US 5,350,260 A · Golf ball handling system

Abstract

A golf ball washer feeds wet balls into an air moving transport mechanism that drys the balls as they are carried to one of a number of dispensers. The wet balls move by gravity down an inclined infeed chute to a load station where each ball is supported on a flow disrupting ramp, and the transport conduit includes a necked down area at the load station which cooperates with the ramp to disrupt the air flow thereby avoiding the tendency of a spherical golf ball to remain suspended in the column of air rather than being moved downstream through the conduit. Each dispenser has an intermittently driven drum with radially outwardly open pockets to provide predetermined numbers of balls to a basket at the discharge station of the dispenser.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A golf ball transport system comprising:

means for feeding golf balls into a load station, conduit means defining the load station for receiving said balls, said conduit means having an internal configuration of generally cylindrical shape to accommodate spherical golf balls,
a discharge station provided at the downstream end of said conduit means, said load station being provided adjacent an upstream end thereof,
air moving means for creating air flow inside said conduit means for moving the gold balls from the load station toward the discharge station,
means for disrupting the flow of air around the ball at said load station, said means for disrupting comprising a generally tubular sleeve provided inside the conduit means and having an inside diameter approximately equal to the outside diameter of the spherical balls being handled.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

08/046,770Filed 13 Apr 1993 · division

Priority

19 Jun 1991

Granted

27 Sep 1994

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

F26B 17/10
Machines or apparatus for drying materials in loose, plastic, or fluidised form, e.g. granules, staple fibres, with progressive movement: with…
A63B 47/002
Devices for handling or treating balls , e.g. for holding or carrying balls: devices for dispensing balls, e.g. from a reservoir
A63B 47/04
Devices for handling or treating balls , e.g. for holding or carrying balls: for cleaning balls
F26B 15/10
Machines or apparatus for drying objects with progressive movement; Machines or apparatus with progressive movement for drying batches of…

Golf ball handling system

Life of this patent

Golf ball handling system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims7