Apparatus for Assisting Putting Practice

This application claims the benefit of priority of Great Britain Patent Application No. 2405182.3 filed on Apr. 11, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to putting apparatus and indoor putting practise.

The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.

The outdoor sport of golf is growing in popularity globally; in the UK, about 960,000 people play it at least ten times a year, and this figure, having declined in recent decades, is now rising. It has come to notice that a certain proportion of golfers want to practise their putting, whether regularly or occasionally at home, and for this purpose, many putting practise arrangements exist at present. Present putting practise arrangements include mats, which remedy the problem of a carpet being a poor imitation of a putting surface, and artificial holes, which give the golfer a target to hit or miss. There are several significant deficiencies with such an arrangement: even the highest quality mat relies on the floor being level (which floors rarely are); an artificial hole is less satisfying to hit than a real hole; and upon hitting or missing the target, the player has to retrieve his/her ball.

There is, therefore, felt a need of an apparatus for assisting putting practise that alleviates the aforementioned drawbacks.

Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:

It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for assisting putting practise.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus that provides an authentic experience of putting to a user without the need for going to a golf club or a public practise facility.

Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus that allows a player to retrieve the golf ball without needing him/her to travel to the hole end.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment describes below, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for assisting putting practise, the apparatus comprising: a box, a hole, a collector, a first slope, a second slope, an exit opening, a cut-out, a rotator, a shaft, a compression spring, indexing washers, a plurality of screw jacks and a spirit level.

The box has a base, a front wall, a rear wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, and a top surface configured as a putting surface.

The hole is disposed on the putting surface.

The collector is disposed beneath the hole, and the collector has an outlet.

The first slope is disposed within the box operatively below the putting surface, extending from the rear wall and inclined downwards towards the front wall.

The second slope is disposed adjacent to the first slope, inclined downwards towards the second side wall.

The exit opening is disposed on the second side wall adjacent to the second slope.

The cut-out is disposed on the second side wall, axially aligned parallel with the exit opening.

The rotator is disposed on the second side wall, the rotator having a plurality of compartments arranged circumferentially, configured to receive a golf ball from the exit opening and dispense the golf ball through the cut-out onto the putting surface upon rotation.

The shaft extends from the rotator.

The compression spring is disposed on the shaft.

The indexing washers are configured to facilitate rotation of the rotator by a predefined angle.

The plurality of screw jacks attached to the box for leveling the putting surface.

Optionally, a spirit level is configured to indicate when the putting surface is level.

In an embodiment, the putting surface is covered with artificial grass made of wool felt.

In an embodiment, the putting apparatus comprises an opening at a rear edge of the putting surface, configured to capture a golf ball that misses the hole.

In an embodiment, the collector has a bottom inclined towards the outlet to ensure the golf ball rolls out. In an embodiment, the first slope is inclined at an angle ranging from 1.5° to 2.3°.

In an embodiment, the second slope is inclined at an angle ranging from 3.5° to 6°.

In an embodiment, the rotator includes compartments selected from a group of compartments consisting of six compartments and eight compartments, and the predefined angle of rotation is 60° and 45°.

In an embodiment, each compartment of the rotator is inclined at 5° to the horizontal axis to facilitate ball movement.

In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises a dais adjacent to the front wall for a user to stand on while practicing.

In an embodiment, the rear wall, the first side wall, and the second side wall extend beyond the putting surface and are raised for preventing golf balls from leaving the putting surface.

In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises an extrusion fitted to the collector to guide the golf ball which falls on the first slope through the opening around the collector.

In an embodiment, the box is made of plywood, and the first slope and the second slope are made of corrugated plastic sheeting material.

In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises a pedal operatively connected to the rotator, configured to rotate the rotator when pressed.

In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises an internal wall disposed at the end of the first slope to stop the golf ball quietly.

In an embodiment, the exit opening is provided with a collar to prevent the golf ball from jamming on the second slope.

In an embodiment, the cut-out is provided with a half-collar to assist the golf ball in the compartment of the rotator to smoothly fall on the putting surface.

In an embodiment, the collector is configured, such that the golf ball falling into the hole makes a sound similar to that of a golf ball falling into a real golf hole.

In an embodiment, the rotator is configured to line multiple golf balls and dispense them one at a time upon rotation.

The present disclosure provides a method for assisting putting practise, the method comprising:

Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details, are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.

The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element is referred to as being “mounted on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.

The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.

Terms such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.

A preferred embodiment of an apparatus () for assisting putting practise will now be described in detail with reference tothrough. The preferred embodiment does not limit the scope and ambit of the present disclosure.