US3215293A

US3215293A - Golf ball retriever

Info

Publication number: US3215293A
Application number: US342957A
Authority: US
Inventors: John T Kelly; Ira H Skofield
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-02-06
Filing date: 1964-02-06
Publication date: 1965-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 1982-11-02

Description

/ Nov. 2, 1965 J. 1'. KELLY ETAL 3,215,293

GOLF BALL RETRIEVER Filed Feb. 6, 1964 INVENTOR John T. KeZ/y Fa H. Skafz'e/a United States Patent 3,215,293 GOLF BALL RETRIEVER John T. Kelly, 4840 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, Va., and Ira H. Slcolield, Virginia Beach, Va. (Star Rte. 4, Sabino Bath, Maine) Filed Feb. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 342,957 4 Claims. (Cl. 214356) This invention is directed to a device for gathering together ball-shaped objects and, in particular, is directed to a device for retrieving practice golf balls from a golf practice range.

Currently many golfers take a bucket or basket of anywhere from twenty-five to fifty balls to a practice tee in order to practice with various golf clubs. After the balls have been hit from the tee, the golfer manually picks them up and returns them to the practice tee to be used again.

The object of this invention is to produce a device for gathering together the golf balls on the practice range so that they can be retrieved in a bunch and returned to the practice tee without the necessity of the golfer leaning over and manually picking up each ball.

In general, this and other objects of the invention are obtained by means of a rolling cylindrical cage having resilient wires forming the tread portion of the cage. These wires are spaced from each other a distance less than the diameter of the golf ball so that when the cage retriever is rolled over the golf ball, the ball will spring two adjacent wires apart and slip into the interior of the cage. After the cage has picked up all of the practice balls, it can be emptied by simply disengaging one of the resilient wires. The retriever is of simple inexpensive construction, of lightweight, and extremely effective in retrieving practice golf balls.

The means by which the objects of the invention are obtained are described more fully with respect to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the retriever;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detailed cross-sectional view showing the attachment of the resilient wires to the wheels of the retriever.

The retriever has the general form of a rollable cylindrical cage. A pair of wheels are. mounted on an ,axle 12, the ends of which are journalled in a pair of arms 14, respectively, which are brought together to form a shaft 16 for pushing the retriever over the ground.

Each wheel 10 is formed as a solid disc composed of wood, metal or a synthetic plastic and has an annular row of holes 20 concentric with axle 12. A slot 22 extends radially outward from each hole to the periphery of the wheel. Resilient steel spring wires 24, preferably having the same diameter as the width of slot 22, have spoke portions 26, a part of which is coextensive with wheel 10 and a part of which extends outwardly beyond the wheel, and the free ends 28 of which are inwardly bent and tightly held in the holes 20 in each wheel 10. Extending parallel to axle 12 and between the leg portion 6 of each wire is a cross-piece tread portion 30. The adjacent tread portions 30 are spaced circumferentially of the wheels a distance which is less than the diameter of the object being gathered. For example, an American golf ball has a diameter of 1.68 inches, and in the retriever, adjacent tread portions 30 are spaced apart 0.75 inch.

In operation, the retriever is rolled over the surface of the ground by pushing on shaft 16. As the tread portions 30 pass over a ball, downward pressure on the shaft 16 causes the tread portions 30 to be flexed and separated by the ball, and the ball then snaps into the interior of the retriever. The slots 22 restrain the spoke portions 26 of the wire against displacement in a peripheral direction with respect to the wheel so that the resiliency of the wires 24 lies only in the unconfined length of the spoke portions 26 outwardly of the wheel 10 and in the flexure of the tread portions 30. After all the balls have been gathered in the retriever, they can be emptied therefrom by pulling out one of the spoke portions 26 from the wheel 10 to form an opening sufiicient for the passage of the balls. For this purpose, fabric tabs 32 are secured to the spoke portions 26 of one of the resilient wires to serve as convenient finger grips for removing that wire from the wheels.

Having now described the means by which the objects of the invention are obtained,

We claim:

1. A ball retriever for gathering balls lying on a ground surface comprising a pair of spaced wheels joined by an axle, a plurality of tread forming steel spring wires attached to said wheels, each wire having spoke portions extending radially of and outwardly beyond each wheel, respectively, and a cross-piece between said spoke portions and parallel to said axle, each cross-piece being spaced circumferentially of the wheels a distance slightly less than that of the balls to be gathered and being sufficiently resilient to springover the surface of a ball so that a ball can be gathered within the retriever, means for restraining the parts of said spoke portions coextensive with the wheels from movement in the peripheral direction of the wheels as balls are being gathered in the retriever, and shaft means secured to said axle for pushing and rolling the retriever over the ground surface.

2. A ball retriever, as in claim 1, said means for restraining said coextensive parts of said spoke portions comprising a radially extending slot in the side of each wheel for each spoke portion, and each coextensive part being seated in its respective slot.

3. A ball retriever as in claim 2, further comprising an inwardly bent end on each spoke portion held in a corresponding hole in each wheel.

4. A ball retriever as in claim 3, at least one of said spoke portions being removably attached to a wheel for opening the retriever to empty gathered balls therefrom.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 1,388 1/02 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Examiner.

Claims

1. A BALL RETRIEVER FOR GATHERING BALLS LYING ON A GROUND SURFACE COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED WHEELS JOINED BY AN AXLE, A PLURALITY OF TREAD FORMING STEEL SPRING WIRES EXTENDING RADIALLY OF AND OUTWARDLY BEYOND EACH WHEEL, EXTENDING RADIALLY OF AND OUTWARDLY BEYOND EACH WHEEL, RESPECTIVELY, AND A CROSS-PIECE BETWEEN SAID SPOKE PORTIONS AND PARALLEL TO SAID AXLE, EACH CROSS-PIECE BEING SPACED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE WHEELS A DISTANCE SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THAT OF THE BALLS TO BE TATHERED AND BEING SUFFICIENTLY RESILIENT TO SPRINGOVER THE SURFACE OF A BALL SO THAT A BALL CAN BE GATHERED WITHIN THE RETRIEVER, MEANS FOR RESTRAINING THE PARTS OF SAID SPOKE PORTIONS COEXTENSIVE WITH THE WHEELS FROM MOVEMENT IN THE PERIPHERAL DRIECTION OF THE WHEELS AS BALLS ARE BEING GATHERED IN THE RETRIEVER, AND SHAFT MEANS SECURED TO SAID AXLE FOR PUSHING AND ROLLING THE RETRIEVER OVER THE GROUND SURFACE.