US2974958A - Miniature golf apparatus and game - Google Patents

Description

March 14, 1961 OHERRON 2,974,958

MINIATURE GOLF APPARATUS AND GAME Filed May 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I as 19 43 11 37 MN 37 25 Hll I II 2Q 15 23 FIG.3

March 14, 1961 T. D. OHERRON MINIATURE GOLF APPARATUS AND GAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 22, 1959 MINIATURE GOLF APPARATUS AND om Thomas D. OHerron, 70'Liberty st, Dansville, LY; Filed May 22, 1959, 'Ser. No. 315,189

Claims; 4C1; 1 -7 1 a The present invention relates to a miniature golf appa-. ratus and game to be set up on a lawn or green out of doors, or on an indoor floor, if desired,-and particularly adaptable to be used by novices in the game of golf.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved miniature golf apparatus having a number of assemblies each of which represents a hole and which can be arranged in a selected pattern for a miniature golf course.

'Another object is the provision of a miniature golf apparatus composing a barrier having a tunnel through which the ball may pass and a deflector arranged behind the tunnel for deflecting the ball to either side. ""Yet another object is to provide a new and improved miniature golf apparatus of the foregoing'kind having rubber 'bar'rie rs so that the ball bounces back if not hit in the correct direction. A further object is the provision of a miniature golf game composed'of a plurality of standard barrier'and deflectorunits through which a ball must pass, the units being'adapted to be placed on a lawn or green in a selected pattern and being easily removable to another position or for storage, and each unit or assembly being subject, to some individual variation of shape or spacing when installed, so that there may be some individual variations in the separate holes of the game.

It is seen from the foregoing disclosure that the above mentioned objects of the invention are well fulfilled. It is to be understood that the foregoing disclosure is given by wayof illustrative example only, rather than by way of limitation, and that'without departing from the invention, the details may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.

Fig. lis a perspective view of the miniature golf apparatus parts constituting one individual hole assembly,"comprising'separate barrier and deflector units arranged in a preferred manner;

Fig. 2. is at'op'view of the deflector unit;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the, barrier unit;

. Fig. 4 is a front elevationalview of the barrier unit; and 1 Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are cross-sectional views of the unit Patented Mar. 14, i9 1 19 but which is aimed slightly inaccurately bounces 0E the'frontfatze 17 of the rubber block, whereafter the player has another try to get the ball through the tunnel." Preferably, the block is provided with rearwardly angled wing ends 21 and 23 at either side of the block 15 to provide additional deflecting surfaces for a ball. The

7 block 15 and the two wing ends 21and 23 are desirably mounted on a rigidbacking and mounting plate '25 preferably' made'of' plastic or other like material. Alf though thefblbck-IS and theends 21 and 23 may be cementedto the backing'plate 25, in the preferred em-' bodiment they are -pinned in place by a plurality of pins 27 extending through these components into the backing plate in almannerto be explained. A flag 29 is desirably provided and issuitably mounted on the plate 25 for indicating the number of the hole which the particular 7 barrier anddeflector unit is intended to represent.

The deflector unit 13 is arranged centrally behind and spaced from the barrier unit '11 to deflect a ball hit through the tunnel 19 to either side. The deflector unit comprises two rearwardly and' outwardly curved deflect: ing plates 31 and 33 joined together at their front ends so that the plates are oppositely disposed about an imaginary center line between them. A ball coming through the tunnel-strikes a portion of either of the deflector plates 31 or 33 to be deflected sidewardly.

v To. provide an additi onal barrier in going through the tunnel 19suceessful1y; theadjoining front ends of the' deflector plates 31 and 33 have mounted thereon a resili ent bumper 35. A ball passing through the tunnel 19 has the additional chance of striking the bumper 35 and being deflected back out through the tunnel 19 or partially in that direction. f

The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 provides one of the holes for a miniature golf course. A number of the setups may be disposed in any desired pattern around a lawn or green, nine holes or eighteen holes being pro shown in Fig. 4 taken on the lines 5-5, 6-6, and 77 block 15 made of a suitable resilient material and having preferably a substantially flat front face 17. 'A tunnel 19' extends through the central lower portion of the barrier block 15 to provide a passageway through which a ball may be hit. A ballhit toward the tunnel vided in the most usual game. To secure the barrier unit 11in place on a lawn or the like, a plurality of ground spikes 37 extend through lugs in the backing plate 25 in a manner to be further explained. Preferably two spikes 37- are provided each having a laterally en larged head which extends over the top edge of the backing plate 25. unit 13 is secured in place on the lawn or the like by other similar spikes 41. 'Preferably two spikes 41 aretprof vided for each deflector plate each having an enlarged head which fits over the top edge of the plate. The degflector unit 13 is shown to an enlarged scale in Fig. 2. I, The deflector plates 31 and 33 in the preferred form x are'eac'h slightly more than degree arcs of a circle, j

the extreme front ends in excess of an exact quarter.

circle being flattened toward each other or straightened out so as to lie flat one against the other, these straight portions being cemented or otherwise suitably secured" together.

they'may be made as other kinds of rearwardly and outwardly slanting curved surfaces other than arcs of circles. A successful model has been madein which the plates 31 and 33 are arcs of a nine inch radius, but

thisdimensi on is not to be taken as limiting.

