Patent Publication Number: US-6334546-B1

Title: Ball cartridge means for storing, delivering and collecting practice ball

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,518 issued to the same inventor of this application disclosed a golf ball dispensing device for gravitationally discharging golf ball to a tee. It includes a hopper for loading golf ball into the housing of the dispensing device. However, it can not be compatible with a ball cartridge including a tube container or the so-called “easy tube” (commercial name) having a plurality of practice balls filled in the tube. 
     The present inventor has invented a ball cartridge device for a quick coupling with the ball dispensing device for conveniently supplying practice balls into the dispensing device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a ball cartridge device including: a tube container for filling practice balls in the tube container having a locking bar resiliently held in a bottom portion of the tube container for normally preventing discharge of ball from the container, and a discharge tube formed on an unloading device and positioned under the tube container for quickly coupling the tube container for smoothly discharging ball from the tube container through the unloading device to a ball dispensing device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration of the present invention connected with a ball dispensing device. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the elements of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows the tube container and its relevant elements of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 a  shows another modified locking bar of this invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional drawing showing the tube container to be coupled with the discharge tube of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 shows the tube container coupled with the discharge tube following FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 shows another modification of the tube container of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 shows still another preferred embodiment of the tube container of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in FIGS.  1 ˜ 5 , the present invention comprises: a tube container  1 , a locking bar  2  transversely resiliently held in a bottom portion of the tube container  1  by a restoring fastener  3 , a discharge tube  4  coupled with the tube container  1 , and an unloading means  5  secured with the discharge tube  4 . 
     The unloading means  5  is connected to a ball dispensing device such as a golf ball dispensing device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,518 if provided for practicing golf ball. 
     Naturally, the tube container  1  itself may also be used individually or independently for storing or pick-up of practice balls therein. 
     The balls used in this invention are not limited. For instance, golf ball, baseball, tennis and the other balls may be played by using the present invention. 
     The tube container  1  is formed as a cylindrical shape, and includes: a bottom opening  10 , a pair of slots  11  circumferentially formed in opposite cylindrical wall portions of the tube container  1 , and a top opening  12 . 
     The locking bar  2  is transversely inserted through and slidably held in the two slots  11  formed in the tube container  1 ; and includes: a head portion  21  disposed outside a first slot  11 , a threaded portion  22  formed on an end portion of the bar  2  opposite to the head portion  21  and disposed outside a second slot, and a nut  23  engaged with the threaded portion  22  for limiting the bar  2  without separation from the tube container  1 . 
     The restoring fastener  3  has its two fixing ends  31  respectively secured with two opposite end portions of the bar  2  and disposed around a cylindrical surface of the tube container  1  for resiliently fastening the locking bar  2  on the tube container  1 . The restoring fastener  3  may be selected from rubber band, spring or any other elastomers or materials having elasticity and flexibility. 
     The tube container  1  has an inside diameter D larger than a diameter Db of the ball B filled or stored in the tube container  1 . 
     Each slot  11  is inclined slightly upwardly sidewardly from a first slot end  111  (near an axis X of a center of the tube container) towards a second slot end  112  (distal from the axis X of the tube container  1 ). Each slot  11  projectively defines an acute angle A with the axis X (FIG.  4 ). 
     A first chord C 1  defined between the two first slot ends  111  of the two slots  11  (FIGS. 3,  4 ) is eccentric to the diameter D of the tube container  1 ; while a second chord C 2  between the two second slot ends  112  defining a “normal-line” distance Dp between the second chord C 2  and an apex P at a perimeter of the tube container and intersecting with a normal line N perpendicular to the second chord C 2  and aligned with the axis X. The normal-line distance Dp should be larger than the diameter Db of the practice ball B to allow a downward discharge of the ball from the tube container  1  towards the discharge tube  4  as shown in FIGS. 3,  5 . 
     A distance dp from the first chord C 1  to the apex P is larger than half diameter ½D, but smaller than a diameter Db of the ball B for normally retaining the ball in the tube container. 
