US3184240A - Putting target with gates adapted to be closed and opened by a putted golf ball - Google Patents

Description

May 18, 1965 w w. GLEESON 3,184,240

PUTTING TARGET WfTH GATES ADAPTED TO BE CLOSED AND OPENED BY A PUTTED GOLF BALL Filed D90. 28, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l i INVENTOR. A: M/Aom 41/0/96 Q/eesafl M V/ /V Y W. W. GLEESON 3,184,240 PUTTIN TARGET WITH GATES ADAPTED TO BE CLOSED 63mm OPENED BY A PUITED GOLF JI'BALLL m5 6 w 1. RwW 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filea' Dec. 28, 1962 INVENTOR.

A ORNEYS United States Patent PUTTING TARGET WITH GATES ADAPTED TO BE CLOSED AND OPENED BY A PUTTED GOLF BALL William W. Gleeson, 940 NE. 50th Court, Pompano Beach, Fla. Filed Dec. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 247,928 Claims. (Cl. 273-177) This invention relates to putting devices adapted for use on lawns and capable of forming a putting cup without defacing the lawn. Particularly the invention deals with a marker and cup former for lawn putting which is adapted to create a putting cup simulating depression for receiving a golf ball and which has a gate assembly temporarily trapping the ball in the depression to give a definite indication of sinking the putt.

According to this invention, there is provided a marker assembly including a post with a hole designating numeral on the top thereof, a ground piercing spike on the bottom thereof, a circular base flange radiating therefrom adjacent the spike to form at putting cup depression in a lawn, and a cage assembly above the base having a plurality of gates that are tripped by a ball as it rolls into the cup created by the base for temporarily retaining the ball. The devices of this invention are especially useful to quickly create at putting green without in any way damaging the lawn and are preferably used in multiples of nine or eighteen to form a nine or eighteen hole putting green. The devices are readily removed after play to render the lawn available for other usages.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a putting apparatus which will create a putting cup without defacing a lawn.

Another object of this invention is to provide a putting cup former and marker which will not deface a lawn and will give a visual indication of sinking a putt.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a putting device which accurately simulates putting into a conventional putting cup or hole without forming a lawn defacing hole and which does not involve rolling the ball up a slight incline as is customary in such devices.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a marker assembly for putting which has a series of gates that are tripped by a ball to give an indication of sinking a putt.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cage assembly for putting apparatus which confines a ball only temporarily and which is automatically opened by the ball upon sinking of the putt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a putting apparatus which will not deface a lawn and which has an adjustable gate assembly that is moved to accommodate grass of different heights to temporarily retain a ball.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which, by way of an example only, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the putting device of this invention mounted for use in a lawn and illustrating the manner in which a putting cup is formed without defacing the lawn.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the cage assembly in closed position and the post rotated 90.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the cage assembly with parts removed to show underlying parts.

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of one of the gates.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the gate assembly.

As shown on the drawings:

The putting apparatus ll) of FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a metal post 11 with a flat disk top 12 presenting opposed faces for marking indicia 13 as for example numerals to designate the hole number.

Spaced below the disk top 12 of the post there is provided a pair of pull-up grips 14 which radiate from the post and preferably have finger receiving recesses 14a in the bottom face thereof. These grips 14 are preferably in the plane of the flat disk 12. Ninety degrees from the plane of the grips 14 there is provided a press down tab 15 extending from one side of the post 11 and spaced below the pull-up grips a suitable distance for easy access as a step to be engaged by the foot of a person installing the device.

The bottom end of the post 11 is externally threaded at 16.

A putting cup forming circular base member 17 has an internally threaded central hub 18 receiving the threaded end 16 of the post. The bottom of the hub 18 has an externally threaded stub 19 projecting therefrom and receiving a spike member 20 in threaded engagement. The post 11 is threaded tightly into the hub 18 and the spike 20 is threaded tightly onto the stud 19 so that the post has the cup forming circular base flange 17 radiating therefrom and a ground piercing spike depending therefrom.

The diameter of the base 17 is preferably the standard 4% inch diameter for a golf cup. The circular base flange slopes downwardly from the central hub 18 to the circular periphery 21. Thus when the spike 20 is driven in the ground by stepping on the pad 15 of the post 11 the periphery 21 of the base first engages the top plane 22 of a lawn 23 to trap under the flange, that portion of the lawn 23 which is covered by the flange. The pressing force is exerted until this periphery 21 engages the ground line 24 thereby forming a circular depression or cup 25 into which a golf ball 26 may drop. The cup 25 has a sharply defined side wall 27 created by the peripheral edge 21 of the flange. The cup 25 thus closely simulates a conventional golf cup on a putting green although it does not have the depth of such a cup.

A cage assembly 28 is slidably mounted on the post 11 and includes a housing 29 having a hub portion 30 and a domed circular head portion 31 with a bore 32a therethrough slidably receiving the post 11. The hub 30 has a radial threaded hole 32b into which a tightening screw 33 is threaded for engaging the post to hold the housing at a desired level on the post.

A plurality of lugs 34 depend from the periphery of the head 31 in equal circumferentially spaced relation and extend at an angle of about 45 relative to the flat bottom face 35 of the head. In the illustrated embodiment eight such lugs are provided and each has a transverse hole 36 therethrough. A mounting wire 37 is threaded through the holes 36 to form a suspension for a plurality of gates 38. In the illustrated embodiment eight such gates are provided with each gate being mounted between a pair of lugs 34.

Each gate 38 is composed of a flat sheet of thin metal or lightweight plastic of generally truncated triangular shape with a small end 38:: and a large end 3811 oflset therefrom at an angle of about 45 along a bend line 39.

The sides of the gate portion 38b at the bend line 39 are lanced to provide rearwardly projecting ears 40. Holes' 41 are formed through these ears to receive the wire 37 therethrough, The ears 40 are spaced apart a sufficient p 7 4 surface a putting cup simulating depression that will receive the ball in the same manner as a conventional cup that requires a defacing of the lawn. It'will also be underears at an angle of more than 90 from the portion 38a.

If desired the extremity of the portion 38b may be curved downwardly at 38c. e H i I A light finger spring 43 is provided to acton the portion 38:: of each gate 33 for holding the gates in the open position of FIG. 1. Each spring '43 has an eye end or head 44 secured to the bottom face 35 of the head 31 by a screw or bolt45. As shown in FIG. 5 the finger springs 43 engage the gate portions 38a along the longitudinal central part thereof. The spring tension is such as to urge the gate portionsSSa into a vertical position as shown in FIG. 3. I

The ends of the wire 37 can be hooked around the ears of one gate as shown at 37a to form the pivots for this gate whereas all of the other gates can be threaded on the wire with each gate of course lying between and guided by the adjacent pair of lugs 34 on the head 31.

Since the gate support '29 is slidably mounted on the post 11 the cage assembly 28 can be raised and lowered relative to the base 17 and held at any desired level by the tightening screw 33. The proper level for the cage assembly 28 will depend upon the height of the grass 23 since the bottom edges of the gate portions 38a in their open position of FIG. 1 should be about level with the grass level 22. If desired a level indicator marking 46 can be provided on the post 11 for aligning the top edge of the housing 29 thereby indicating the proper. position for use with a lawn of general height such as for example 1 /2 to 2 inches. With the cage assembly at the proper height the ball 26 will engage the portion 38a of one of the gates 38 as it falls in the cup 25 thereby swinging this gate portion inwardly against the tension of the spring 43. This swingingmovement will bring. the gate portion 38b outwardly and downwardly to the closedposition of FIG. 2. At the same time the tab 42 of this swinging gate portion 38b will move the next adjacent gate portion 38b and thereby causing this gate portion in turn to move the next gate. As a result all of the gates are swung to the closed position of FIG. v2 and the ball is temporarily retained in the cup 25 under the umbrella-like envelopment created by the closed gates. The ballis thus trapped in the cup. 'However, after the gates have been swung to their closed positions the ball tends to roll down the inclined base 17 to relieve the load on the adjacent gate portion 38b and thereby permitthe tension springs 43 to swing the gates to the open position of FIG. 1 thus exof the apparatus.

stood that removal of the apparatus of this invention leaves the lawn in thesame condition as before with no defacing taking place during installation, use or removal It will be further understood that the device of this invention has, an adjustable cage assembly for temporarily encompassing the ball as it is dropped into 'the cup created by the device so as to give a visual indication of sinking the puttwhile at the same time adding a depth effect to a shallow depression.

