US1208838A - Ball-trap. - Google Patents

Description

C. A. ROLFE.

BALL TRAP.

APPLICAT'ON man JULY I2. 1915.

1,208,838. Patented Dec. 19,1916.

CHARLES A. BOLFE, F REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA.

BALL-TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

Application filed July 12, 1916. Serial No. 108,915.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, CHAnLEs A. ROLFE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Redlands, in the county of San Bernardino,

State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ball Traps, of which the followin is a specification.

This invention re ates to devices for trapping balls and other, similar objects of play; and relates particularly to a device which, in its specific preferred form, is adapted to entrap a golf all, thereby serving the purpose of a golf hole without the necessity of aving any of its operative parts beneath the surface on which the game is played.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel form of means for entrapping and holding a ball or the like without the necessit of cutting or sinking a hole 5-0 below the p aying surface.

In my game of lawn golf, for which I,

have fi'led application, Serial No. 855,374, August 6, 1914, and also in indoor or other putting courses, it is desirable to have a ball trap which does not necessitate the'cutting of a hole; and it is an object of my invention to provide a trap which may be placed on the playing surface without mar-ring or mutilatin this surface in any way.

It is a so an object of this invention to provide a. ball trap efficient and reliable in its action, and one which will infallibly catch and hold any ball which is rolling in a true course toward the trap.

I explain preferred forms of my invention in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a. side elevation showing one form of my device as it appears in use, Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken as indicated by line 3-3 on Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section taken as indicated by lines 44 on Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a detail taken as indicated by lines 5-45 on Figs. 3 and 4, Fig. 6 is a Side elevation of a slightly modified form of device, parts being broken away for the purpose of illustration, and Fig. 7 :is a similar view of another sli htl modified form.

, Irefiar first to Figs. 1 to 5, wherein I show a horizontal disk 10, preferabl spherical in contour; and around the perip ery of this disk I hang a. plurality of pendants 11. 55 These pendants 11 han loosely from the disk so that, except for 51o restriction hereinafter noted, they swing freely. The pendants are hung from the edge of the disk by means of small wire rings or loo s 12, the pendants bein referably formed of a. piece of wire doub ed upon itself and formed into a loop 13 engaging the loop or ring 12. The disk 10 is mounted upon a tubular standard 15 supported upon a suitable base 16, which rests upon the playing surface, as upon the lawn 17 as shown in Fig. 1. A stake or rod 18 serves to hold the device in place and also serves as a flag stall" for the flag 19. The whole device, in this particular form, is easily vertically movable on the rod 18, so that an entrapped ball may be removed by lifting the device off the ball.

I employ suitable means to limit the pendants 11 to inward movement, and to prevent their outward movement. At the edge of the disk 10 I turn down a plurality of flanges 20, one directly outside each of the pendants 11, so that each pendant 11 hangs against, or practically against the inner face of a flange 20. Each flange has a pair of lateral lips 21 which project angularly inwardly and thus restrict the inward swinging movement of the pendant to a field includednvithin horizontal angle such as indicated by the angle a in Fig. 5. That is, the pendants are each restricted to inward movement toward the center of the disk and are restricted to movement in a field included within an angle which is less than a. straight angle, and approximately equal to a right angle. The pendants cannot move in a direction circumferential of the disk; but it is also true that the have a certain freedom of movement and are not restricted to straight radial motion. The amount of freedom of movement of the pendants is determined to suit the circumstances; with the result that any ball which is proceeding on a true course toward the trap will be allowed to pass into the trap by pushmg some of the pendants inwardly and rolling under them; but the ball, when once in the trap, cannot pass out, because the pendants cannot swing outwardly at any angle at which a ball within the trap can strike them.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modified form of device in which the disk 10 with its pendants, etc., is mounted upon a sleeve 15 which fits more or less tightly upon the r0 18 so as to be adjustably sup orted on the rod. This arrangement provi es means for adjusting the height of the disk and the I for balls or other ohjeets of vari- Also in Fig. 7 I have shown a Here the disk 10 is '15, which is supported on pendants ous sizes. means of adjustment. mounted upon the sleeve mounted upon a standard 18" a base 16'.

It will he understood that although 1 explain my invention particularly in connection with the game of golf, my device is not limited to use in a game of golf, but may be used in any other game where it is desired to have a trap for entrappinp, and holding a spherical object.

Havingdcseribed a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. A ball trap or the like, embodying a horizontal disk and supporting means therefor, a plurality of pendants spaced around the edge of the disk, and means to restrict the pendants to movement inward toward the center of the disk and to restrict said inward movement to a horizontal field of amn-oxinmtely a right angle.

2 A ball trap or the like, embodying a horizontal disk, supporting means therefor adjustable to adjust the height of the disk above a playing surface, a pluralit of pendants spaced around the edge 0 the disk and hanging loosely therefrom, and means to restrict the pendants to movement inward toward the center of the disk and to restrict said inward movement to a horizontal field of approximately a ri ht angle.

3. A b 11 trap or tie like, embodyin an elevated support, a plurality of pend iints spaced around the support in substantially circular formation, and means to restrict the pendants toanward swinging motion toward the center of their formation and to restrict said motion of each pendant to a horizontal field of approximately a right angle.

- 4. A hall trap or the like, embodying a support, a plurality of movable members mounted on and spaced around the support in substantially circular formation and means to restriet said members to inward motion toward the center of their formation and to restrict said motion of eaeh member to a horizontal lield of approximately a right angle. whose apex at the normal position oi the member.

5. A ball trap or the like, embodying an elevated support, a plurality of pendants spaced around the support in substantially circular formation, and means to restrict each pendant to inward swinging motion in :1 held defined by an angle of approximately ninety degrees opening in 'ardly from the normal )osition of the pendant toward the renter oi the pendantformation.

6. A ball trap or the like, embodying a support, a plurality of movable members mounted on and spaced around said support in substantially circular formation, and means to restrict each movable member to in and motion in a field defined by an angle of approximately ninety degrees opening in wardly from the normal position of the member toward the center of the formation.

In witness that 1 claim the foregoing I have'hereunto subscribed my name this 27th day of June, 1916.

CHARLES A. ROLFE.

Witnesses J. C. DUNCAN, (J. I). Roman.

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