Abstract:
A stick for easily finding a lost golf ball and for conveniently gripping the golf ball on ground is disclosed. The stick includes a hollow rod body, a clamp part formed in an end of the body to clamp the golf ball, a grip part formed in the opposite end of the body to pull the clamp part to clamp the golf ball, a light emitter installed in a side of the body to project a light beam, a light receiver installed in a side of the light emitter to scan a barcode printed on the surface of the golf ball by receiving the light beam reflected from the barcode, a determining part for determining whether the barcode is scanned or not based on an electric signal transmitted from the light receiver, and a speaker for outputting a predetermined audio signal based on the determination by the determining part.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0102837 filed Dec. 8, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a stick for finding and gripping a golf ball, and more particularly, to a stick for easily finding a lost golf ball and for conveniently gripping the golf ball on ground.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Generally, when playing golf on a golf course, it often occurs that golf balls fly, roll, and/or bounce into gorge, rough, shrub, or hills so that players must search the same. As such, since it takes so long to find the lost golf ball, the golf game is delayed and/or teams who are following the players who are looking for the lost golf ball must wait.  
         [0006]     In order to solve the above-described problem, a technology is proposed that a transmitter such as a radio frequency transmitter is installed in the golf ball to help find the lost golf ball. However, according to the proposal, since a complicated electronic device is installed in the golf ball, manufacturing costs are increased and the weight of the golf ball is not precise.  
         [0007]     Moreover, in order to pick up the golf ball on grass, or rough in the golf course, the player should bend over. By the repetition of such actions (for example, supporters of the golf players, caddies, or the like) is not natural and it can often cause disc or back problems.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above and/or other problems, and it is a first object of the present invention to provide a golf ball finding and griping stick for easily finding a lost golf ball whose surface is printed with a barcode to be scanned by the stick.  
         [0009]     It is a second object of the present invention to provide a golf ball finding and gripping stick for conveniently gripping a golf ball found in grass, rough, or a puddle.  
         [0010]     It is a third object of the present invention to provide a golf ball finding and gripping stick that is convenient to carry and will easily find a golf ball attached with a barcode.  
         [0011]     In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a stick for finding and gripping a golf ball including a hollow rod body, a clamp part formed in an end of the body to clamp the golf ball, a grip part formed in the opposite end of the body to pull the clamp part to clamp the golf ball, a light emitter installed in a side of the body to project a light beam, a light receiver installed in a side of the light emitter to scan a barcode printed on the surface of the golf ball by receiving the light beam reflected from the barcode, a determining part for determining whether the barcode is scanned or not based on an electric signal transmitted from the light receiver, and a speaker for outputting a predetermined audio signal based on the determination by the determining part.  
         [0012]     Preferably, the clamp part includes a fixed clamp fixed to the body, a pivotal clamp pivoted about an end of the body, and an elastic member for applying an elastic force in the direction of spreading the pivotal clamp.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the grip part includes a fixed grip fixed to the body, a pivotal grip pivoted about the opposite end of the body, and a steel wire having an end connected to the clamp part and an opposite end connected to the pivotal grip to transmit a tensile force according to the pivot of the pivotal grip.  
         [0014]     Preferably, the light emitter and the light receiver are installed between the clamp parts.  
         [0015]     The stick for finding and gripping a golf ball further includes a battery for supplying electric power to the determining part, the light emitter, the light receiver, and the speaker, and a switch for intermitting the electric power from the battery. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     These and/or other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating a golf ball on which a barcode is printed used in the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a stick for finding and gripping a golf ball according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an inner configuration of the stick, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, gripping the golf ball of  FIG. 2  and the mechanical operation thereof; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration in the stick for finding and gripping a golf ball according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Hereinafter, the structure of a stick for finding and gripping a golf ball according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating a golf ball on which a barcode is printed used in the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a barcode  20  is printed on surface of a golf ball  10 . The barcode  20  is printed at one to three spots on the surface of the golf ball  10 . If, using a conventional golf ball  10 , the barcode  20  may be printed on a transparent tape and the transparent tape then attached on the surface of the conventional golf ball  10 . Data coded in the barcode  20  may be meaningless or include an identification number, model serial number, manufactured date, a serial number, or the like. This is for easily checking whose the golf ball is.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a stick for finding and gripping a golf ball according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the stick according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is roughly grouped into a grip part, a body  45 , and a clamp part.  
         [0024]     The grip part includes a fixed grip  40  and a pivotal grip  42  pivoting about a grip hinge  44 . In other words, the grip part has a structure allowing a user to hold the fixed grip  40  and the pivotal grip  42  with a hand to grasp or release the same.  
         [0025]     The body  45  is a hollow rod and includes a toggle switch installed near the grip part to turn electric power on or off, a speaker  49  installed therein to output various audio signals, and an electronic device illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The body  45  may be made of plastic, stainless steel, a carbon fiber, or the like, and its length is enough to reach from ground to adult&#39;s waist.  
         [0026]     The clamp part is connected to the body  45  by a head  50  and includes a fixed clamp  51  fixed to the head  50  and a pivotal clamp  53  pivoting about a head hinge  54 . The pivotal clamp  53  pivots as the pivotal grip  42  is pivoted by a structure described later. Since the golf ball  10  must be gripped by the two clamps, the fixed clamp  51  and the pivotal clamp  53  are preferably formed such that the width is thick and the inner sides are concave to increase area contacting the golf ball  10 .  
