Ball mark repair tool

• US 6,244,356 B1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Luna, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Novosad, Christopher J.
• Application Number:
  US09/732,427
• Time in Patent Office: 186 Days
• Field of Search: 473/286, 473/408, 172/371, 172/381, 172/380, 172/379, 172/378
• US Class Current: 172/381
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 1/24 for treating meadows or lawns
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 53/00 Golf clubs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 57/50 specially adapted for course maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 60/00 Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like

Abstract

A repair tool that attaches to the handle end of the shaft of a golf club for repairing golf ball marks on a putting green includes a body with spaced, radially arranged, circumferencial, wedge shaped prongs on a first said. A slotted skirt attached to the second side of the body, in combination with a tapered plug, a bolt and a nut, fits into the shaft and expands outward to tightly attach the tool to the golf club. A cap fits over the prongs to prevent injury to the golfer. A ridge on the prongs fits into an internal groove in the cap to prevent accidental removal of the cap while allowing the cap to be removed when desired.

Claims

1. A golf ball mark repair tool for attachment to an open end of a tubular shaft of a golf club comprising:

a body having a first side, a spaced second side and a peripheral face, said peripheral face having peripheral body ridge therearound,

a plurality of spaced tapered prongs each having an elongated base, an elongated outer face and an elongated inner face arranged in a triangular configuration so that said outer face and said inner face form a wedge, said bases of said prongs being attached to said first side in a spaced radial arrangement with said outer faces extending away from said peripheral face,

attachment means, attached to said second side of said body, for attaching said body to said shaft, said attachment means being sized and shaped to fit within said open end of said shaft and radially expandable to frictionally engage the inside of said shaft, and

a cup shaped cap having an end wall and a side wall attached around the periphery of said end wall and extending transverse to said end wall, said side wall of said cap being sized and shaped to fit in contact relationship over said prongs and to contact said body ridge to prevent said prongs from contacting said end wall.

2. The tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein said side wall of said cap has a continuous internal groove, and said outer faces of said prongs include prong ridges sized, shaped and positioned to fit into said groove to form an interference fit when said cap is placed over said prongs to securely hold said cap on said prongs while allowing said cap to be removed when desired.

3. The tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bases taper inward toward each other.

4. The tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein said outer faces taper inward from bases.

5. The tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body has a first aperture extending from said first side to said second side, and said attachment means has a tubular skirt attached to said second side of said body around said first aperture, a truncated conical plug portion with a second aperture therethrough, a bolt and a nut, said skirt being separated into skirt portions by a plurality of slots, said plug portion having a small end and a large end with said small end being sized to fit into said skirt portions to wedge said skirt portions outward when said plug portion is moved toward said second side to press said skirt portions against said shaft, said bolt extending through said first and second apertures and said nut threading onto said bolt and moving said plug portion toward said second side of said body when said bolt is tightened.

6. The tool as set forth in claim 5 wherein said attachment means includes a split tubular sleeve sized to fit around skirt to rigidly attach said body to a larger diameter shaft.

7. The tool as set forth in claim 5 wherein said plug portion includes plug ridges sized and positioned to fit into said slots and said large end includes a recess sized and shaped to receive said nut, said plug ridges preventing said plug portion from rotating when said bolt is turned and said recess preventing said nut from turning when said bolt is turned.

8. The tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein said outer face and inner face form an angle of about twenty degrees.

9. A golf ball mark repair tool for attachment to an open end of a tubular shaft of a golf club comprising:

a body having a first side, a spaced second side, a peripheral face connecting said first and second sides, and a first aperture extending from said first side to said second side, said peripheral face having a body ridge extending around said peripheral face,

a plurality of spaced tapered prongs each having an elongated base, an elongated outer face and an elongated inner face arranged in a triangular configuration so that said outer face and said inner face form a wedge, said bases of said prongs being attached to said first side in a spaced radial arrangement with said outer faces extending away from said peripheral face, said bases tapering inward towards each other and said outer faces tapering inward from said bases, said outer faces having a prong ridge spaced a selected distance from said body ridge,

attachment means, attached to said second side of said body, for attaching said body to said shaft, said means being sized and shaped to fit within said end of said shaft and radially expandable to frictionally engage said shaft, said attachment means having a tubular skirt attached to said second side of said body around said first aperture, a truncated conical plug portion with a second aperture therethrough, a split tubular sleeve around said skirt, a bolt and a nut, said skirt being separated into skirt portions by a plurality of slots, said plug portion having a small end and a large end with said small end being sized to fit into said skirt portions to wedge said skirt portions outward when said plug portion is moved toward said second side to press said skirt portions against said sleeve and thereby press said sleeve against said shaft, said bolt extending through said first and second apertures and said nut threading onto said bolt and moving said plug portion toward said second side of said body when said bolt is tightened, said plug portion having plug ridges sized and positioned to fit into said slots and said large end includes a recess sized and shaped to receive said nut, said plug ridges preventing said plug portion from rotating when said bolt is turned and said recess preventing said nut from turning when said bolt is turned, and

a cup shaped cap sized and shaped to engagingly fit over said prongs, said cap having an end wall and a side wall attached around the periphery of said end wall and extending transverse to said end wall, said side wall being sized and shaped to fit in contact relationship over said prongs and to contact said body ridge to prevent said prongs from contacting said end wall, said side wall having a continuous internal groove, sized, shaped and positioned to receive said prong ridges to form an interference fit when said cap is placed over said prongs to securely hold said cap on said prongs while allowing said cap to be removed when desired.