Abstract:
A golf ball mark repair tool used to repair ball marks on golf course grass is provided with a pair of longitudinal legs that can be extended longitudinally and held to project a selected distance from the tool casing. The tool of the invention is held in one hand by the user and operated by the thumb of that same hand. The tool includes an internal detent mechanism that allows the legs to be extended and held at a selected length appropriate for repairing the particular ball mark to be repaired. The length of extension is controlled by a slide actuator operated by forward pressure applied by the thumb of the user. A spring loaded pushbutton mechanism, also operated by the user&#39;s thumb, allows a slide retraction spring to draw the slide, including the legs, back into the casing of the tool when repair of the ball mark has been completed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/011,316 filed Jan. 15, 2008. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a divot tool useful for repairing marks in greens and fairways on a golf course following a golf stroke. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,621 describes a belt clip divot repair tool which changed the way golfers around the world repaired marks on golf greens and fairways following a golf stroke. This patent was invented by the inventor of the present invention, who has also invented numerous golf divot repair tools. Different tools work better on different types of golf greens. Some of these prior divot tools are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,305,999; 5,295,683; 6,050,905; and 6,176,792. 
         [0004]    As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the Director of the United States Golf Association Greens Section has confirmed that many ball mark variations occur when golf balls impact golf greens. Ball marks come in all sizes and shapes ranging from those where the balls skids off hard greens leaving a slight mark, to those where there is more of a “splash” such that the force causes the ball to leave a deeper mark. The USGA Greens Section Director concluded that deeper marks require a tool that can go deeper into the ground in order to properly repair a ball mark. Furthermore, there are three different types of grasses typically used on golf greens. These are bent, Bermuda and poa annua. Each of these grass types react differently to a golf ball landing on it. These differences in grass reactions to ball impacts complicate repair of golf greens. 
         [0005]    The reason for ball mark variations is due to a combination of trajectory, velocity, and spin rotation. If a wood or long iron is used for the golf shot coming onto the green, the ball strikes the green at lower angles with minimum spin leaving only a slight ball mark. On the other hand, if a short iron is used, the ball impacts the green with a much higher trajectory and with maximum spin rotation, thereby leaving a much deeper ball mark. 
         [0006]    Through the study of agronomy it has been determined that when a ball mark is fixed immediately the grass will repair itself in twenty-four hours. On the other hand, a ball mark left open will increase in the same period and will take days and sometimes weeks to repair. 
         [0007]    Large ruptured ball marks are best prepared by discarding the torn grass and bringing the grass adjacent to the scar together in a push motion at the outer edges of the ball mark. High velocity bumps in the green should be lifted slightly and pushed flat. Ball marks should be tapped lightly with a putter following repair. 
         [0008]    Whether it is replacing a fairway divot, raking a sand trap, or repairing a ball mark on a golf green, the tradition of the game of golf is for each golfer to leave the course better than the golfer found it. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    The present invention provides a ball mark repair tool which can be adjusted to repair each different type of ball mark likely to be encountered. The tool of the invention includes a casing that holds a slide element ending in a pair of legs. The slide element can be adjusted with the thumb so that the legs can be pushed into a plurality of distinct positions in which the legs project a predetermined distance from the case. The tool employs a reverse spring action which allows the user to retract the legs back into the tool casing before returning the tool to the player&#39;s pocket. 
         [0010]    Preferably, the tool provides three distinct leg projection adjustment positions. These may be considered to be short, medium, and long positions in which the legs project a short, medium, or long distance from the case. The convenient adjustment of the leg position allows for easy repair of all variations of ball mark sizes, as well as the ball mark variations that occur in the three types of golf green grass most widely utilized. 
         [0011]    In one broad aspect the present invention may be considered to be a ball mark repair tool comprised of a hollow casing, a slide having a fork and forming a pair of legs and mounted for reciprocal movement within the casing, a latching mechanism for selectively latching the slide at a plurality of different leg extension positions so that the legs extend different selected distances beyond the casing, a mechanism for advancing the slide, a slide spring tending to retract the slide into the casing, and a latch release mechanism that allows the slide spring to withdraw the slide into the casing. 
