Patent ID: 8317019

Claim:
A basket for use with a golf ball range picker having a support frame, comprising: a substantially rectangular wall structure defining a vertical wall structure including a front wall, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls; a bottom wall integrally connected to the vertical wall structure; the front wall including a bottom portion integrally connected to the bottom wall and the side walls, a rectangular opening disposed above the bottom portion for admitting the golf balls to the basket, and an elongated front flange defining substantially the entire length of a bottom of the opening and for resting on top of a front portion of the range picker support frame; the front flange having a rounded convex-shaped smoothly contoured non-blunt upper surface portion for the golf balls to glide over into the basket and a rounded concave shaped lower portion extending unrestrictedly for receiving the picker support frame along a continuous line of engagement therewith; the rear wall including a rear flange portion at about the same height above the bottom wall as the front flange for resting on top of a rear portion of the range picker support frame to support the basket between the front and rear flanges; the rear flange projecting rearwardly from a portion of the rear wall and being a bottom portion of a rearwardly projecting rear flange section being U-shaped in horizontal cross section with a solid base portion and a U-shaped vertical open-frame wall; each of the side walls including an inwardly disposed offset an open-frame handle section and an outwardly angled tapered section integrally connected to the front wall; wherein the basket includes a plurality of rectilinear and cross rib members to form in a one-piece open-frame construction composed entirely of plastic material and including openings, the openings in the open-frame construction being sized to confine golf balls within the basket; wherein each of the handle sections are disposed inwardly of the outermost outwardly angled tapered sections to provide space for a fingers of a user to grasp the handle sections to lift the basket from the picker support frame when a like basket is disposed adjacent thereto; wherein each of the outwardly angled tapered section diverge outwardly in horizontal section from the open frame handle sections to the rectangular opening and terminate in a front vertical edge tapered in horizontal section to mate with another tapered edge of an tapered front vertical edge of another outwardly angled tapered section of a like basket disposed adjacent thereto to form a narrow area of engagement to facilitate receiving the golf balls; and a pair of rounded corners sections in the horizontal section, each of the corner sections joining integrally the rear wall and one of the side walls and including the plurality of rectilinear and cross rib members to form the one-piece open-frame construction.