Abstract:
A convertible golf bag base and putting green includes a base plate, a ramp surface, a raised lip, a sidewall and a cup. A convertible golf bag base and putting green includes a circular incline with a perimeter rim wherein said perimeter rim defines a circle with an open arc and a depression within said incline within the perimeter of said rim. A convertible golf bag base and putting green includes a base, an incline rising up from said base, said incline including a rectangular ramp rising from the level of said base and spreading into a circular incline upon said base, a perimeter rim along two parallel edges of said rectangular ramp and encircling a portion of said circular incline; and a depression within said incline within the perimeter of said rim.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This non-provisional patent application claims priority to co-pending Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/840,758, filed Aug. 28, 2006. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to golf and indoor putting. More particularly, the present invention relates to bases for standing golf bags and for indoor putting greens. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Golf is a very popular sport. People who golf like to have their golf bags near them, and they like to practice putting. Golf bags are not stable when standing without support. There is a need for a golf bag stand base that allows a golf bag to be stably leaned against a support, such as a wall, and which can also serve as a putting green. 
       SUMMARY AND ADVANTAGES 
       [0004]    A convertible golf bag base and putting green includes a base plate, a ramp surface, a raised lip, a sidewall and a cup. A convertible golf bag base and putting green includes a circular incline with a perimeter rim wherein said perimeter rim defines a circle with an open arc and a depression within said incline within the perimeter of said rim. A convertible golf bag base and putting green includes a base, an incline rising up from said base, said incline including a rectangular ramp rising from the level of said base and spreading into a circular incline upon said base, a perimeter rim along two parallel edges of said rectangular ramp and encircling a portion of said circular incline; and a depression within said incline within the perimeter of said rim. 
         [0005]    The convertible golf bag base and putting green of the present invention presents numerous advantages, including: (1) storage of golf bags, (2) portability, (3) user can practice putting, (4) ease in switching from storage use to putting use, (5) invention itself is easy to store, and (6) durability. Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Further benefits and advantages of the embodiments of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferred embodiments of the present invention. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1A  shows a top view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1B  shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention, based on the cutting plane line, labeled  1 B, in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0009]      FIG. 1C  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    Before beginning a detailed description of the subject invention, mention of the following is in order. When appropriate, like reference materials and characters are used to designate identical, corresponding, or similar components in differing figure drawings. The figure drawings associated with this disclosure typically are not drawn with dimensional accuracy to scale, i.e., such drawings have been drafted with a focus on clarity of viewing and understanding rather than dimensional accuracy. 
         [0011]    In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions-must be made in order to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. 
         [0012]    As shown in  FIGS. 1A-1C , a convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  is provided. As shown in  FIGS. 1A-1C , a convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  includes a base plate  20 , a ramp surface  22 , a raised lip  24 , a sidewall  26  and a cup  28 . In an alternate embodiment, a convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  includes a base plate  20 , a ramp surface  22 , a raised lip  24 , a sidewall  26 , but lacks a cup  28 . Consequently, the user may continue to use the invention to hold the golf bag and to practice putting skills but the golf ball B will roll back down the ramp surface  22  towards the user. Any portion of the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  may be constructed of fiberglass, plastic, or aluminum but is preferably constructed of rigid plastic. 
         [0013]    The base plate  20  is a thin, flat surface, preferably lightweight and portable. The base plate  20  may rest upon any hard surface, including a floor, the ground, concrete, blacktop, or a lawn. 
         [0014]    The ramp surface  22  slopes upward from its unenclosed end to the opposite, enclosed end, as shown in  FIGS. 1A-1C . As a result, the ramp surface  22  at the unenclosed end, i.e., the portion of the ramp surface  22  lacking a raised lip  24 , and adjacent to the base plate  20  edge is planar to the base plate  20 . The ramp surface  22  then begins to slope up from the base plate  20  and is at its greatest height from the base plate  20  at the enclosed end opposite the unenclosed end and adjacent to the raised lip  24 . The ramp surface  22  has a substantially circular portion, preferably of sufficient diameter upon which to place a golf bag. 
         [0015]    The raised lip  24  is located on the peripheral edge of the ramp surface  22 . The raised lip  24  helps support the golf bag when in place and prevents the golf ball B from falling off the ramp surface  22  during putting practice. The raised lip  24  is preferably rounded on top so as to not scratch the golf bag when used for storage. The raised lip extends beyond the ramp surface  22  to form two parallel ridges on the base plate  20 . This configuration guides the golf ball B up the ramp surface  22  during putting practice. 
         [0016]    The sidewall  26  connects the raised lip  24  to the base plate  20 . Thus, as the raised lip  24  slopes upward with the ramp surface  22 , the sidewall  26  extends upward correspondingly as shown in  FIGS. 1B and 1C . Preferably, the sidewall  26  is approximately 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) at its shortest height to approximately 1.0 inch (2.54 cm) at its tallest height to create a challenging but not impossible slope for putting practice as well as a slope for golf bag storage that permits the bag to lean, even up against a wall or other surface, but not topple over. 
         [0017]    The cup  28  is located preferably at the midpoint of the slope of the ramp surface  22  and equidistant from the curved portions of the raised lip  24 . The cup  28  is preferably at least 0.5 inches (1.27) cm deep at its shallowest end and preferably at least 1.0 inches (2.54 cm) deep at its deepest end to prevent a golf ball B that lands in the cup  28  from leaving the cup  28 . 
         [0018]    In operation in one embodiment, a golf bag is placed on top of the ramp surface  22 . Because of the slope of the ramp surface  22 , the golf bag will tilt slightly. Preferably, the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  is positioned with one edge against a wall, such that when the golf bag is placed on top of the ramp surface  22  the golf bag tilts but is secured by the raised lip  24  and the wall. In fact, the golf bag&#39;s upper portion may lean against a wall. The wall may be a room wall, a building wall, a cabinet wall or door, or a similar sturdy surface perpendicular to the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  of sufficient height to support the golf bag. 
         [0019]    In operation in one embodiment, the user places the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  in an open area, such as on an open clearing within a room, and uses a golf club to strike a golf ball B, aiming for the open end of the ramp surface  22  in between the straight, parallel portions of the raised lip  24 . Ideally, the user is successful in hitting the golf ball B up the ramp surface  22  and into the cup  28 . The user may then retrieve the golf ball B from the cup  28  and continue practicing or place the golf bag on top of the ramp surface  22  for storage. 
         [0020]    However, if the user misses the cup, the golf ball B may roll down the ramp surface  22  and into the cup  28 , or down the ramp surface  22 , between the straight, parallel portions of the raised lip  24 , and back onto the floor or surface area upon which the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  rests. If the golf ball B does not enter the cup  28  or jumps out of the cup  28  due to excessive striking force, the golf ball B may hit a curved portion of the raised lip  24 . The golf ball B will hit the curved portion of the raised lip  24  and then either go down the ramp surface  22  between the straight, parallel portions of the raised lip  24 , or continue to hit the curved portion of the raised lip  24  until reaching the open portion of the ramp surface  22  and then exiting the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  between the straight, parallel portions of the raised lip  24 . The user may then retrieve the golf ball B from the floor or surface area upon which the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  rests and continue practicing or place the golf bag on top of the ramp surface  22  for storage. 
         [0021]    In an alternate embodiment, the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  lacks a cup  28  but the user can continue to practice hitting the golf ball B up the ramp surface  22  between the straight, parallel portions of the raised lip  24 . The golf ball B will then roll down the ramp surface  22  and out the straight, parallel portions of the raised lip  24  until the golf ball B is back onto the floor or surface area upon which the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  rests. The user may then retrieve the golf ball B from the floor or surface area upon which the convertible golf bag base and putting green  10  rests and continue practicing or place the golf bag on top of the ramp surface  22  for storage. 
         [0022]    Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications and changes may be made to the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. It will, of course, be understood that modifications of the invention, in its various aspects, will be apparent to those skilled in the art, some being apparent only after study, others being matters of routine mechanical, chemical and electronic design. No single feature, function or property of the preferred embodiment is essential. Other embodiments are possible, their specific designs depending upon the particular application. As such, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the particular embodiments herein described but should be defined only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.