US3828165A

US3828165A - Golf ball warming oven

Info

Publication number: US3828165A
Application number: US00345351A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Collins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-03-27
Filing date: 1973-03-27
Publication date: 1974-08-06
Anticipated expiration: 1991-08-06

Abstract

A golf ball warming oven is constructed of a tubular housing surrounded by an insulating cover. The oven is mounted over the exhaust manifold on a gas powered golf cart. For use on electric powered golf carts, the electric resistance coils are wrapped around the housing underneath the insulated cover.

Description

Unite States Patent [191 Collins 1 GOLF BALL WARMING OVEN [76] lnventor: Joseph M. Collins, 31 15 Tawny Oak Dr San Antonio, Tex. 78230 [22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 345,351

[52] US. Cl 219/521, 150/15 C, 150/52 A, 219/385, 219/535, 219/537, 221/297, 273/32 [51] Int. Cl. H05b 3/06 [58] Field of Search 219/214, 385, 469, 521, 219/535, 537; 150/15 R, 1.5 B, 1.5 C, 52;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,699,048 1/1929 Connor ISO/1.5 C 1,754,495 4/1930 Anderson.....

1,958,956 5/1934 Preston 221/301 X 1 Aug. 6, 1974 2,279,093 4/1942 Peters 312/48 3,030,483 4/1962 Rudolph et a1. 219/214 3,091,681 5/1963 Mayer 273/52 X 3,186,593 6/1965 Miotke 221/297 3,436,171 4/1969 Weichselbaum et a1 219/521 X 3,497,676 2/1970 Gravalt 219/521 3,547,314 12/1970 Brandell 221/301 3,683,155 8/1972 Loofbourow 219/521 Primary Examiner-Volodymyr Y. Mayewsky Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Donald R. Comuzzi; Ted D. Lee

[ 5 7] ABSTRACT A golf ball warming oven is constructed of a tubular housing surrounded by an insulating cover. The oven is mounted over the exhaust manifold on a gas powered golf cart. For use on electric powered golf carts, the electric resistance coils are wrapped around the housing underneath the insulated cover.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDM B W 3.828.165

sum

1 or 2 FIG. 4

PAIENIEM 51974 SHEU 2 [IF 2 F lG."5

FIG. 6

GOLF BALL WARMING OVEN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Use This invention relates to the heating of golf balls for the purpose of increasing the travel of the golf ball. It is known to those versed in the golfing art that golf balls will travel further if warmed to approximately l()F. Golf balls which have been warmed sufficiently will travel much further than a golf ball at ambient temperature.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many prior art devices have been employed for the purpose of warming golf balls, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,676 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,155. Other methods employed by golfers for increasing the temperature of golf balls has included soaking the balls in warm water, retaining the balls in hand warmers and storing the balls in warming ovens in the home. These prior art methods have met with varying degrees of success, however, none have considered the needs of the modern golfer, who in many cases, finds it advantageous to use a powered golf cart.

Certain of the prior art devices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,155 accomplishes the initial task of warming the golf ball to-a proper temperature over an extended period of time, however, it does not maintain the temperature of the golf ball on the golf course. As is often the case, golfers may spend many hours on the golf course and it is during this long period of play that a previously warmed golf ball must be maintained at the proper temperature if the benefits from the warming process are to be fully appreciated. Several prior art devices have attempted to accomplish this purpose by use of battery powered lightweight portable units carried on the person such as the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,676. However, these prior art devices have not attempted to combine a golf ball warming device with the available energy source already present in gasoline and electrically powered golf carts which are in abundant use today.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the purpose of this invention to provide a golf ball warmer that can either be used for the initial warming of the golf ball or for the purpose of maintaining the temperature during play of a golf ball that has been previously warmed at home. More particularly, it is the primary purpose of this invention to provide a golf ball warmer that is attached to a powered golf cart and which utilizes heat generated by the already existing power source utilized by the golf cart. It is a further object of this invention to provide a golf ball warming apparatus that is easily adaptable for use in both electrically powered and gasoline powered golf carts. It is of course a further object to provide an apparatus that is economical to construct and install and which is readily accessible for use by the golfer.

The invention consists of a golf ball warming oven attached to the body portion of a golf cart and positioned in close proximity to the exhaust manifold of a gasoline driven golf cart. Proper insulation is provided to prevent becoming overheated. When the golf ball warming oven is to be employed in an electrically driven battery operated golf cart, the warming oven is attached to the body portion of the vehicle and heating coils are attached to the warming oven for delivering heat to the oven from the electrical source.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description read in connection with the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a golf cart depicting the preferred embodiment of the golf ball warming oven of this invention mounted therein.

FIG. 2 is a perspective partly exploded view of the golf ball warmer of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the golf ball warming oven of this invention mounted over the exhaust manifold of a gasoline powered golf cart.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the golf ball warming oven mounted in an electric powered golf cart, partly cut away to depict the resistance heating coils and showing a modified construction for discharging through the side of the vehicle body.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through a portion of the warming oven of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 depicting a further modification of the warming oven.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment of the invention consists of a housing consisting of

tubular housing sections

2 and 3 closed at their one ends by

end walls

4 and 5 respectively. The tubular sections are preferably circular in cross section with an inside diameter only slightly larger than the diameter of a golf ball. The tubular sections are connected'together at their closed ends with a pin 7 extending through aligned holes in

hanger brackets

8 and 9 fastened around the

tubular sections

2 and 3 and which are positioned on either side of a mounting bracket 11 connected to the vehicle body by suitable fastening means such as nut and bolt 12.

The

tubular sections

2 and 3 are open at their opposite ends and extend through suitable openings in the vehicle body, it being understood that the location of the opening is a matter of choice to be determined by the location of the exhaust manifold in the one case or the electrical power source in the other case. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 the tubular sections are depicted as being bent to exit through the front wall under the front seats, however it is to be understood that the tubular sections may be straight and extend through the side wall as indicated in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

The tubular sections are provided with

additional hanger brackets

13 and 14 mounted on the tubular sections near the exit end of the tubular sections. The

hanger brackets

13 and 14 are connected to mounting

brackets

15 and 16 respectively by means of nut and bolt means 22 and 23 which extend through aligned holes in the hanger brackets and their respective mounting bracket.

This is the preferred means of connecting the

tubular housing sections

2 and 3 to the vehicle body, however it is to be understood that other meansmay be employed. The arrangement just described will enable the tubular sections to be pivoted about the pin 7 to align the sections with the opening in the vehicle body and adjust the slope of the forwardly extending bent portion of the FIG. 3 modification and the nut and'bolt means can then be tightened to hold the sections in the desired position thus making the attachment of the golf ball warming oven a very simple task.

The vertical positioning of the end mounting brackets and 16 relative to the center mounting bracket 11 will adjust the slope of the flow line of the tubular sections so that the golf balls will roll toward the open end of the tubular sections.

The open ends of the tubular sections are provided with

closure caps

18 and 19. In the preferred embodiment,

locking tabs

25 and 26 are fastened near the open end of the

tubular section

2 and 3. The

closure caps

18 and 19 are each provided with

locking slots

27 and 28 to engage the tabs for locking the caps in known manner.

The

closure caps

18 and 19 may be provided with insert plugs 29 and 30 respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the insert plug consists of a tubular section having an outside diameter smaller than the inside diame ter of the tubular housing section 2. The tubular plug section is connected inside the closure cap 18 and extends therefrom for insertion into the tubular housing section in the manner depicted. A closure plate 31 closes the end of the tubular plug section to prevent balls from entering the inside of the plug. Of course the plug could be of a diameter smaller than the diameter of a golf ball and thereby eliminate the need for closure plate 31. However, I prefer to employ a larger diameter plug section which can then be cut away to provide a scoop portion 32 as depicted in FIG. 2.

The length of the insert plug will be determined by the particular type of vehicle and must be long enough to push the golf balls into the warming zone of the oven. The scoop 32 facilitates insertion and removal of the balls from the warming oven.

The

tubular housing sections

2 and 3 are constructed of suitable materials such as metal tubing. An insulating cover 34 of suitable heat insulating material covers the major portion of the metal tubing sections. The exact thickness of the insulating cover is determined according to the insulating characteristics of the particular material and the type of heat source which is used.

The modification of FIG. 3 discloses a warming oven designed for use in a gas powered vehicle. The

tubular housing sections

2 and 3 are positioned over the exhaust manifold 41 and in contiguous relation thereto, the longitudinal axis of the tubular sections being substantially aligned with the axis of the exhaust manifold. The heat insulating cover 34 insulates the oven against overheating from the manifold. The oven temperature is maintained at the desired temperature by selecting the proper thickness of heat insulating material in accordance with the particular manifold temperature.

FIG. 4 depicts a golf ball warming oven modified for use on an electrically powered vehicle. The only structural difference between the modification of FIG. 4 and the modification of FIG. 3 is the addition of resistance heating coils 51 encircling the

tubular sections

2 and 3. All other components are identical and are identified by like numerals. The resistance coils are wrapped around the tubular sections underneath the insulating cover 34 and may be held in place thereby. The resistance coils 51 are connected via electrical conduit 52 in known manner to the electrical power source such as a battery B. The insulating cover retains the heat of the coils adjacent the tubular housing sections thereby reducing the amount of heat required to maintain the desired temperature in the warming oven. The thickness of the insulating cover is determined in accordance with the amount of heat delivered by the particular coil arrangement. Of course the insulation serves to retain heat adjacent the tubular housing sections in the modification of FIG. 4' whereas it serves just the opposite purpose in the FIG. 3 modification.

The warming oven has been described thus far as comprising two tubular housing sections, however, an alternate form of housing for the warming oven is shown in FIG. 6 in which a single tubular housing section has a pin 55 extending through the tubular housing section 60 to divide the tubular housing section into two separate warming compartments. The pin 55 may be held in place by means of cotter keys 56. The section 60 is bent at its mid-point to provide a proper flow line from the mid-point toward the exit opening of the tubular housing section. All other features of the oven remain unchanged from that previously described with reference to the two section oven.

While I have chosen in my preferred embodiment to use round tubular sections for ease of fabrication and economy, this is by no means intended to limit the invention to a particular shape since any number of housing configurations could be used.

Having now disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, what I claim is:

l. A golf ball warming oven for warming golf balls before use, said oven comprises;

a. an elongated housing,

b. structure means for separating said housing into a pair of elongated tubular sections, said sections being substantially circular in cross section and having an internal diameter slightly larger than the diameter of a golf ball,

c. a source of power,

d. mounting means for mounting said housing with each tubular section sloping downwardly from said separating means for delivering golf balls therein to the respective lower ends of said tubular sections,

e. removable cap means at the lower end of each tubular section,

f. heating means for heating said tubular sections from the power source, and

g. thermal insulating means for said tubular sections.

2. The golf ball warming oven of claim 1 in which the power source includes a battery,

said heating means includes resistance heating coils about said tubular sections and in communication with said battery, and

said insulating means includes insulating covers surrounding said resistance heating coils.

3. The golf ball warming oven of claim 1 in which said separating means includes a transverse pin in said elongated housing.

4. The golf ball warming oven of claim 1 in which said separating means includes a closed end in each of the adjacent ends of the tubular sections.

5. The golf ball warming oven of claim 1 in which the removable cap means includes at least one insertable plug insertable in a tubular section.

6. The golf ball warming oven of claim 5 in which said insertable plug is cut away to form a scoop for receiving golf balls.

Claims

1. A golf ball warming oven for warming golf balls before use, said oven comprises; a. an elongated housing, b. structure means for separating said housing into a pair of elongated tubular sections, said sections being substantially circular in cross section and having an internal diameter slightly larger than the diameter of a golf ball, c. a source of power, d. mounting means for mounting said housing with each tubular section sloping downwardly from said separating means for delivering golf balls therein to the respective lower ends of said tubular sections, e. removable cap means at the lower end of each tubular section, f. heating means for heating said tubular sections from the power source, and g. thermal insulating means for said tubular sections.

2. The golf ball warming oven of claim 1 in which the power source includes a battery, said heating means includes resistance heating coils about said tubular sections and in communication with said battery, and said insulating means includes insulating covers surrounding said resistance heating coils.