     The two slots  11  are formed in the cylindrical wall of the tube container  1  as disposed in an opened semi cylinder H 1  (FIGS. 4,  3 ) for transversely holding the locking bar  2  in the opened semi cylinder H 1 ; while the restoring fastener  3  is majorly fastened on the cylindrical wall of the tube container  1  as disposed in a closed semi cylinder H 2  opposite to the opened semi cylinder H 1 . 
     The designation of “opened semi cylinder H 1 ” may refer to the partial cylindrical wall of the tube container  1  which is “opened” as cut with two slots  11  therethrough; while the “closed semi cylinder H 2 ” is designated as “closed” since there is no slot cut out therethrough. 
     The discharge tube  4  is also formed as cylindrical shape having an outside diameter slightly smaller than an inside diameter D of the tube container  1  for engageably coupling the discharge tube  4  within the tube container  1  (FIG.  5 ). 
     The discharge tube  4  includes: a ridge portion  41  adjacent to the closed semi cylinder H 2 , a sloping-surface portion  42  inclined downwardly from the ridge portion  41  at the closed semi cylinder H 2  towards the opened semi cylinder H 1  to projectively intersect the slots  11  cut in the tube container  1 , a bar recess  43  recessed in a lower portion of the sloping-surface portion  42  opposite to the ridge portion  41 , and a bottom opening  44  formed at a bottom of the discharge tube  4 . 
     The discharge tube  4  is secured on the unloading means  5  which includes a discharge opening  50  communicated with the bottom opening  44  of the discharge tube  4  for discharging ball B from the tube container  1 , the discharge tube  4  towards a sloping trough  51  formed under the discharge tube  4  for delivering ball B to a ball dispensing device G as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The tube container  1  is coupled on the discharge tube  4  by inserting the discharge tube  4  into the tube container  1  (the discharge tube  4  having an outside diameter slightly smaller than an inside diameter of the tube container  1 ) as shown in FIGS. 4,  5 , and the locking bar  2  will be thrusted sidewardly (rightwardly as shown in FIG. 5) by the sloping-surface portion  42  upon a downward depression (F) of the tube container  1  towards the discharge tube  4  until the locking bar  2  is thrusted into the bar recess  43  to be stably engaged with the bar recess  43 . The restoring fastener  3  is provided for fastening the locking bar  2 , the discharge tube  4  and the tube container  1  together at their coupling condition. 
     The bar  2  is moved sidewardly (unlocked) to allow the ball B to drop from the upper tube container  1  toward the lower discharge tube  4  to be delivered to the ball dispensing device or a playing place for ball practice. 
     The slot  11  further includes a vertical slot section  113  as shown in FIG. 6 as vertically extended from a second end  112  of the slot  11 , whereby upon a further downward movement of the upper tube container  1  toward the lower discharge tube  4 , the locking bar  2  will be engaged into the vertical slot section  113  for a more stable engagement of the bar  2  in the slot  113 , thereby stabilizing the coupling of the tube container  1  with the discharge tube  4 . 
     The tube container  1  may be used individually and independently for collecting or storing balls B therein. 
     As shown in FIG. 7, the tube container  1  further includes a skirt portion  13  formed or secured on a bottom of the tube container  1  and diverging downwardly radially to serve as a guide for smoothly guiding and collecting the ball B upwardly from the bottom opening  10  into the tube container as arrow direction shown in FIG. 7 by upwardly sidewardly thrusting the locking bar  2 ; or to serve as a supporting base to stably stand on a surface S as dotted line shown in FIG.  7 . 
     Upon disengagement of the tube container  1  from the discharge tube  4 , the restoring fastener  3  will restore the locking bar  2  downwardly centripetally to be rested on the first (lower) end  111  of the slot  11  to limit the ball B and prevent dropping of ball from the bottom opening  10 . 
     The present invention provides a ball cartridge for quickly coupling a discharge tube of an unloading means for supplying ball quickly and conveniently. 
     The present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 3 a,  the locking bar  2  may be modified to include: a head portion  21  formed on a first end of the bar, a female recess  22   a  recessed in a second end of the bar, and a plug  23   a  plugged in the female recess  22   a  to limit the bar  2  on the tube container  1 .