         [0027]     A light emitter  60  is positioned between the fixed clamp  51  and the pivotal clamp  53 , and emits a light beam of a predetermined wavelength (for example, an infrared ray, a laser beam, or the like).  
         [0028]     A light receiver  62  is disposed in the vicinity of the light emitter  60  and a component for detecting the light beam projected from the light emitter  60  and reflected from the golf ball  10 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an inner configuration of the stick  30 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, gripping the golf ball  10  of  FIG. 2  and the mechanical operation thereof. As shown in  FIG. 3 , when a player grasps the pivotal grip  42  with a hand, a steel wire  65  is pulled to close the pivotal clamp  53 . At that time, the golf ball  10  is located between the fixed clamp  51  and the pivotal clamp  53 . The steel wire  65  employed in this preferred embodiment of the present invention may be a wire, a rod, or other matter capable of bearing a tensile force and of transmitting a force to the pivotal clamp  53 .  
         [0030]     Moreover, when releasing the pivotal grip  42 , the pivotal clamp  53  is pivoted to its original position due to a restoring force of a spring  66 , and then the clamp part spreads from each other.  
         [0031]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration in the stick  30  for finding and gripping a golf ball according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the electrical device of the stick according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a microcomputer  70 , the light emitter  60 , the light receiver  62 , a power supply  72 , a switch  47 , and the speaker, and is disposed in the body  45 .  
         [0032]     The light emitter  60  projects the light beam of the predetermined wavelength according to a command from the microcomputer  70 , and the light receiver  62  detects the incident light beam and converts the received light beam into an electric signal to transmit the same to the microcomputer  70 . The light emitter  60  and the light receiver  62  may be components having a high output, a long distance scan capacity with a high brightness, and a long distance light receiving capacity of a high brightness, and those skilled in the art can easily select these components.  
         [0033]     The power supply  72  selectively supplies a direct current to every electronic component via the switch  47 . As a typical example of the power supply  72 , a primary battery or a secondary battery may be employed.  
         [0034]     The speaker  49  receives an output signal from the microcomputer  70  and outputs various audio sounds.  
         [0035]     The microcomputer  70  determines whether a signal received from the light receiver  62  is a barcode signal or not. If not, the microcomputer  70  reproduces a long periodic audio sound (for example, “beep˜beep”), or otherwise reproduces a short periodic audio sound (for example, “beep-beep-beep”). By doing so, a user can hear the audio sound and determine an approximate position and direction of the lost golf ball.  
         [0036]     Hereinafter, the operation of the stick according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows. Firstly, as shown in  FIG. 1 , let us assume a case of the golf ball  10  being hit and landing on grass or in a bush.  
         [0037]     Next, since the user already knows an approximate direction where the golf ball  10  has gone, the user walks toward the corresponding place. Then, if the lost golf ball  10  cannot be found at the expected place where the golf ball  10  came down, the switch  47  is turned on to operate the stick according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0038]     Then, the power supply  72  supplied electric power to the microcomputer  70 , the light emitter  60 , and the light receiver  62  to operate. The light emitter  60  projects a light beam to scan and the user swings the stick  30  in the vertical direction and horizontal direction in the expected place. At that time, when at least one of the barcodes  20  printed on the lost golf ball  10  is scanned, a reflected light beam enters the light receiver  62 .  
         [0039]     The light receiver  62  converts the incident light beam into an electric signal and transmits the same to the microcomputer  70 . The microcomputer  70  determines whether the barcode signal is contained in the signals transmitted from the light receiver  62  in real time. The microcomputer  70  may be installed with a barcode reader.  
         [0040]     If it is determined that a light beam corresponding to the barcode  20  has entered the light receiver  62 , the speaker  49  changes the audio sound outputted therefrom. By hearing the changed sound, the user narrows the scanning area for the lost golf ball  10  and gradually locates the lost golf ball  10 . Thus, even in a relatively wide golf course, the scanning area can be quickly narrowed, and the user can find the lost golf ball  10  with a naked eye while walking near the place where the lost golf ball  10  is located.  
         [0041]     Next, the user picks the found golf ball  10  up with the pivotal clamp  52 .  
         [0042]     Although not depicted in the drawings, a small sized liquid crystal display may be installed in the stick  30  according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention so that the barcode decoded by the microcomputer  70  can be displayed in the form of numbers or characters.  
         [0043]     As described above, the stick for finding and gripping a golf ball according to the present invention has the advantage as follows.  
         [0044]     That is, since the barcode is printed on the surface of the golf ball, the barcode is scanned such that the place where the golf ball has been flown can be easily confirmed. Since the barcode is printed on the surface of the golf ball, the barcode can be printed on the conventional golf ball within the standard size of the golf ball. Moreover, since the barcode can be on a transparent tape attached on the surface of the golf ball, the present invention can be applied to almost all golf balls.  
         [0045]     In addition, according to the present invention, a golf ball that is found, whether in grass, bush, or puddle can be easily gripped. Thus, since there is no need to bend the user&#39;s body or to take off shoes and enter a water pond, the stick for finding and gripping a golf ball according to the present invention is convenient to use and accidents can be prevented.  
         [0046]     Moreover, the stick for finding and gripping a golf ball has a stick-like shape, the stick of the present invention can be accommodated in a golf bag and is convenient to carry during the golf game.  
         [0047]     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.