Patent Publication Number: US-2016228753-A1

Title: Golf green slope indicator

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to a golf green slope indicator. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The game of golf includes eighteen greens from which a golfer putts his or her golf ball into a cup. Part of the intrigue of putting is the ability of the golfer to determine the slope and break of the golf green and to make the appropriate putt based on that determination. Often times a golfer will eye-ball the slope and break of the golf green by squatting down behind the golf ball and optically lining up the golf ball with the hole and holding a putter handle in a vertical orientation as a reference plane. 
     Some devices have been developed in order to assist the golfer in determining the slope and break of the golf green. This includes devices that are filled with water and use an air bubble to provide some guidance. Others have used a ball bearing in oil and the speed at which the ball travels in the oil correlates to a particular slope. 
     Although most devices may be capable of determining a general direction of slope, a shortcoming of the common devices is the lack of accuracy in determining the amount of slope. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a golf green slope indicator that is accurate and can assist the golfer in determining the slope and break of the golf green. 
     SUMMARY 
     In a particular illustrative embodiment, a golf green slope indicator is disclosed. The indicator includes a circular base having a concave upper surface and a lower flat surface, where a slope from a middle of the concave upper surface increases nonlinearly to a periphery of the circular base. The indicator also includes an annular sidewall extending upwards from a periphery of the lower flat surface upwards beyond the concave upper surface, a transparent cover engaging an upper periphery surface of the annular sidewall, and a ball bearing unsecured and configured to roll along the concave upper surface. 
     Other aspects, advantages, and features of the present disclosure will become apparent after review of the entire application, including the following sections: Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description, and the Claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of a particular illustrative embodiment of a golf green slope indicator; 
         FIG. 2  is an elevational view of the golf green slope indicator taken in the direction of line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the golf green slope indicator taken along the line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of the golf green slope indicator. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-4 , a golf green slope indicator  100  is illustrated. The indicator includes a circular base  102  having a concave upper surface  116  and a lower flat surface, where a slope from a middle of the concave upper surface  116  increases nonlinearly to a periphery of the circular base  102 . The indicator  100  also includes a transparent cover  114  engaging an upper periphery surface of the annular sidewall of the base  102 , and a ball bearing  104  unsecured and configured to roll along the concave upper surface  116 . The cover  114  may be removable in order to change out the ball  104  to a different size or color of ball. The base  102  may also have a bottom surface that can be detached for customizing with logos or other artwork. 
     An alignment stripe  106  is disposed on the cover  114  and passes from an edge of the base  102  over a middle region of the concave upper surface  116  to an opposing edge of the base  102 . The alignment stripe  106  is used as a guide for the golfer to place the indicator  100  in the correct orientation in order for the indicator  100  to provide accurate reading of the golf green  118 . The alignment stripe  106  should be aligned to point towards, and align the indicator  100  to the direction of the cup. In another embodiment, the alignment stripe may be a cross-hairs or other geometric shape. 
     The concave upper surface  116  also includes indicia of a number of concentric rings  108  that are used to read the slope of a golf green  118 . For example, the inner most ring may indicate a slope of 1%, the second inner most ring may indicate a slope of 1.5%, and so on. Accordingly, the golfer can read the slope of the golf green by which concentric ring  108  the ball bearing  104  is nearest. The rings  108  may not be evenly spaced around the center. For example in another embodiment, the smaller inner rings may be further apart from the large ones towards the outer edge. The concave upper surface  116  may be parabolic in shape and the slope of the concave upper surface can be determined using the length (l) the ball bearing  114  travels relative to the height (h) the ball bearing travels away from the middle region. 
     Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein.