Title of Invention

BALL COLLECTION ARRANGEMENT

Abstract

A golf driving range targel (112) comprises pockets (150, 183) suspended for cables (146,176), the pockets feeding received golf balls to a common receptacle. Between the exits (166) of the pockets and the common receptacle, the balls, which arc coded, pass code-reading devices for identification. The pockets have walls (162, 165) which are shaped to direct received balls quickly to thecxil (166) and may have internal ball-directing baffle members (163, 167). The pockets may be arranged concentrically or in an array.

Full Text

Tlie present invention relates to a ball collection arrangement and in Darticular to a target used in an automated golf driving range such as described in IN/PCT/2000/00199/DEL IN/PCT/2000/00199/DEL discloses a range with golf screens and targets; each target area and the hole of each green is provided with a coded ball reader. US 5,370,389 discloses a range with target greens, each of which have a single hole for collecting and reading the ball. WO 93/25286 discloses a golf range with targets provided with optical scanners to pass ball identification information to a programmed computer, the targets comprising a sloping surface divided into concentric circles. The above-described prior art arrangements suffer from one or more disadvantages. For example, they are made of relatively hard material so that a golf ball can bounce off them to another part of the target or completely off the target. Moreover, only limited information is provided about the particular part of the target where the golf ball landed. In addition the targets can be susceptible to harsh weather conditions. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arrangement for receiving golf balls comprising a plurality of mutually adjacent pockets of flexible material, each pocket having an outlet at the bottom connected to a common receptacle for collecting golf balls. The pockets are preferably made of fabric or plastics and may be made of sheet material or net material. Net material has the advantage that rain passes straight through. A particularly waterproof arrangement is provided if the pockets are made of plastics or plastics-coated material. The collection arrangement preferably forms part of a target in an automated golf driving range. The golf balls are preferably coded and pass a reading device which detects the codes and indicates the region where each golf ball landed on a display near the driving tee. Each pocket may have its own individual reading device. Alternatively, the target area may be divided into one or more zones, each of which has its own ball code reading device, with a plurality of pockets constituting each zone. The edges of the pocket may be suspended fi'om webs extending across an opening in the ground. The ends of the webs are supported at the edges of the opening; hi addition they may be supported at intermediate points by poles. The webs are preferably resilient so that, upon impact by a golf ball, they deflect to absorb the momentum of the ball, which thus drops into an adjacent pocket. The pockets are readily releasable from the web members for ease of access and maintenance. For example the top edges of the pockets may have lengths of hooked touch-and-close material stitched thereto, which co-operate with corresponding lengths on the web members. In a preferred arrangement, the attachment of a said pocket to a said web member is by means of a plurality of hook members along an edge of the pocket, the hook members being attached to the web member from the side thereof remote from the pocket. An advantage of this arrangement is that, with two pockets attached to a single web member at opposite sides thereof with the hook members interleaved along the web member, the edges of the pockets are held tight against each other to avoid gaps therebetween. The material of each pocket is preferably held fairly taut between its edges at the top and its outlet at the bottom. This ensures that a collected ball quickly leaves the pocket via the outlet. The angle of the sides of the pocket relative to tihe horizontal preferably lies within the range 35° to 80°, more preferably 45° to 70°. The most preferred value is substantially 60°. The pockets may be arranged in an array or matrix. Alternatively, they are arranged in concentric circles or any other desired configuration. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arrangement for receiving golf balls comprising an array of mutually adjacent compartments, each compartment having an outlet at the bottom connected to a common receptacle for collecting golf balls. The compartments preferably have the general shape of inverted pyramids. The array is preferably in the form of compartments defined between radial lines and concentric circles. Alternatively, the array may be a matrix formed of rows and columns, or in the form of a honeycomb or other desired configuration. By assigning each compartment, or a group comprising a relatively small number (e.g. 5 to 20, preferably 10) of compartments, to a respective zone and incorporating a ball code reading device at the outlet of each zone, it is possible to quickly feed back accurate information about where a golf ball lands to a display adjacent to the driving tee. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a plan of a golf driving range incorporating ball collection arrangements in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of a ball collection arrangement as shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the collecting pockets or compartments removed; Figure 4 is a sectional side view of the arrangement of Figures 2 and 3; and Figure 5 is a top plan view of a ball collection arrangement in accordance with: a second embodiment of the present invention; Figures 6 and 7 are enlarged top and side views of a segment of a modification of the embodiment of Figure 5; Figures 8 and 9 are side and top views of a pocket suspended from a web member of the arrangement of Figure 5; and Figures 10 and 11 are side perspective and to plan views of a support element of the arrangement of Figure 5. Referring to the drawings, a golf driving range 10, which may be of the type disclosed in WO 99/48046, comprises a range building 11, incorporating a plurality of driving tees arranged in one or more decks, and a plurality of targets 12-21. Targets 12-17 are 25 meters in diameter, 18 and 19 are 15 meters, targets 20 are 5 meters, and targets 21 are 2'/2 meters in diameter. Coded golf balls landing on one of the targets 12-19 are collected and identified as described below and then passed to a respective hopper or other receptacle 22 in a manhole beneath an accessible cover. Balls are intermittently collected from the receptacles 22 when the driving range is not in use. For the nearer targets 20,21 the collected and identified balls are returned immediately via a feed channel 25 to a handling room in or adjacent to the range building 11. The driving range may also incorporate one or more target greens 30-32. Each green slopes towards its hole which has an outlet feed channel 35 connected to the receptacle 22 for an adjacent target. Referring now to Figures 2 to 4, there is shown one of the targets 12 arranged in a substantially circular hole 40 in the ground, typically 3 meters deep. A concrete member 45 comprises a ring beam 41 which surrounds the hole.and also an earth retaining wall 42. Stainless steel u-shaped bars are cast into the inner face of wall 42 to serve as retaining elements. A circular wooden platform 43 is also provided around the edge of the hole and the beam 41 and platform 43 are covered with artificial turf. A support arrangement comprising a plurality of web members is attached to the u-shaped bars in wall 42 and is shown in Figure 2. Diametrical web members 46,47,48 and 49 are first attached to wall 42 and then circular and radically extending web members 51,52 are subsequently attached to form a cobweb pattern. The web members are preferably of high shrinkage polyester fibre. They are prestressed so as to remain substantially horizontal when supporting a load. However, if a golf ball strikes one of the web members, a substantial amount of the momentum is absorbed by the web member. To help maintain the web members horizontal they are additionally supported by poles or props 58 of plastics material. Pockets 50 defining separate compartments are attached b)' means of length of touch-and-close, hooked fastening material to the web members 46-49,51, 52. The pockets are made of open-meshed PVC coated polyester fabric material, cut and welded into four-sided The tension and shape of the sides of the pockets mean that a ball passes through the pocket as quickly as possible so that it can be identified, a suitable display can be made at the tee, and the game can continue. The sides are not so taut that a golf ball will bounce off them, but do not sag so that a ball cannot be retained by them. The size and shape of the pockets in each ring of the target are identical which leads to rationalisation of manufacture. The arrangement of the compartments formed by the pockets 50 in an array or matrix, enables the reading devices to provide information to the display as to the zone in which a ball'has landed. This information can be as precise as desired and informs a golfer whether the shot was too far or too short and to the left or to the right of the hole. This feature is not available when each zone comprises a complete ring around the hole. The targets are easily prepared and installed. An initial contractor can excavate the hole 40 and prepare the concrete member 45 in situ with the u-shaped bars cast in * simultaneously. The receptacle 22 can also be installed at this stage. The pipework 60, 70 etc, the web members 46-49, 51, 52 and the pockets 50, which can be supplied in kit form, can then be installed relatively quickly. The pockets may be of any suitable material e.g. cloth (preferably waterproof) or of plastics sheeting material. The sides may slope at any convenient angle to the horizontal. However, below 35° the golf balls tend to bounce out of the pocket which is undesirable; also, even when captured, the balls take a long time to reach the outlet of the pocket, which delays code reading. Angles above 80° require too deep a hole 40 to be cost effective. Figures 5 to 11 show a target 112 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The basic support construction comprises an outer ring 141 of diameter 12.6m, an intermediate ring 142 of diameter 4.6m and supported on four legs (not shown) and a central ring 143 with an internal diameter of 125mni. Hie hole within ring 143 corresponds to a "hole-in-one". The features and modifications of the two embodiments may be combined and/or exchanged as desired. In our co-pending Indian patent application no. 897/DELNP/2003, we have described and claimed a ball identifying device. WE CLAIM: 1. A device for receiving golf ball having a ball collection arrangement comprising a plurality of mutually adjacent pockets (50; 150, 182, 183, 184) of flexible material, each pocket having an outlet (55; 166) at the bottom connected to a common receptacle (22) for collecting golf balls, characterized in that a rigid aperture former (163) is attached to each pocket and is arranged to hold the respective pocket open, each pocket further having an upper region (161) with steeply-inclined walls (162) and a lower region (164) with walls (165) less steeply-inclined than the walls of the upper region, said former (163) being provided between the upper and lower regions, and said former being arranged to hold the respective pocket open and to act as a baffle to prevent balls exiting the top of the pocket. 