US3566893A

US3566893A - Ball retrieving device

Info

Publication number: US3566893A
Application number: US774779A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ray A Richardson; Helen M Richardson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-07-15
Filing date: 1968-11-12
Publication date: 1971-03-02
Anticipated expiration: 1988-03-02

Abstract

A device for retrieving objects such as golf balls from a ground area such as a driving range area and conveying them to a receptacle ready for reuse. The retriever device is mobile over the area and a V-shaped member extending from the device funnels the balls to the mouth of a conveyor having a series of rotating paddles which move the balls along an inclined conveyor to a point of collection. In the preferred embodiment a washer having a rotating agitator collects the balls from the conveyor to wash them.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventors RayA.Richardson Tucson, Ariz.; Helen M. Richardson (fiduciary ol the estate of said Ray A. Richardson) I 2| I Appl. No. 774,779

I22] Filed Nov. 12, 1968 I45] Patented M8132, 1971 541 mu, nam'r-zvmc DEVICE 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 134/115, 2l4/356, 56/328 [51] Int. Cl 360p 1/38 [50] Field Search 2 l4/356; 56/328, 327; l98/7BL; I34" 15 56] Reler'ences UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,482,383 9/1949 Traverso 56/328 2,643,754 6/1953 Doak 56/328X 2,817,405 12/1957 Pearson... 56/328X 3,362,551 l/l968 Shoemaker 214/356 Primary Examiner-Albert .l. Makay Attorney-Gregory J. Nelson ABSTRACT: A device for retrieving objects such as golf balls from a ground area such as a driving range area and conveying them to a receptacle ready for reuse. The retriever device is mobile over the area and a V-shaped member extending from the device funnels the balls to the mouth of a conveyor having a series of rotating paddles which move the balls along an inclined conveyor to a point of collection. In the preferred embodiment a washer having a rotating agitator collects the balls from the conveyor to wash them.

PATENTEDHAR 2 3.666.893

SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR. RAY A. RICHARDSON PATENTEU MAR 2|97| 3566.893

' sum 2 or 2 INVENTOR. RAY A. RICHARDSON RNEY BALL RETVENG DEVNIE The present invention pertains to a device for gathering and retrieving balls from a field or ground area.

More specifically, the invention relates to a mobile towed or self-propelled device for gathering and retrieving golf balls and like objects from an area and delivering them to a point of collection.

in a further aspect, the invention relates to a retriever of the above type incorporating a washing device adapted to clean the retrieved balls.

The efficient operation of a golf driving range requires the speedy retrieval of balls from'the range for reuse. Further, these balls must be collected at the closing of the range to protect from weather and possible theft. Additionally, the balls used on the range must be occasionally cleaned to improve their life and usefulness.

Ball retrievers of various design are available. Most of these are usually large pieces of equipment involving rotating cages or wheels that gather up the balls which then must be removed for use. The prior art designs are expensive and are exceedingly bulky and difiicult to maneuver about the field by the towing vehicle. Further, if the balls are in need of washing, they must be returned to the club house and washed, requiring an additional time-consuming step.

It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to provide a simplified device for retrieval of gold balls golf balls and like objects.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a simplifiedand efficient ball retriever. I

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ball retriever having a transfer conveyor fed by a gathering device that carries the retrieved objects to a point of collection.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a ball retriever which includes provision for washing the retrieved balls.

Still another object is to provide a ball retriever which may be conveniently and readily maneuvered about the field to collect balls.

A more specific object is to provide means on a ball retriever for gathering balls out of depressions in the surface and feeding them to a conveying device.

These and other, further, and more specific objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

MG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the ball retriever and washer constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

P10. 2 is a detail plan view, partly broken away, of the present invention.

F16. 3 is a side elevation view, partly broken away, particularly illustrating the conveyor of my device in greater detail.

F 16. d is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the conveyor and the conveyor paddles in operation.

P16. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the hinge members that act to eject balls out of ground depressions.

Briefly in accordance with the present invention, the retriever is mobile, either towable or self-propelled and is provided with a gathering member extending outwardly in the direction of forward travel of the retriever. The gatherer funnels the balls into a conveyor ramp which cooperates with whirling paddles that move the balls up the ramp where they impinge on a deflector plate and drop into the collector member which may be a tank equipped with an agitator and filled with water or some cleansing agent.

