess without scaling the barrier.

12. A device as claimed in claim 1 constructed so that in use as a golf ball arrives at the top of the ramp of the first limb, the centre of gravity of the combination of ball and device shifts beyond the fulcrum defined by the underside corner of the housing in (measured in the direction of ball movement), so that a previously stable equilibrium position of the device no longer exists and the device will pivot into a new position of stable equilibrium in which the first limb is now elevated and the said other limb occupies the down position.

13. A device as claimed in claims 12 wherein the rocking or tipping of the device into the second stable position signals that a ball putted towards the device would have been successfully "holed", on a green.

14. A device as claimed in claim 12 or 13 wherein the ball is free to run off the other limb so that the device rocks back into its first position after each putt as the ball leaves the device, so that a player can putt a number of balls in succession towards the device from the same point.

15. A device as claimed in claim 12 or 13 wherein the ball is retained in the device so that the device remains in the second position and only one ball is needed for practice, since after each putt the player can use his putter to tap the elevated limb of the device to cause it to pivot backwards and revert to its former position with the rear of the first limb once again flat on the ground, whereby in doing so the ball, which had been nested in the device is now free to roll back down the first limb ramp and to leave the device in the direction from which it was putted, ready to be putted again towards the waiting device.

16. Practice putting devices constructed and adapted to operate in use as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs 1 to 14 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 15 which is adapted to nest with other similar devices, so that a plurality of such devices can be stacked one in front of another or one on top of another for packing and transportation or display purposes.

17. Practice putting devices constructed conveyed and adapted to operate in use as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs 1 to 14 of the accompanying drawings. r

r r r r r r r r r r Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows r 1 1

1. A practice putting device comprising a single free-standing generally L-shaped housing which in use is placed on a generally flat horizontal surface over which a golf ball can be putted towards the device, with the rear of one limb of the housing in contact with the flat surface and the other limb pointing in a generally upward direction, and wherein the upper surface of the said one limb presents a ramp up which a golf ball can roll on being putted towards the device, and wherein the position of the upper end of the ramp relative to the rear corner between the two limbs is such that when in use a golf ball arrives at the top of the ramp a turning moment is created about the said corner, which becomes a fulcrum about which the device pivots like a see saw from the first position to a second position in which the rear of the said other limb is in contact with the said flat horizontal surface.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the said other limb includes side cheeks so that a ball will not tend to roll off sideways.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the said other limb includes an upper surface which when the device has rocked into the said second position presents a ramp down which the ball can run.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the said other limb includes a barrier which in use prevents a ball from running off the said other limb and serves to retain the ball thereon, the weight of the ball serving to retain the device in its said second position with the ball trapped in place.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the said other limb includes a recess in which a ball will nest so as in use to retain the ball in the device just beyond the fulcrum, so that the device will remain in its said second position.

l r l l l c c '- r _ 1k 6. A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein a barrier is provided to prevent a ball leaving the recess.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the barrier is located at the far end of the recess in the said other limb (measured in the direction of ball movement onto and up the first limb ramp), and comprises an end- wall or stop, so that in use a ball which still has some momentum as it reaches the recess cannot carry on beyond the recess without scaling the barrier.

8. A device as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7 wherein the barrier forms a permanent feature of the construction of the said other limb.

9. A device as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7 wherein the barrier is removable to allow a ball to leave the said other lunb.

10. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the said other limb lies beyond the fulcrum formed by the corner between the rear faces of the two limbs, measured in a direction in which the ball has to travel towards the device to run onto and up the ramp formed by the first limb.

11. A device as claimed in any of claims 4 to 8 constructed so that in use as a golf ball arrives at the top of the ramp of the first limb, the centre of gravity of the combination of ball and device shifts beyond the fulcrum defined by the underside corner of the housing (measured in the direction of ball movement), so that a previously stable equilibrium position of the device no longer exists and with the ball retained in the device the device will pivot into a new position of stable equilibrium in which the first limb is now elevated and the said other limb occupies the down position.

r r r r r r ( r r I ( r : .

I

12.A device as claimed in claims 11 wherein the rocking of the device into the second stable position signals that a ball putted towards the device would have been successfully "holed", on a green.

13. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the turning moment created by the weight of the said one limb acting about the fulcrum is greater than that due to the weight of the said other limb acting in the opposite sense about the fulcrum, so that in use the device will rock back and assume its said first position, ready to receive another putt, after a ball has run off the ramp formed by the said other limb 14. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13 which is adapted to nest with other similar devices, so that a plurality of such devices can be stacked one in front of another or one on top of another for packing and transportation or display purposes.

15. A method of practice putting employing a device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 in which the device is placed in its first stable position, a golf ball is putted towards the device so as to run up the ramp of the first limb so that the device will rock into its second stable position with the ball retained in the device denoting a successful putt, and after each successful putt the player taps the elevated limb of the device by for example using the putter, to cause it to pivot backwards and revert to its former first stable position with the rear of the first limb once again flat on the ground, whereby in doing so the ball, which had been nested in the device is now free to roll back down the first limb ramp and to leave the device in the direction from which it was putted, ready to be putted again towards the waiting device.