US2484437A

US2484437A - Golf ball collector

Info

Publication number: US2484437A
Application number: US648100A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wells F Warren
Original assignee: Blair Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: Blair Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1946-02-16
Filing date: 1946-02-16
Publication date: 1949-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1966-10-11

Description

Oct. 11, 1949. F. w. WELLS- GOLF BALL COLLECTOR Filed Feb. 16, 1946 Patented Oct. 11, 1949 GOLF BALL COLLECTOR F." lWarren" Wells, Springfield, Mass., assignor to Blair Manufacturing Company, *Springfield, n'Massaa corporation of Massachusetts i Application'February 16, 1946; Serial No; 648,100-

' 7 Claims. 1 "'This' inventionrelates to improvements in golf "hall"collectors'and is primarily "direct'ed to re- ;"ttrieving"means 'for" recovering the. golf balls ":wh1ch become scattered" over a wide" area of a practice"drivingrange.

An object of thisinvention is-theprovision of f me'chanical means-whichywhen drawn, pulled, or pus-hed over"tl'ie groundg will pickop golf balls "or th fiike-"which maybe lying on the: :ground arid depo'sit thenr in a *receptacle provided for 'rec'eiving t'hem.

Arfurtherobject of this-Tinve'ntion is the pro- 1 *vi'sionf-in meehanical means for collecting golf r- 'la'iills irom' the ground," 'ofa removableand replaceaiblereceptacle ormasket, whereby, when '-"one"receptacle becomes full, it maybe removed and-"'an empty one substituted; without removtlng the collecting device from its r field of' operatlon.

stilli another object: of 'this' invention is the provision}: in a'i'golfr ball collectingvdevice, of a s: consimu'cti'om which'rprovides' for separating. the -g6lf::balls 'cfromgrass clippings; twigsgwand "the llilikefi andtzalsdfifor cleaning A theu'ballsi while they esremairrtim the receivingreceptacle Another 70bje'ct of this invention" is. :the prowi'siomcofe a;j'golf::ba1l collector: which. is *simple,

sturdy, and economical of construction and one -iwhicheadapts itself readily-and' efl1ciently1 to opemtion'weither as: a'sing'le unit, or iin a 'gang :of 'v lumta-sjimil arito a gang lawnmower. i 2 These, and other objects and advantagescf "e -this invention-will be clearly "described and'diswclosed dnz'this specification, "the accompanying hidrawings; andsthe appended claims.

Broadlyythis invention comprises a frame, t a

shaft journalled in the fram e,-1: traction wheels a secured on :the shaft' and drivin the same, a tpluralityi-iofspring fingers secured ito' the ishaft wand providing; when the shaft is revolved; a reiVOlViIlgxYlllldBlFfOl. forcing golf ballssin the path i-nofiuthe cylinder 'TtO the: rearnof thecylind'enta wnamp isecured on the frame withits front edge It in juxtapositiontto' the ground andoto the under lsideuofr. the revolving cylinder, a removable [basket or ireceptacle supported in the 1 frame to the il-rearsofthe ramppthezrear edge of'-the ramp over- .:liang-ing-- the front-edge of the basket; vwhereby, wwhen golfaballs: are --forced rearwardlywhy the .tsspringwfingers: onwthe revolving shaft; they Will roll up the ramp and intothe-basket,Ithe ramp eandebasket-being' constructed of perforate material rwhiclr will permitobjectsrandz'debris smaller than? a; go1f-.-iba1l to pass through themtto the aground.

A pref-erredeinbodiment "of this invention --is illustrated 'in the accompanying drawings, in "which "Fig; 1 is a plan view-bf my golf ball 'collector,

"Fig 2-is'"- a cross -sectional view' taken on the FigF 34s a partial; sectional view illustrating the-means for securing 'the spring fingers to the i revolving"shaft and "*Fig-E 4 is aperspective view bf one ofthe spring I gets.

Referringnow to "the "drawings in detail, in

vhi'ohdikenumerals"refer to like parts throughout,

5 A-"euhstantially"u shapedframe I Jh'aVing 'Sides 2; a rear Wam- 3; and-forwardly extendin ears 4? has a sh a-ft- 5 -rotatably=journalled irithe for- "*ward efids l? of the' s'ide walls 2.' The ears 4-are provided with holes 1 for receiving cables or rither suitalole' connections *(n ot' shown) 'toithe ixdrawebar of a tra'otorior the like. 'I-ractionwheels are' operatively connected 01 secured 1 on the ll'ed r 'push'ed across- 'the' ground, the traction 8 "*revolve lthe sh'aftifi, in ithe direction r acastemil; v=sup'ptirted: on lthe lleal' wall? 310i the s; shame? in provides a :r'ear 'support ior ithe frame I, so that the frame I has: aiithree' point support A plurality oft U'-"Sha1JBd;" spring" fingers-l 9; 'removablywsecured in the shaft: 5', :revolve with the fl-shaftr Eu a-rid are of such length as nto approach, catfltheirtlowest "position; within azishort distance f' the groundrsoathat a'go'lf'ball located in the 3':''path?-:"of:rthe revolving fingers [twill-he forced =21 on kicked rearwardlyi. when" contacted -loy 0nef' -or wm'oreofi the? fingers 'HJ.

P A'Tamp ll zcomposed of applate 12; spacing bar .4521! is positioned with the front 'edge'of the" plate 112 guxtapositiori" to the ground in adjacent theipert-meter of a "cylinder" form'ed by 'the revolution of th fiiig'ers lD,"andtheramp is'slant- 'edfiupwardly and -rearwardly from the front edge iiziplate El 2,1- :rodsw or bars ligand: spaoing'mm 3 1 mayl be 'isecured itogether in any suitablemam sxnensuch aszspottwelding.

F w-a'basket o ceptacle ilfiphavingt a semi=0irsupported on the sides 2 of the frame I by means of clips I9, secured in spaced relationship on the side walls I8. Handle grips 29 are secured on the side Walls I8 of the basket Iii, thus providing means for lifting the basket out of its supporting frame. The bottom I I of the basket I6 is preferably made of perforate material, as best indicatedin Fig. 1, with the perforations 2| of somewhat smaller size than the diameter of a golf ball. A wire mesh has also been used for the bottom II of the basket I 6, with satisfactory results. The rear ends of the rods I9 extend over the forward edge of the basket I6, as shown in Figs. 1 and -2.

Wing members 22, secured on the sides 2 of the frame I, close the gap between the wheels 8 and the basket I6, thus preventing balls forced rearwardly up the ramp II from escaping at the sides of the collecting device.

The spring fingers II] are formed with their base portions 23 bent away from the direction of revolution, as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 4, thus providing a brushing effect on golf balls located in their path. It has also been found that this construction provides a maximum of efficiency, as on v the rare occasions when the portion 23 strikes the exact top of a golf ball, the ball is either snapped rearwardly up the ramp and into the basket, or snapped forwardly. In the latter case, the ball will be picked up again as the machine approaches its new position. As shown in Fig. 3, the spacing of the U-shaped fingers I is less than the diameter of a golf ball 24, shown by dotted lines, so that there is no possibility of a ball being missed bythe fingers Ill. If a ball should be located be- :r

tween the fingers II] and the ramp II when the machine is at rest, it will be scooped up by the plate [2 as soon as the machine is moved forwardly.

Fig. 3 illustrates one method of removably securing the fingers II in the shaft 5. The shaft 5 is provided with spaced transverse bores or holes 25, of sufficient diameter to receive two of the legs 26 'of the fingers H, and set screws 21 clamp the legs 26 in place. Thus, any one of the fingers I I which may become broken or badly bent out of shape, by striking a rock or from any other cause, may be easily replaced without disturbing any of the other fingers.