Turning now to the drawings, the retriever unit is generally designated as 1b and includes three main units: The ball gatherer 11, retriever 12, and collector 13. The retriever 12 is supported by a frame 14 which has a generally rectangular horizontal base 15 with upwardly extending members 16 secured to the rear of the frame. Wheels 17 and 18 are mounted in conventional manner on front and rear frame mounted axles 19 and 20 to support the retriever 12 for movement. Although I have shown only three wheels, it will be obvious that four would serve equally well. Aconveyor ramp 21 is inclined upwardly from just above theground near front axle 19 to the rear where it is supported at its upper end by the upper ends of frame members 16. The bottom or floor of the ramp 21 is shown as being. comprised of a series of parallel spaced apart stringers 22 running from the bottom to the top of the ramp which assist in guiding the balls in orderly fashion along the conveyor. Thetop of the ramp opens to form a point of collection 23. The ramp is enclosed by side frame members 24 and a plurality of longitudinally running members 25 which form a top. A deflector cage or unit 26 angularly intercepts the ramp 21 to define a downward opening at the point of collection 2Q The lowermost end of the ramp is defined by the bottom, sides, and top, as a generally rectangular opening 27 which forms the entrance to the conveyor ramp 21.

Several paddles

30, 31, 32, 33, are regularly spaced apart along the interior length of ramp 20 and are sized to snugly rotate therein. Paddles 31, 32, and 33, are rotative about shafts 34 secured in bearing blocks 35 on the sidewall 24 of ramp 21. Lowermost paddle 30 is mounted directly on front axle 19 for clockwise rotation with forward movement of the retriever. The remaining paddles 31, 32, and 33, are all driven by a belt and pulley arrangement from axle 19. As best seen in FIG. 2, paddle 31 is driven from pulley 41) also on axle 19 outboard of its bearingblock belt 41, and an inner sheave 43 of pulley 42. The outer sheave 44 of pulley 42 is drivingly connected to outer sheave 45 of pulley 46 through belt 47. In a similar manner, paddle 33 is belt driven by inner sheave 48, belt 49, and pulley 50. It can be seen that with this drive arrangement, all paddles rotate about their respective shafts in the same direction, clockwise during forward movement from the rotation of front axle 19. The positioning and spacing of the paddles within the ramp is such that the outer edge 51 of each paddle barely clears the ramp and the outer edges of successive paddles clear each other during rotation. I have found that for best results, the paddles should be of rubber, plastic, or other resilient material.

The gathering member 11 is mounted on the front of the retriever 12 and includes two outwardly extending

members

60 and 61 which are joined to the retriever on either side of front opening 27 to ride just above the surface. The

members

60 and 61 form a general V-shape and are secured for strength to the retriever by tie rod 63 extending from the top 23 of the retriever to crossbar support 64 located at the outer extremity of the V. Tie rod 63 is adjustable to provide some takeup in the collector. To further assist in gathering the balls, hinged members 65, as seen in FlGS. 1 and 5, are pivotally affixed to the inside of

members

60 and 61 and drop into low spots in the field and force the balls into a position to be funneled into mouth 26 of the ramp by collector 11. The hinged members 65 are pivotal about horizontal shafts 66 extending inwardly from members 61) and 61. Members 65 are of a length to allow them to extend below the bottom of members 6t) and 61. The L-shaped extension 68 of coil spring 67 acts against the rear of the hinge to bias the hinge to a vertical position.

The washing device 13 is shown as a tub 711 towably affixed, by a draw bar not shown, to conveyor 12 so as to receive balls ejected from deflector 26 at the top of the conveyor. The tub 70 is generally rectangular, being somewhat longer than wider to provide for reception of balls at the front end. Tub 70 has wheels 71 mounted on axle 72 in conventional manner. Agitator 73 includes a circular drive ring 75 which is mounted for horizontal rotation by a vertical axle 76 in journal 77 located in the bottom of the tub. Drive ring 75 is circular and extends peripherally outward to contact wheel 7 1 which is frictionally driven by wheel 71 on one side of tub 70. To provide further rotative assistance for the drive ring, two additional drive wheels can be provided on the side of the tub opposite wheel 74. Paddles 76 depend into tub 76 from ring 75' to agitate and move the balls about. Obviously, drive ring 75 could be gear driven, as by a bevel gear arrangement, off of axle 72. For convenience of removal of the washed balls, agitator 73 can be removably mounted in a journal on the bottom of the tub. To prevent splashing and loss of the washing liquid, a cover 79 having a handle for ease of removal is shown on drive ring 75.

OPERATION The device is towed through a tow bar 85 by a gasoline or electric golf cart or other vehicle. Tub 70 of the washer has already been filled with a suitable liquid cleansing agent.

The ball retriever is pulled across, for example, a driving range. Loose bails are gathered and directed to the rear of V- shaped collector due to its shape and movement. Balls lodged in low spots or depressions are scooped or kicked by members 65 so that they are in a position to be engaged by the

collector members

60 and 61 and funneled rearwardly to the retriever 7.2. The balls reach mouth 26 of the retriever where front paddle 30 is rotating clockwise and engages the balls to propel them upwardly along ramp 20. The spaced apart stringer guides the balls along the ramp. As the balls pass the zone of influence of paddle 30, they are picked up by paddle 31 which further acts to propel the balls along the ramp. The successive action of the paddles move the balls to the top of the ramp where they hit deflector 25 and drop downwardly into the front portion of tub 70. The action of the rotating agitator ring 75 moves the balls about to give them a good thorough cleansing. After a sufiicient number of balls are gathered and washed, the agitator 75 can be removed and the balls placed in baskets ready for use. For ease, the tub could be provided with a perforated lining which could be lifted out as a unit, leaving the water in the tub, to make easier collection of the balls.

When the liquid cleansing agent becomes dirty or much sediment has collected, the tub can be drained and refilled.

Obviously, if desired, the washtub '70 could be replaced with any type of collecting container if washing is not necessary. This is just one example of the versatility of the present invention.

Various other changes and modifications in the device herein chosen for purposes of illustration in the drawings will readily occur to persons having ordinary skill in the art. To the extent that such modifications and changes do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included in the scope thereof, which is not limited to the embodiment specifically illustrated in the drawings but only by a just and fair interpretation of the claims.

Having clearly described the invention and thereby enabling those skilled in the art to construct and use its principles,

lclaim:

Z. A ball retriever for collecting balls and similar objects lying on a field area comprising:

a. a frame member mobile over the ground area;

b. conveying means on said frame adapted to convey the balls to a point of discharge, said conveying means including at least one rotative paddle adapted to propel said balls from a receiving end on said conveying means to said point of discharge;

c. gathering means on said frame and movable therewith for gathering said balls from the ground area and introducing them to the conveyor means, said gathering means including means adopted to engage the ground for ejecting balls out of depressions in the ground; and

d. receptacle means on said frame member adapted to receive the balls from the discharge of said conveying means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said receptacle is a tub removably attached to said frame member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said tub is provided with means for washing the balls received therein.

4. A ball retriever for collecting balls lying on a field area as it moves over the ground area comprising comprising:

a. a mobile frame member having front and rear axles with wheels mounted thereon; b. a conveyor trough having a bottom and upstanding sidewa ls, said conveyor being rearwardly inclined having a lower receiving end and an upper discharge end;

c. paddle means mounted within the confines of said trough,

said paddle means being rotative about a shaft;

d. drive means for rotating said paddles;

e. two gathering members forming a general V-shape outwardly from each said trough sidewalls and adapted to gather and funnel balls to the receiving end of the conveyor;

f. means on said gathering members for ejecting balls out of depressions in the ground; and

g. a mobile receiving tank towably mounted to said frame to receive balls from the discharge of the conveyor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said tank is provided with agitator means frictionally driven.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said means for ejecting balls out of depressions comprise a biased hinged member extending inwardly from said gathering members and being spring biased in the direction of forward travel.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said conveyor trough bottom is comprised of a series of parallel spaced apart stringers which assist in the orderly transfer of the balls along the trough.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said drive means includes a drive pulley on said front axle, pulley means associated with each paddle shaft, and belt means interconnecting said drive pulley to said paddle pulley whereby said paddles are synchronously rotated as the ball retriever moves over the field area.

Claims

1. A ball retriever for collecting balls and similar objects lying on a field area comprising: a. a frame member mobile over the ground area; b. conveying means on said frame adapted to convey the balls to a point of discharge, said conveying means including at least one rotative paddle adapted to propel said balls from a receiving end on said conveying means to said point of discharge; c. gathering means on said frame and movable therewith for gathering said balls from the ground area and introducing them to the conveyor means, said gathering means including means adopted to engage the ground for ejecting balls out of depressions in the ground; and d. receptacle means on said frame member adapted to receive the balls from the discharge of said conveying means.

4. A ball retriever for collecting balls lying on a field area as it moves over the ground area comprising comprising: a. a mobile frame member having front and rear axles with wheels mounted thereon; b. a conveyor trough having a bottom and upstanding sidewalls, said conveyor being rearwardly inclined having a lower receiving end and an upper discharge end; c. paddle means mounted within the confines of said trough, said paddle means being rotative about a shaft; d. drive means for rotating said paddles; e. two gathering members forming a general V-shape outwardly from each said trough sidewalls and adapted to gather and funnel balls to the receiving end of the conveyor; f. means on said gathering members for ejecting balls out of depressions in the ground; and g. a mobile receiving tank towably mounted to said frame to receive balls from the discharge of the conveyor.