Turning now to the barrier unit 11, as shown in 3 and 7, the plate 25 is likewise preferably made of plas-' tlmae. I 99 Pasties ala sfi at q ther endisee Fig,

In a similar manner, the deflector The plates 31 and '33 are preferably made of plastic, or some similar material which will bounce olf a 3, is. angled outwardly and backwardly at about 45 de: grees to provide a mountingfor the wing ends 21 and 23. The angled end portions 25 are preferably integral with the central. portion. ofv the backing. plate. As. with. the deflector plates, any suitable. rigid material. other than plastic may be used which is resistant. to. deterioration by. the. weather. The. central block. 15. is preferably. integral with the two wing. ends. 21 and 2.3., the. entire rubber. barrierblock being molded. as. a. single. unit. for, the. sake ofconvenience of, manufacture. e The, tunnel 19 is. an. inverted U-shaped member having a pairof spaced upstanding flanges. 43. and;45..-.rising.frm

its outer surface toward. one. end. The. flanges. 43; and

45 provides. a groove or. slot. extending aroundthe. tunnel member 19. The. backing plate. 25. has a corresponding inverted U-shaped. recess, the .edgesproviding the. recess fitting h y n the grooveformed bythe flang s. 43. and 45. corresponding U-shaped recess which fits over, the for-. ward portion of the tunnel 19 ,and;the, forward, flangeAS,

As seen in Fig. 5, the rearsurface of the backing, plate 25 approximately centrally of the. rear flange. 43 has a plurality of attachedrearwardly extending lugs 47; which are apertured for receiving the shaft of the. flag29, The lugs 47 are vertically spaced, of course, two lugs being here shown, and the end of the shaft of the flag 29 ex.- tending through them rests onthe top edge of; theflange 43. The flag 29, as has been mentioned, is imprinted with a number representing the 'hole number, the numbers running from 1 upwards consecutiyely. to any. desired number of holes, 18 holes being the normal maximum.

Referring now especially to Fig. 6, the back surface f e. backing P 25 sl'p i etl wi h a. pl r lity f i al alined a d pa ar rardly re ed uss42 each provided with an aperture for receiving the spikes 37. The spikes 37 each have a tapered shank theend se ene The central rubber block 15 likewisehas. a

single units. may be used. for practice. purposes, in use it is expected that 9 or 18 holes will be set up on a lawn or a green. The barrier units 11 are located at selected positions and secured in place by inserting the spikes 37 through the lugs 49 and pounding them into the ground. A deflector unit 13 is located behind an imaginary center line through the tunnel 19, and spaced from the tunnel 19 in the manner shownin Fig. 1 and is similarly secured teri'hsgrisuaa. The relative location of. the. different. miniature. golf apparatus, each representing a hole, is selected by the user and depends on the amount of available space, among. other things, The. distance of each deflector unit. behind its barrier unit may also be varied to allow some flexibility in the game.

A regulation golf ball or a rubber ball about the same size is used, together with a regulation size golf club. A number 1 to 5 club or a putter is recommended. For children, childrensclubs. may be used.

In theuse of theminiature. golf apparatus, the ball. is aimed. toward thetunnel 19.. If it misses. the. tunnel 19, it may. strike the. face. 17 of. the rubber barrier block and bedeflected. In the. case/that the ball passes through the tunnel 19., it. may also strike the rubber bumper on, thedeflector unit 13. and. bounce back intothetunno.1; Or i he ire ion ofthe tunnel. If the. ball passes to either side of the bumper 35, it strikes one of the deflector plates 31 or 33 and is. deflected to. the. side, whereupontheballmay, behit toward. the next miniature g lf apparatus epresenting the next hole.

A set of; rules, may. be made up. for a miniature golf game, using theapparatus of the present invention. For instance, it may berequiredjto play the. complete. course without touehing the ball, audit the ballistouchedby of which extends into the ground, The heads of the i spikes are enlarged laterally in one direction. 50 to extend over the top edge of the backingplate 25. Thus, with the spikes projecting through the apertures in the lugs 49 into the ground, the heads of the spikes bear down the top edge or the backing plate 25t hold the.

barrier unit securely in place at a selected location. Al though not shown in the drawing, the deflector plates 31 and 33 are provided with similar lugs through which the spikes 41 extend.

Although the central rubber block 15 and the wing ends 21 and 23 may be cementedto the backing plate 25, in the preferred embodiment this securement is. ob.- tained by the means of the pins 27 as illustrated inlfig, 7. The pins 27 each have a tapered shank and anen; larged head. Alined apertures are provided in the back; ing plate and the rubber barrier block. Thus, the. rubber barrier is provided with a series ofvertically and laterally spaced approximately horizontally disposed bores 51, and alined taperedapertures 53 are likewise provided in the backing plate 25, the tapered shank of thepins 27 each extending through one of the bores to be force-fitted into the corresponding aperture 53. The pins 27 are distributed in a desired. pattern on: either side of the tunnel 19 in order toiprovidefari adequate holding means for the entire rubber barrier.

It has been mentioned that in a successful modeLthe deflector plates are arcs of a nine inch radius. For this size of deflecting unit, good results. are obtained. when the tunnel 19 is about 4 A'in'ches. in width, the height of the tunnel being suflicicnt' to pass a regulation size golf hand except at the starting, this may count, two strokes; If the. ball becomes trapped in the tunnel, it may be moved'on through andoount two strokes. The strokes for each, hole may be counted and scored, and may. be compared to. a par. It is recommended that a par of three strokes for short holes be adopted, or. else one stroke for every 15 to ZO feet, of course. Rulessimilar to these or any other rules which theparticular players may prefer may be adopted.

One or t ereof the miniature golf apparatus may b usedindoors, In thiscase, the spikes 37 and 41 are not used, If it is found to be necessary, the various barriers and deflector. units may be weighted by small weights or thelike to prevent their being moved by the impact of va ball striking againstthem.

The miniature golf apparatus of the present invention is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and is simple to set up. and use by a relatively unskilled player. The units are designed to be resistant to weather so that they may be left on the lawn or green Sufficient flexibility in the placement of the various miniature golf aPPBratus is allowed to adaptthe gameto be played in areas of widely different sizes. I

It, is seen from the foregoing disclosure that the above mentioned objects of the invention are well fulfilled. It is to be. understood. that the foregoing disclosure. is given by way of illustrative example only, rather than by way of limitation, and that without departing from the invention, the details may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A miniature golf. apparatus including a barrier unit and a deflector unit, said barrier unit comprising anv upstanding elongated re silient block having a tunnel extending throughthe central lower portion thereof, said deflector unit comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rearwardly and outwardly curved deflector. platessecured together at their front ends, said deflector unit being an ranged behind said tunnel so that a ball hit through said tunnel is deflected to either side by said deflector plates, the ball being deflected by said resilient block when it strikes said barrier unitto either side of saidtunuel.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, further including a resilient bumper attached to the adjoining front ends of said deflector plates to deflect a ball impinging thereon back in the direction of said tunnel.

3. A construction as defined in claim 1, wherein said miniature golf apparatus is adapted to be fastened to the ground, apertured lugs on each of said units, and a plurality of spikes each extending through at least one of said lugs into the ground, said spikes each having an enlarged head overlying a portion of one of said units.

4. A miniature golf apparatus including a barrier unit and a deflector unit, said barrier unit comprising an upstanding elongated rubber block, a rigid backing and mounting plate, means for attaching said rubber block to said backing plate, and a tunnel member extending through said rubber block and mounting plate, said deflector unit comprising two oppositely disposed rearwardly and outwardly curving arcuate deflector plates attached to one another at their front ends, and a rubber bumper secured to the front ends of said deflector plates, said defiector unit being arranged centrally behind said tunnel member so that a ball hit through said tunnel member is deflected to either side by said deflector plates and is defiected back in the direction of said tunnel member upon striking said bumper.

5. A construction as defined in claim 4, wherein said tunnel member has a pair of upstanding spaced flanges defining a slot therebetween, said backing plate having a correspondingly shaped recess received in said slot.

6. A miniature golf game comprising a plurality of miniature golf apparatus each including a barrier unit and a deflector unit, each said apparatus representing a hole and adapted to be disposed about a lawn or the like to provide a course, each said barrier unit comprising an elongated upstanding resilient block having a tunnel therethrough to allow passage of a ball, and each said deflector unit comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rearwardly and outwardly curving deflector plates attached to one another at their adjoining front ends, a resilient bumper secured to the adjoining front ends of said deflector plates, said deflector unit being arranged substantially centrally and spaced rearwardly of said tun- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Shannon May 2, 1939 Schanz Sept. 19, 1939

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