In operation, this golf ball collector is preferably pulled ahead of whatever power plant may be used for motivation, such as a tractor or truck, by being attached to a draw bar extending forwardly of the operating machine. The collector may be used singly, or in multiple, like a gang lawnmower, by having the separate units attached to the usual draw bar construction for gang lawn mowers, and the whole attached to the forwardly extending draw bar. It is preferable to have the collecting units move ahead of the truck or tractor, so that the wheels of the latter will not ride over and force any of the golf balls into the ground before they are picked up. Satisfactory results have also been obtained with a single unit located in advance of each of the front wheels of the truck or tractor, and a gang of units drawn behind the truck or the like and spanning the distance between the two forward units.

The spaced rods l 4 of the ramp I l permit twigs, dirt, stones, grass clippings, and the like to fall through to the ground, and the perforated bottom of the basket I6 is useful in cleaning the collected golf balls by turning a hose on them while they are still contained in the basket. This may be done While the basket is still in place in the col- 4 lecting device, or after the basket has been removed to some more convenient location.

What I claim is:

l. A golf ball collector comprising a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, traction wheels secured on opposite ends of said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped spring fingers secured in said shaft in spaced relationship, on opposite sides of said shaft, the fingers on one side of said shaft being staggered relative to the fingers on the opposite side of said shaft, the spacing of said fingers being less than the diameter of a golf ball, and a basket removably supported in said frame for receiving golf balls moved toward said basket by said spring fingers.

2. In a golf ball collector, a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, traction wheels secured on said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped spring fingers having the free ends of their leg portions removably secured in said shaft, said fingers being arranged in spaced, parallel relationship in diametrically opposite rows, the spacing of said fingers being less than the diameter of a golf ball, and a receptacle removably supported in said frame for receiving golf balls forced toward said receptacle by said spring fingers.

3. In a golf ball collector, a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, traction wheels secured on said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped spring fingers having their free ends removably secured in said shaft, said fingers being arranged in spaced, parallel relationship in diametrically opposite rows and having their outer end portions bent away from the direction of rotation of said shaft, the spacing of said fingers being less than the diameter of a golf ball, and the spacing between the legs of said fingers being also less than the diameter of a golf ball, and a receptacle supported on said frame for receiving golf balls forced toward said receptacle by said spring fingers.

4. In a golf ball collecting device, a reel comprising a shaft, means for revolving said shaft, a plurality of spring fingers removably secured in said shaft in spaced parallel relationship and in diametrically opposite rows, the fingers in one row being staggered relative to the fingers in the opposite row, the spacing of said fingers being less than the diameter of a golf ball.

5. In a golf ball collecting device, a reel comprising a shaft, means for revolving said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped spring fingers having their free ends removably secured in said shaft, the spacing of the arms of said fingers and the spacing between said fingers being less than the diameter of a golf ball, and the outer ends of said fingers being bent away from the direction of rotation of said shaft.

6. A golf ball collector comprising a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, traction wheels secured on opposite ends of said shaft, a plurality of U-shaped spring fingers secured in said shaft in spaced, parallel relationship, the spacing of said fingers being slightly less than the diameter of a golf ball, a ramp secured in said frame and slanting upwardly and rearwardly from a leading edge located close to the bottom of and in juxtaposition to a cylinder of rotation defined by said spring fingers, and a golf ball receptacle removably supported in said frame rearwardly of said ramp, with the front edge of said receptacle located below the rear edge of said ramp.

'7. A golf ball collector as defined in claim 6, said ramp being in the form of a grid, with the spaces between the solid elements of said grid slightly less than the diameter of a golf -ball,-and

5 said receptacle having a perforate bottom, the Number perforations in said bottom being less in diameter 895,332 than the diameter of a golf ball. 1,204,220 F. WARREN WELLS. 1,425,544 5 2,287,133 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Number file of this patent. 179,102

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 849,646 Weaver Apr. 9, 1907 Name Date Von Bertauch Aug. 4, 1908 Whiting Nov. 7, 1916 Reiter Aug. 15, 1922 Reiter June 23, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Nov. 27, 1906