Golf ball retriever
OwnerFred A. Akelinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for retrieving golf balls distributed over the ground comprising a frame mounted on an axle and two rear wheels, a plurality of thin circular discs spaced apart from each other slightly less than the diameter of a golf ball and mounted on the rear wheel axle to turn with the wheels with the perimeter of the disc being in close proximity to the ground level, fingers between the discs to strip golf balls from between adjacent discs, baskets to catch the balls stripped by the fingers, and elongated guides extending forward from the frame to funnel golf balls from a wide area toward the rotating discs.
Claims13
A golf ball retrieving apparatus comprising a frame supported by a rear axle means and two spaced ground engaging rear wheels mounted to opposite end portions of said axle means, two elongated outside deflecting members having free forward end portions and positioned slightly above ground level and extending forward and diverging laterally outward from the outer portion of said frame, two spaced ground engaging wheels supporting respective forward end portions of said deflecting members, a plurality of spaced generally rigid disc members mounted on said axle means between and laterally spaced inwardly from said rear wheels and adapted to turn respectively with said rear wheels, said disc members having a diameter less than the diameter of said rear wheels thereby spacing the outer edges of said dics members upwardly from the ground so that said outer edges do not engage the ground, a plurality of spaced, stationary fingers extending inwardly in the spaces between adjacent disc members with their fixed ends forward of said disc members and their free ends between said disc members, and basket means located forward of said disc members adapted to catch balls stripped from between adjacent disc members by said fingers.
An apparatus for retrieving a plurality of golf balls scattered randomly over the ground comprising a generally rectangular frame having a front, a back and two lateral sides and supported on an axle means and two ground engaging rear wheels adjacent the back of said frame mounted to said axle means and adapted to propel said frame along a direction perpendicular to the front and back of said frame, a plurality of thin circular identical, generally rigid, disc members mounted on said axle means parallel to and laterally spaced inwardly from and between said wheels and adapted to turn with said rear wheels, each said disc member having a diameter such that its perimeter is spaced above ground level to substantially inhibit ground contact, said disc members being spaced laterally of each other such that the spacing between adjacent said disc members being less than the diameter of a golf ball, a plurality of spaced stationary fingers extending into the respective spaces between adjacent said disc members and adapted to remove any golf ball caught between adjacent disc members upon contact therewith during rotation of said disc members, said fingers being mounted forward of said axle means with said fingers extending toward said axle means, a removable basket means in said frame forward of said fingers and positioned to catch any golf ball removed from said disc members by contact with said fingers, a pair of elongated outside guide members extending forward and diverging laterally outward from the lateral extremities of said spaced disc members and positioned parallel to and above ground level and adapted to funnel said golf balls on the ground toward said spaced disc members, and a ground engaging wheel supporting the forward end of each said guide member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.