2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower region contains one or more baffle members (167), which serve to restrict movement of a ball within the lower region and to direct the ball to the outlet (55; 166). 3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the walls (162) of the upper region are vertical. 4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein each pocket (50; 150, 182, 184, 184) has a respective device (61) at or adjacent to the outlet at the bottom for detecting the passage of a golf ball. 5. An arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pockets (50; 150) are arranged in groups of pockets, each group having an outlet and a respective device (61) located at said outlet for detecting the passage of a golf ball. 6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 4 or 5 for receiving golf balls each having a code, wherein the respective device (61) detect the code of the golf ball for identifying the region where the golf ball has landed, also directs the passage of a golf ball. 7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the outlets (55) of the pockets (50) are connected to the reading devices (61) by means of first conduit means (60), and the reading devices are connected to said common receptacle (22) by second conduit means (70), said first conduit means being steeper than said second conduit means. 8. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pockets (50; 150, 183) are suspended from support members (46-49; 146, 176) disposed in a web pattern extending across an opening. 9. An arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein the web members are resilient. 10. An arrangement as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the pockets (50; 150, 183) are releasably attached to the web members (46-49; 146, 176). 11. An arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein the attachment of a said pocket (150) to a said web member (146) is by means of a plurality of hook members (158) along an edge of the pocket, the hook members being attached to the web member from the side thereof remote from the pocket. 12. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pockets (50, 150) are disposed in concentric rings. 13. A device as claimed in claim lfor receiving golf balls comprising a plurality of mutually adjacent pockets of flexible material, each pocket having an outlet connected to a common receptacle for collecting golf balls, wherein each pocket contains an apertured former arranged to hold the respective pocket open, each pocket further having an upper region with steeply-inclined walls and lower region having walls less steeply-inclined than the walls of the upper region, said former being provided between the upper and lower regions, and wherein the lower region contains one or more baffle members. 14. A device as claimed in claim 1 for receiving golf balls comprising a plurality of mutually adjacent pockets of flexible material, each pocket having an outlet connected to a common receptacle for collecting golf balls, wherein each pocket contains an apertured former arranged to hold the respective pocket open, wherein the pockets are suspended from web members extending across an opening and wherein said pockets are releasably attached to the web members, and wherein the attachment of said pockets to said web members is by means of a plurality of hook members along an edge of the pocket, the hook members being attached to the web members from the side thereof remote from the pocket.

Documents:

00898-delnp-2003-abstract.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-claims.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-correspondence-others.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-description (complete).pdf

00898-delnp-2003-drawings.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-form-1.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-form-13.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-form-18.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-form-3.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-form-5.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-gpa.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-pct-210.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-pct-409.pdf

00898-delnp-2003-pct-416.pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Abstract-23-05-2008.pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Claims-(27-03-2009).pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Claims-23-05-2008.pdf

898-delnp-2003-complete specification (granted).pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Description (Complete)-23-05-2008.pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Drawings-23-05-2008.pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Form-1-23-05-2008.pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Form-2-23-05-2008.pdf

898-DELNP-2003-Form-3-23-05-2008.pdf