Patent Publication Number: US-6712487-B2

Title: Light emitting golf ball

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to golf balls and, more particularly, to a light emitting golf ball adapted for use in the night, which emits light when driven into the air. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventional golf balls do not emit light. When playing golf in the night, the player cannot accurately estimate the direction and amount of the flying of the golf ball under limited illumination of field lamps. When the golf ball was driven into the rough, water hazard, or any dark place in the course, the player may have to spend a lot of time finding the ball. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a light emitting golf ball, which is practical for playing in the night. It is another object of the present invention to provide a light emitting golf ball, which emits light only when driven into the air by a golf club. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention and according to one aspect of the present invention, the light emitting golf ball comprises a plastic outer shell that admits light, a plastic core embedded in the outer shell, the plastic core admitting light, and a light emitting circuit assembly embedded in the core. The light emitting circuit assembly comprises a battery, a plurality of LEDs, and an impact switch electrically connected between the battery and the LEDs and adapted to turn on the LEDs upon an impact. According to another aspect of the present invention, the light emitting circuit assembly is provided with a control IC adapted to control the flash mode of the LEDs subject to the control of the impact switch. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A illustrates a light emitting circuit assembly embedded in a spherical core according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a light emitting golf ball according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the light emitting golf ball present invention according to the present invention, showing the LEDs switched on. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the light emitting circuit assembly for the light emitting golf ball according to the present invention, showing the LEDs switched on. 
     FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the light emitting circuit assembly according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. from  1  through  4 , a light emitting golf ball is shown comprised of an outer shell  11  that admits light, a core  10  embedded in the outer shell  11 , the core  10  admitting light, and a light emitting circuit assembly  20  embedded in the core  10 . The light emitting circuit assembly  20  comprises a battery  21  that provides the necessary working voltage, a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes)  22 , and an impact switch  23  electrically connected between the battery  21  and the LEDs  22 . The impact switch  23  is comprised of a metal casing  24  and a metal spring  25 . The metal casing  24  is connected to one terminal, for example, the positive terminal of the battery  21  by a conductor  27 . The metal spring  25  is suspended inside the metal casing  24 , having one end inserted through an electrically insulative pad  240  in the metal casing  24  and connected to the other terminal, namely, the negative terminal of the battery  21  by a conductor  26 . 
     Referring to FIGS. from  2  through  4  again, when carrying the light emitting golf ball or holding it with the hand, the vibration force is insufficient to vibrate metal spring  25  violently. At this time, the metal spring  25  does not touch the metal casing  24 , and therefore the impact switch  23  is off. When the user hits the light emitting golf ball with the club, the heavy impact forces the metal spring  25  to vibrate violently, thereby causing the metal spring  25  to contact the inside wall of the metal casing  24  intermittently. When the metal spring  25  touched the inside wall of the metal casing  24 , the impact switch  24  triggers the control IC of the light emitting circuit assembly  20 , causing the control IC of the light emitting circuit assembly  20  to flash the LEDs  22  subject to a predetermined flashing mode for a predetermined length of time. 
     When driven the light emitting golf ball into the air in the night, the light emitting golf ball flashes, like a line of light passing over the sky. Because the control IC of the light emitting circuit assembly drives the LEDs  22  to flash or to emit light for a predetermined length of time when triggered by the impact switch  24 , the user can see the light emitting golf ball in the dark from a distance. 
     Further, the outer shell  11  and the core  10  are made of plastics that provide sufficient resilient strength and, meet standard golf specification requirements. Because the light emitting circuit assembly  20  is embedded in the core  10 , it is positively positioned in the light emitting golf ball. Impact of the light emitting golf ball does not cause the light emitting circuit assembly  20  to displace. 
     Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, bristles may be separately installed in the periphery of the ball body and spaced from one another at an equal pitch.