It will of course be alsounderstood that construction details of the device illustrated in thedrawings may be varied quite widely without departing from the principles of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A puttingapparatus comprisinga post, a ground piercing spike on the bottom of the post, a circular cup forming flange radiating from the post adjacent the spike and eflfective to depress a circular area of a grasslawn to form a putting cup without defacing the lawn, a cage assembly slidably mounted on the post above said flange, said cage assembly having circumferential disposed gates pivoted thereon each equipped with portions adapted to be engaged by a ball as it drops into a cup formed by the flange and ball trapping portions for surrounding the base to momentarily retain a ball on the base, spring means biasing said gates to open position, means for adjusting the level of the cage assembly relative to the grass level of the lawn receiving the spike and flange, .a foot pad on the post for driving the spike into the ground to bottom the cup forming flange on the ground while holding grass under the flange in a depressed flattened condition whereby grass surrounding the flange will be above the flange periphery thereby providinga lip simulating a put-ting cup lip, pull-up grips on the post forremoving the assembly from the ground, and a marker on the top of the post identifying the number of the cupformed by said flange.

2. A'putting device adapted to simulateactual putting conditions on a conventional cup equipped lawn without defacing the lawn surface which comprises -a post having posing the ball for removal fromthe cup or possibly even i ejecting the ball from the cup 25. V

The cage assembly thus gives a visible indication of sinking the putt without retaining the ball for a prolonged period. The cage assembly thus prevents. the ball from bouncing out of the cup as it effect to a shallow cup.

If desired a tee-off post can beprovid'ed'tomark the start of a putting game and this post can be identical with the post 11 but free from the base flange 17'an'd cage assembly 28.

From the above description it should be understood that the putting apparatus of this'invention is'easy to install and remove and temporarily creates on a puttingv drops therein and adds depth a sharp spike edge on the bottom thereof adapted to be driven into the grass without producing a visible hole in the lawn, a base flange radiatingfrom said post adjacent the spike end thereof having an outer periphery sized for forming a putting cup hole and adapted to be pressed against the ground line to overlie the grass and form a shallow cup-like depression in the grass, and means on said post overlying said flange radially inwardly from said outerperiphery of the flange adapted to be closed by a. ball only after the ball enters the'depression for giving depth effect to the depression to thereby retain a ball whichmight otherwise roll over the depression.

3. In a' putting device,- a' marker post, a cage on said post, a ring of gates on said cage, means holding the gates in open position; and each gate having an impact face adapted to be struck by a ballentering the cage and means to simultaneously closeall the gates around the ball when an impact face is struck by a putted ball. a

4. In a putting device, a ball retainingcage comprising a housing adapted to be slidably mounted on a post, a plurality of lugs around the housing, a wire threaded through said lugs, a ring of gates pivoted on said Wire between the lugs, each gate having a cage closing flap to be mounted upright on a lawn, a cup-like depression forming flange on said post and held by the post to depress the lawn and be surrounded by a ring of grass simulating a putting cup lip, and a ball retaining cage on said post overlying said flange having gates adapted to be closed by a ball entering the depression in the lawn formed by the flange and adapted to be opened by the ball exiting from said depression to momentarily retain the ball for providing a depth effect to the depression.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 898,530 9/08 Treadwell 273-177 954,299 4/10 Johnson 273-177 1,208,838 12/16 Rolfe 273--177 1,427,537 8/22 Long 273-478 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 3. IN A PUTTING DEVICE, A MARKER POST, A CAGE ON SAID POST, A RING OF GATES ON SAID CAGE, MEANS HOLDING THE GATES IN OPEN POSITION, AND EACH GATE HAVING AN IMPACT FACE ADAPTED TO BE STRUCK BY A BALL ENTERING THE CAGE AND MEANS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY CLOSE ALL THE GATES AROUND THE BALL WHEN AN IMPACT FACE IS STRUCK BY A PUTTED BALL.

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