         [0012]    The invention may be described with greater clarity and particularity by reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the tool with the slide shown retracted into the casing. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the tool with the slide operated and detent mechanism actuated so that the legs extend and are held a short distance beyond the casing. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating the tool with the slide operated and detent mechanism actuated so that the legs extend and are held a medium distance beyond the casing. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating the tool with the slide operated and detent mechanism actuated so that the legs extend and are held a long distance beyond the casing. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the inside of the upper portion of the casing, shown in isolation, showing the interior surface thereof. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the inside of the lower portion of the casing, shown in isolation, showing the interior surface thereof. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a bottom plan view of the slide, shown in isolation. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of the slide, shown in isolation. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a top plan view of a detent spring and support assembly, shown in isolation. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a bottom plan view of a detent spring and support assembly, shown in isolation. 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  is a side sectional, elevational view of the tool taken along the lines  11 - 11  in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  is a side sectional, elevational, exploded view of the tool shown in  FIG. 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]      FIG. 1  illustrates the tool  10  of the invention with the slide  12  (shown in  FIGS. 7 ,  8 ,  11 , and  12 ) retracted into the tool casing  14 . The tool  10  is normally carried in the user&#39;s pocket in the retracted position illustrated in  FIG. 1 , so that the legs  46  of the tool cannot cause injury or discomfort and do not snag on other articles in the user&#39;s possession. The slide  12  is operated by means of a slide actuator  16  and released for retraction by a slide retraction spring  18  (shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 ) with a latch release pushbutton mechanism  20 . 
         [0026]    As best shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  12 , the hollow casing  14  is formed of a longitudinally elongated, upper casing shell portion  22  and a longitudinally elongated, lower casing shell portion  24 . The casing shell portions  22  and  24  both define mating, mutually contacting edges  26  at their peripheries. The casing shell portions  22  and  24  are closed at their rear ends  25  and meet at their edges  26  throughout the periphery of the casing  14  at the demarcation between the casing shell portions  22  and  24 , except at the casing shell front ends  28 . The front ends  28  are open and define an open mouth at the front of the casing  14 . Positioning registration pins  30  protrude outwardly from the flat edges  26  of the upper shell portion  22  and are received in positioning pin wells  32  in the mating, flat edge surface  26  of the lower shell portion  24 . 
         [0027]    Both of the casing shell portions  22  and  24  form interior, concave surfaces within the confines of their respective edges  26 . A narrow, longitudinal, elongated slot  34  is defined in the central region of the top of the upper casing shell portion  22 , and an aperture  36  is defined in the top of the upper casing shell portion  22  between the slot  34  and the open mouth of the casing  14 . A slide spring retaining post  38  projects downwardly from the underside of the interior roof of the upper shell casing portion  22  at the rear end  25  thereof toward the lower shell casing portion  24 . 
         [0028]    A corresponding slide spring retaining post  38  projects upwardly from the floor of the lower casing shell portion  24  at the rear end  25  thereof in coaxial alignment with the slide spring retaining post  38  of the upper shell casing portion  22 . When the upper and lower shell portions  22  and  24  are closed together to form the casing  14 , as illustrated in FIGS.  1  and  1 - 4 , the spring retaining posts  38  meet to form a slide spring anchoring column. 
         [0029]    The casing  14  is preferably formed with a disc-shaped ball marker tray  31  having a floor with a steel wafer  33  permanently secured thereto, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The tray  31  is of a size designed to receive a removable magnetic ball marker  35  of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,088, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 . U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,088 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
         [0030]    A pair of flat, elongated, upwardly facing, longitudinally extending guide ledges  40  are defined in the lower casing shell portion  24  forward of the rear end  25  and are recessed below the level of the edge  26  thereof. A pair of detent spring supports  42  and  44  is located forwardly from the pair of guide ledges  40 . The detent spring supports  42  and  44  are spaced longitudinally from each other. The detent spring supports  42  and  44  extend transversely across the interior of the lower casing shell portion  24 , also recessed beneath the level of the edge  26  thereof. 
         [0031]    The slide  12  is a generally flat, longitudinally elongated structure that is forked at its forward longitudinal, outboard end to define a pair of longitudinally extending legs  46 . At its opposite, rear longitudinal, inboard end  48  the slide  12  forms a spring hook aperture  50 . The slide  12  is shorter in length and narrower in width than the casing  14 . 
         [0032]    A narrow, longitudinally elongated slot  52  is defined through the flat structure of the slide  12  at the forward end thereof to the rear of the forked legs  46 . A downwardly projecting detent catch tooth  54  having an inclined forward face and a rearwardly facing bearing face  56  perpendicular to the flat undersurface of the slide  12  is permanently attached to the slide  12  just to the rear of the slot  52 . 
         [0033]    A generally flat, longitudinally aligned, rigid, detent tooth support rack  60  and a longer, elongated leaf spring  65  are located beneath the slide  12 . The respective rearward and forward ends  62  and  64  of the detent leaf spring  65  are supported upon the transverse detent supports  42  and  44 , respectively, so that the detent leaf spring  65  is normally supported in spaced separation from contact with the floor of the lower shell casing portion  24 . The detent leaf spring  65  is nested atop the detent supports  42  and  44  and cradled above the hollow space within the lower shell portion  24  within the lateral confines of its edge  26 . The detent tooth support rack  60  is secured to the top of the central portion of the detent leaf spring  65 , parallel to the slide  12 . 
         [0034]    A plurality of detent teeth  66 ,  68 , and  70  are permanently secured to the upper surface of the stiff, detent support  60 . The detent teeth  66 ,  68 , and  70  are shaped identical to each other and have rearwardly inclined surfaces and forwardly facing bearing surfaces  72  that are normal to the plane of the upper surface of the detent support  60 . The detent support  60  is also provided with an upwardly projecting detent spring depression post  74  located forwardly of the front detent tooth  70 . 
         [0035]    The release pushbutton mechanism  20  is comprised of a plunger element  76  having a generally T-shaped cross section, a coiled plunger retraction spring  78  bearing upwardly against the undersurface of the top control of the plunger element  76  and against the outer, upper surface of the upper shell casing portion  22 , and a base  80  located within the casing  14 , just beneath the undersurface of the upper shell casing portion  22 . The release pushbutton mechanism  20  is best illustrated in the exploded view of  FIG. 12 . The plunger element  76  has a disc-shaped, depressible, pushbutton top with a narrower, cylindrical shaft depending coaxially therefrom. When the latch release pushbutton mechanism  20  is assembled the plunger retraction spring  78  is disposed coaxially about the plunger shaft lightly compressed between the top of the plunger element  76  and the upper surface of the upper shell casing portion  22 . Therefore, the top of the plunger element  76  is normally biased upwardly, away from the casing  14 . The base  80  is firmly and permanently secured to the bottom of the shaft of the plunger  76 , so that the pushbutton base  80  is normally drawn upwardly against the underside of the interior surface of the upper casing shell portion  22  and away from contact with the detent spring depression post  74 . 
         [0036]    The slide retraction spring  18  is a coil spring longitudinally aligned within the casing  14  between the rear ends  25  of the casing shell portions  22  and  24 . The slide retraction spring  18  has hooks at both of its ends. The rear hook is secured about the spring anchoring column formed by the mutually abutting spring retaining posts  38 , while the front hook of the spring  18  is looped through the spring hook aperture  50  at the rear end  48  of the slide  12 . The slide retraction spring  18  is stretched slightly in tension when the slide  12  is fully retracted within the casing  14 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . As the slide  12  is moved forward so that the legs  46  project further from the open mouth of the casing  14 , the slide retraction spring  18  is stretched, thereby exerting a greater retraction force at each incremental leg extension position of the slide  12  relative to the casing  14 . 
         [0037]    Advancement of the slide  12  is controlled by a longitudinally elongated slide actuator  16  that is disposed atop the upper surface of the upper casing shell portion  22 . The slide actuator  16  serves as a slide advancement mechanism. The slide actuator  16  has an elongated body with a pair of longitudinally aligned slide engagement posts  84  that depend from the bottom surface of the body of the slide actuator  16 . The slide engagement posts  84  extend through the slot  34  in the upper casing shell portion  22  and fit into corresponding sockets  86  defined in the upper surface of the slide  12 . The sockets  86  are visible in  FIGS. 8 and 12 . 
         [0038]    The slide actuator  16  can thereby be operated by the thumb of the user to move the slide  12  from one detent position to the next, since the slide engagement posts  84  carry the slide  12  in longitudinal movement with the slide actuator  16 . 
         [0039]    When the ball mark repair tool  10  is not in use the slide  12  is in the fully retracted position and the slide actuator  16  is pulled with it to the rear position on the top of the casing  14 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The legs  46  of the slide  12  are thereby retracted within the confines of the casing  14  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0040]    If the user desires to repair a ball mark that requires only minimal penetration of the legs  46 , the user holds the casing  14  in the palm of one hand with the open mouth of the casing  14  pointed away from the user&#39;s body and toward the ball mark to be repaired. With the thumb of the same hand on the slide actuator  16 , the user pushes the slide actuator  16  forwardly from the position of  FIG. 1  to the position of  FIG. 2 , overpowering the bias of the slide retraction spring  18 . The slide actuator  16  carries the slide  12  forwardly within the casing  14  so that the inclined surfaces of the detent teeth  54  and  66  slide past each other as the slide  12  is advanced forwardly. The leaf spring  65  is flexible enough so that its ends bow downwardly into the cavity formed between the supports  42  and  44  while the detent support  60  remains in flat, horizontal alignment to permit the detent catch tooth  54  on the bottom of the slide  12  to clear the rear detent tooth  66  on the top of the detent support  60 . 
         [0041]    As the apex of the depending detent catch tooth  54  clears the apex of the upwardly projecting detent tooth  66 , the downward force on the leaf spring  65  is relieved, whereupon the leaf spring  65  snaps resiliently back up into a flat, horizontal alignment. When this occurs the bearing faces  56  and  72  of the detent catch tooth  54  and the detent tooth  66  engage each other, thus latching the legs  46  in the short position. Although the slide retraction spring  18  tends to urge the slide  12  rearwardly within the casing  14 , it cannot do so due to the engagement of the detent teeth  54  and  56 . The slide  12  will therefore remain latched with the legs  46  projecting a short distance out of the casing  14 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Preferably, the legs  46  project a distance of about three-eighths of an inch from the forward extremity of the casing  14  with the slide  12  in the first detent position illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0042]    If a greater extension of the legs  46  from the casing  14  is required, the slide actuator is advanced to the second detent position illustrated in  FIG. 3 . As the user pushes the slide actuator  16  forwardly from the first detent position shown in  FIG. 2  to the second detent position shown in  FIG. 3 , the depending slide detent catch tooth  54  is pushed past the second leaf spring tooth  68 , again bowing the leaf spring ends  62  and  64  and deflecting the central region of the leaf spring  65  and the detent support  60  downwardly into the cavity between the supports  42  and  44  until the slide detent catch tooth  54  clears the second spring detent tooth  68 . At this point the leaf spring  65  again springs back upwardly as the detent catch tooth  54  clears the detent tooth  68 , thereby bringing the bearing faces  56  and  72  into mutual abutment. Although the slide retraction spring  18  continues to exert a rearward pull on the slide  12 , the legs  46  will remain latched even when forced into the turf due to the interengagement of the detent teeth  54  and  68 . Preferably, the legs  46  project a distance of about three-fourths of an inch from the forward extremity of the casing  14  with the slide  12  in the second detent position illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0043]    When full extension of the legs  46  from the casing  14  is appropriate, the slide actuator  16  is moved to its full forward position from the position of  FIG. 3  to the position of  FIG. 4 . The depending slide detent catch tooth  54  deflects the detent support  60  and the central portion of the leaf spring  65  downwardly until it clears the forward spring detent tooth  70 . At this point the leaf spring  65  springs back upwardly with the bearing faces  56  and  72  of the detent teeth  54  and  70  residing in mutual abutment. The legs  46  are thereupon fully extended from the casing  14  to the long position, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The latched engagement of the detent teeth  54  and  70  holds the legs  46  extended from the casing  14  despite the retraction force exerted by the slide retraction spring  18  and despite rearward force exerted on the legs  46 . Preferably, the legs  46  project a distance of about one and one-eighth inches from the forward extremity of the casing  14  with the slide  12  in the third detent position illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0044]    Once the tool  10  has been utilized to repair a ball mark with the legs  46  extended to the position of either  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 4 , the slide  12  is retracted back into the casing  14  by operation of the latch release pushbutton retraction mechanism  20 . That is, after use the slide actuator  16  is moved to its extreme forward position as shown in  FIG. 4 . This brings the latch release pushbutton mechanism  20  into alignment with the detent spring depression post  74 . The plunger  76  of the latch release pushbutton mechanism  20  is then depressed downwardly toward the surface of the upper shell portion  22 . The plunger shaft pushes the pushbutton mechanism base  80  downwardly, away from the undersurface of the inside of the upper shell portion  22 . The base portion  80  is pushed through the slot  52  downwardly against the upwardly projecting detent spring depression post  74 . The downward force on the latch release pushbutton mechanism  20  thereby resiliently deflects the central portion of leaf spring  65  between the rearward and forward ends  62  and  64  thereof into the cavity beneath the slide  12 . This depressing force pushes all of the upwardly projecting spring detent teeth  66 ,  68 , and  70  out of longitudinal alignment with the depending slide detent catch tooth  54 . The slide retraction spring  18 , which is under longitudinal tension, thereby quickly retracts the slide  12  back into the casing  14  so that the tool  10  is then again in the leg retracted condition illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0045]    Undoubtedly, numerous variations and modifications of the invention will become readily apparent to those familiar with golf ball mark repair tools. For example, the casing does not necessarily have to be elongated, but can be more disc-shaped. The slide advancement mechanism does not have to be linear, but can employ a rack and pinion or meshed gears that drive the slide in linear motion. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be construed as limited to the specific embodiment described and depicted in the drawings.