WO2002096526A1

WO2002096526A1 - Portable ball cleaning device

Info

Publication number: WO2002096526A1
Application number: PCT/AU2002/000646
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jamie Austin Tyner
Original assignee: Jamie Austin Tyner
Priority date: 2001-05-25
Filing date: 2002-05-23
Publication date: 2002-12-05
Also published as: AUPR525301A0; AU2002256563B2

Abstract

A portable one piece golf ball cleaner includes an open topped cup shaped housing with a sponge secured to the bottom of the housing. Three or more circumferentially spaced brushes extend radially inwardly from sides of the cup shaped housing to contact sides of a golf ball. A golf ball positioned within the housing extends above the top of the housing so that it can be manual rotated within the housing. The configuration of the housing also allows for application of downward pressure on the ball to release fluid held within the sponge to wet the ball and facilitate cleaning.

Description

PORTABLE BALL CLEANING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a portable ball cleaner, and in particular to a portable golf ball cleaner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many ball sports rely on a ball following a predicted or reliable trajectory to obtain a desirable result. One example of such a sport is golf, wherein both during flight and during putting on a green, a reliable trajectory of the ball is paramount in achieving the best possible result.

In golf it is common for the surface of the ball to become covered in dirt, mud and other extraneous debris so that the aerodynamics of the ball are affected. Additionally, putting a ball covered in diit or mud can lead to the ball not rolling truly across the putting surface. For this reason it is common practice for golfers to carry a towel or other cleaning device that can be used to wipe the surface of the ball. This is typically done before teeing off and once the ball is on the green at which time it can be lifted.

Most golf courses provide fixed ball washing points at each tee area, however this does not provide for washing of the ball once it is on the green. As mentioned, it is also common for golfers to carry a towel with them so that they can wipe the surface of the ball at their convenience. The towel is often dampened to assist in removal of dirt, grass and the like from the ball surface. However, after a short time the towel can either dry out or become so dirty itself that it is not able to effectively clean the surface of the ball.

A number of portable golf ball washing devices have been proposed. For example, the patent literature contains a number of examples of golf towels that can be used for wiping the surface of a ball. Many of the towels contain a moisturised section which can be used to wash the surface of the ball, as well as a dry section for wiping the ball dry. In many instances the towel also contains an abrasive section for removing difficult to clean mud and dirt from the ball. An example of such a towel can be found in US Patent No. 6,226,827 to English Jr. The patent literature also contains examples of cylindrical or cup-like devices into which a ball can be placed so that it can be rotated and cleaned by one or more cleaning surfaces contained within the cylinder or cup. An example can be found in US Patent No. 5,339,486 to Persic Jr., which shows a golf ball cleaner having a spherical housing that is subdivided into hemispheres. The inside of one hemisphere contains a sponge material having an upper fibrous abrasive surface. Another of the hemispheres

contains a sponge material, and a dirty ball can be placed on top of the sponge with the abrasive upper surface, the other hemisphere is placed over the top so that the ball is sandwiched top and bottom between the sponge material. The top hemisphere is then rotated which in turn rotates the ball to clean the surface. The sponge material may contain water or cleaning fluid to assist in removal of the dirt. However for the device to work, the upper hemisphere must be placed on top of the lower and therefore the ball cannot be accessed either for visual inspection to check that it is clean, or for manual rotation so that specific areas of the ball are contacted with the abrasive surface Further, there is no facility for varying the pressure of the abrasive surface on the ball.

Despite the apparent abundance of options as far as portable ball cleaners go, the present inventor has noted that it is still not common to see golfers using any portable cleaning device, with many preferring to use a towel instead. This may be due to the cost and/or the apparent ineffectiveness of known or proposed ball cleaners.

For the purposes of this specification the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and the word "comprises" has a corresponding meaning. Also a reference within this specification to a document is not to be taken as an admission that the disclosure therein constitutes common general knowledge in Australia.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to provide a portable ball cleaner that obviates or alleviates any one of the above problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention could be said to reside in a ball cleaner including a housing into which a ball can be placed, the housing having a bottom surface with one or more walls extending upwardly therefrom, the interior of the housing containing fluid retaining means, one or more cleaning surfaces and one or more abrasive means, the fluid retaining means capable of storing fluid in one state and actuable to release fluid to wet the surface of the ball and assist in cleaning of the ball, the cleaning surface located on the bottom surface of the housing so that the ball rests on the cleaning surface when placed in the housing, and the abrasive means located on the walls of the housing so as to contact part of the ball proximal the one or more walls so that as the ball is rotated, the cleaning surface and the abrasive means each pass over the surface of the ball to remove dirt and extraneous material from the surface of the ball.

In one form the cleaning surface is also an abrasive surface which therefore provides a first abrasive means and the abrasive means located on the side walls provides a second abrasive means.

Preferably the shape and/or dimensions of the housing are such that at least part of the surface of the ball can be accessed to effect rotation of the ball within the housing. In one preferred form the housing contains an opening through which the ball can be introduced into the housing and through which means for rotating the ball can pass. In most instances it is envisaged that the ball will be rotated manually with a finger, thumb or palm of the hand for example.

In one preferred form the cleaner also includes ball locating means within the housing, the ball locating means acting on the surface of the ball to maintain the lateral position of the ball within the housing.

The fluid retaining means preferably retains a fluid such as water or cleaning solution so that the fluid is unable to spill or drip out of the housing. In a preferred form, the fluid retaining means is a layer of sponge material which retains fluid within the sponge in an expanded state, whilst in a compacted state fluid is expressed from the sponge material. In this way the sponge material can be depressed, for example by placing a ball on top of the material, and when so depressed fluid exits the sponge to wet the ball. Once the ball or other means of sponge depression is removed, fluid is reabsorbed by the sponge so that it is retained and does not spill out of the housing.

The housing may take any suitable shape, however in one preferred form it is cup shaped and has a domed lower surface and cylindrical wall extending upwardly from the domed lower surface. The housing is preferably open at the top so that the ball can be placed in through the top.

Preferably when the ball is placed within the housing at least part of the ball is accessible from the top of the housing so that the ball can be manually rotated in order to effect cleaning.

The one or more walls are preferably continuous however it will be understood that whilst the lowest part of the cleaner is best continuous for cleaning fluid retention purposes the primary role of the remainder of the one or more walls is to support the abrasive means. These portions of the walls therefore need not necessarily be continuous and may simply provide a framework for the support of the abrasive means.

The second abrasive means may be in the form of one or more brushes fixed to the inner wall surface of the housing and extending radially inwardly for contact with the surface of the ball. Preferably there are at least three brushes, more preferably three and most preferably four for ease of locating the ball in the housing. More than four brushes would also be suitable. The brushes are circumferentially spaced and preferably evenly.

Preferably a combination of the sponge and first abrasive means on the bottom, and the brashes of the second abrasive means extending radially inwardly within the housing provides the ball locating means. Thus, the ball may rest on the surface of the first abrasive means and the brushes extend radially inwardly to an extent to provide for a contact or interference fit of the ball between brushes, the brushes thereby preventing lateral movement of the ball. In a particularly preferred form, the brushes are spaced diametrically by an amount that is slightly less than the diameter of the ball. It may be preferred that there be provided a circumferential gap between the lower part of the wall and the sponge for collection of debris from the sponge or abrasive surface supported thereon.

The upper surface of the ball is accessible from the top of the housing and therefore the ball can be rotated with a finger or hand. The pressure placed on the ball can be varied to thereby adjust the amount of abrasion on the surface by the first abrasive means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding the invention will now be described with reference to an illustrated embodiment. The drawings describe an illustrated embodiment wherein,

Figure 1 is an perspective view of a ball cleaner with no ball in place,

Figure 2 is a plan view from the top of a ball cleaner with golf ball in place,

Figure 3 is a plan side view of a ball cleaner with golf ball in place,

Figure 4 (a) is a cross sectional side view through 4-4' of Figure 3, and

(b) is a similar cross sectional side view of another embodiment, and

Figure 5 is an perspective view of a second embodiment of ball cleaner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Dimensions of certain of the parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.

The figures show a ball cleaner (10) including a housing (12) into which a ball (14) can be placed so that the housing surrounds at least part of the ball. The housing has a bottom surface with a wall extending upwardly therefrom. In the figures and following description a golf ball is shown and discussed, however it will be appreciated that the cleaner could be used with any suitable ball, although preferably one with a water resistant outer surface, such as a hockey ball, practice cricket (compound) ball, and the like.

The interior of the housing (12) contains fluid retaining means (16), cleaning surface (18) and abrasive means (20). The fluid retaining means (16) absorbs and retains fluid in one state and is actuable to release fluid to wet the surface of the ball and assist in cleaning of the ball. In the illustrated embodiments the fluid retaining means is a sponge. The cleaning surface (18) may be an upper surface of the sponge (16), although in the illustrated embodiment it provides a first abrasive means (18) in the form of a fibrous abrasive pad located on the bottom surface of the housing. The second abrasive means (20) is in the form of four radially inwardly extending brashes that are located on the wall of the housing for contacting at least part of the ball proximal the wall. The first and second abrasive means contact the surface of the ball so that as the ball is rotated the first and second abrasive means pass over the surface of the ball to remove dirt and extraneous material from the surface of the ball.

The first and second abrasive means are configured so that when the ball is rotated around any one of three orthogonal axes, it is only the uppermost section of the ball that extends out of the housing that is not cleaned. In this way the area of the ball in contact with an abrasive surface is maximised.

In an alternative form the abrasive surface (18) may be a sponge to thereby provide a cleaning surface which passes over the surface of the ball as it is rotated.

The housing has an upright cylindrical wall (22) and a domed bottom (24) which is concave when viewed from the top. This gives the housing a general cup shape and the domed bottom provides a well into which excess fluid travels. The well is in fluid communication with the fluid retaining sponge (16).

The housing is moulded from PVC, although any suitable plastics or metal materials could be used. The thickness of the housing walls is 5 mm, the external diameter is 70 mm and the internal diameter is 60 mm. In the illustrated embodiments, the sponge of the fluid retaining means (16) and the fibrous layer of the first abrasive means (18) are joined and are prepared from a commercially available material used for domestic and commercial scouring pads. The abrasive layer (18) and sponge material (16) are cut to shape and fitted into the bottom of the housing.

The lower surface of the sponge material (16) is shaped to closely fit the shape of the bottom of the housing so that contact between the sponge and the housing is maximised. It has been found that poor contact between the sponge and the bottom of the housing can lead to water dripping from the sponge and falling onto the bottom of the housing after which it can pour out of the housing, thereby resulting in the ball cleaner dripping. In contrast, when most of the bottom of the sponge is in contact with the bottom of the housing, or at the least the lowermost of the sponge is in contact with the housing, there is a reduced tendency for water droplets to be released from the sponge and drip out of the housing when the ball is retrieved after cleaning or simply when carrying the cleaner perhaps suspended from the belt of a user.

There is perhaps an advantage in providing a circumferential gap (30) between the sponge and a lower portion of the wall. This can provide a depression in which paniculate or other debris can be swept so that it is not held between the abrasive layer (18) and the ball and thus continuously fouls the ball instead of providing the desired cleaning effect.

The sponge material (16) can be fixed to the housing using any possible fixing means. However in practice it has been found that some are better than others. For example use of hook and loop fastener such as VELCRO™ has been found to be less than satisfactory as the bottom surface of the sponge is then spaced somewhat from the bottom of the housing and problems with dripping of fluid can occur as discussed previously. Also, the grip strength of VELCRO™ may not be sufficient in some applications and rotation of the ball across the surface can lead to the sponge being pulled away form the bottom of the housing.

Whilst the first abrasive means (18) is shown in the illustrated embodiment as a fibrous abrasive pad, it could be formed from any material that provides a surface capable of supporting the ball and is suitably abrasive. For example, a circular brush having upstanding bristles whose tips collectively form a planar surface may be suitable.

In the illustrated embodiments, a depression (26) is formed centrally in the sponge and abrasive layer to assist in locating the ball. Depending on the depth of the depression, this may also increase the contact area between the ball and the abrasive layer.

The sponge (16) is used to retain a fluid that is suitable for cleaning the surface of the ball. For example, water or cleaning fluid may be absorbed into the sponge layer for use in cleaning the ball. In use, the fluid is added to the housing until the sponge is wetted and excess water sits in the housing. The excess water is then poured out of the housing so that the only water left is that retained by the sponge.

In practice, it is found that the water stays in the sponge for a sufficient period of time for a round of golf. A cap (not shown) may be fitted to the top of the housing to minimise evaporation of the fluid out of the sponge if need be, however this is perhaps not a preferred form of the invention.

To clean the ball, it is placed in the housing and the weight of the ball pressing onto the abrasive layer and hence the sponge can be sufficient to release some water from the sponge and this is usually sufficient to wet the surface of the ball for cleaning purposes. If more water is required the ball is pressed further downward to squeeze the sponge further.

In an alternative that is not illustrated, the fluid retaining means may be in the form of a walled vessel which is in fluid communication with the interior of the housing. The vessel may have walls that can be squeezed to expel fluid from the vessel and into the housing. For example, the vessel may have a one way outlet valve connected at the bottom of the housing, and an inlet valve connected to the housing so that when the walls of the vessel are squeezed, fluid is expelled through the inlet into the housing where the ball can be washed. Once the pressure is released from the walls, the fluid in the housing may be drawn back through the valve and back into the vessel.

The brushes of the second abrasive means are elongate and fitted vertically into the inner surface of the housing at ninety degree intervals. The bristles extend radially inward from the housing by about 12 mm. The distance between opposite brushes is less then the diameter of the golf ball so that an interference fit is provided between the bristles. Each brash comprises a U-shaped holding portion (28) into which the bristles are fitted. The base of the holding portions is some 4-5 mm in width and the bristles are fitted within the holding portion and the mouth of the holding portion is clamped to hold the bristles in place. The bristles extend from the holding portion by 10 mm. Vertical slots are formed in the wall of the housing and the holding portion of the brashes is slid into the slots and the brushes fixed in place using suitable means such as an adhesive.

The bristles can be made from any suitable material, including polypropylene, PVC, polyethylene, nylon, polyester, horsehair or pig bristle. The thickness of the bristles may be between about 0.02 and aboμt 0.5 mm, depending on the coarseness and the resiliency required. The density of the bristles will also affect the hardness of the brashes. It may be preferable to have relatively dense bristles so that the brushes have a good memory retention and do not permanently bend out of shape. By the same token, if the bristles are too dense or hard they may scratch the surface of the ball. With these factors in mind, the person skilled in the art will be able to select bristles suitable for a particular job.

In an alternative embodiment that is illustrated in Figure 5, the second abrasive means is in the form of a ring having an abrasive inner surface which contacts the side of the ball. The abrasive ring has bristles extending radially inwardly, with the distance between diametrically opposed bristles being slightly less than the diameter of the ball. In another embodiment that is not illustrated, the second abrasive means may be an annular ring of fibrous abrasive layer material as discussed for the first abrasive layer, with the ring fixed to the inner surface of the wall of the housing.

The position of the bristles as well as the depression in the abrasive layer provide a ball locating means so that as a ball is rotated there is little, if any, lateral movement of the ball.

To use the cleaner the housing may be cupped in one hand and a thumb used to rotate the ball. The ball can also be depressed into the first abrasive layer by varying amounts to vary the amount of water coating the ball as well as the pressure of the abrasive layer on the surface of the ball. An advantage of the illustrated ball cleaner is its simple construction and relatively inexpensive materials, which provide a relatively inexpensive ball cleaner with no moving parts.

A further advantage of the illustrated ball cleaner is that is a one piece cleaner that is does not require the cooperation of two pieces to operate nor does it require fasteners to keep the parts together and thus does not have the consequential difficulty of loss of parts of a multipart cleaner.

The ball cleaner may be supplied with a semi-circular clip into which the cleaner can be snap fitted for storage and/or transport. For example, the clip may be fitted to a golf buggy. Alternatively the clip may be adapted to be fitted to a golfers belt so that the ball cleaner can be worn on the belt. Further, the housing may have a clip fitted to an outer surface and the clip may be suitable for fitting onto a belt, the present inventor has found that by the illustrated cleaner does not lead to loss of water or soiling of trousers of the like despite dangling from trousers. Many suitable storage and transport arrangements are possible and these will be evident to the person skilled in the art.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however, it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate and that the invention is not limited thereto and can include various modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A ball cleaner including a housing into which a ball can be placed, the housing having a bottom surface with one or more walls extending upwardly therefrom, the interior of the housing containing fluid retaining means, one or more cleaning surfaces and one or more abrasive means, the fluid retaining means capable of storing fluid in one state and actuable to release fluid to wet the surface of the ball and assist in cleaning of the ball, the cleaning surface located on the bottom surface of the housing so that the ball rests on the cleaning surface when placed in the housing, and the abrasive means located on the walls of the housing so as to contact part of the ball proximal the one or more walls so that as the ball is rotated, the cleaning surface and the abrasive means each pass over the surface of the ball to remove dirt and extraneous material from the surface of the ball.

2. A ball cleaner according to claim 1 wherein the cleaning surface is also an abrasive surface which therefore provides a first abrasive means and the abrasive means located on the side walls provides a second abrasive means.

3. A ball cleaner according to claim 1 wherein the ball can be accessed for manual rotation of the ball within the housing.

4. A ball cleaner according to claim 1 wherein the housing contains an opening through which the ball can be introduced into the housing and through which the ball can be rotated manually.

5. A ball cleaner according to claim 1 including ball locating means within the housing, the ball locating means acting on the surface of the ball to maintain the lateral position of the ball within the housing.

6. A ball cleaner according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the fluid retaining means is a layer of sponge material which retains fluid within the sponge in an expanded state, whilst in a compacted state fluid is expressed from the sponge material.

7. A ball cleaner according to claim 1 wherein housing is cup shaped and has a domed lower surface and cylindrical wall extending upwardly from the domed lower surface.

8. A ball cleaner as in claim 7 wherein the housing is open at the top so that the ball can be placed in through the top.

9. A ball cleaner as in claim 7 wherein a part of a ball held therein is accessible from the top of the housing so that the ball can be manually rotated in order to effect cleaning.

10. A ball cleaner as in claim 2 wherein the second abrasive means is in the form of one or more brashes fixed to the inner wall surface of the housing and extending radially inwardly for contact with the surface of the ball.

11. A ball cleaner as in claim 10 where there are at least three brashes circumferentially spaced apart.

12. A ball cleaner as in claim 6 wherein there is a combination of the sponge and first abrasive means on the bottom, and the brushes of the second abrasive means extending radially inwardly within the housing provides the ball locating means.

13. A ball cleaner as in claim 6 wherein there is a circumferential gap between the sponge and an adjacent portion of the wall for collection of debris from the sponge or abrasive surface supported thereon.

14. A portable one piece golf ball cleaner including an open topped cup shaped housing, a sponge secured to a bottom of the housing and three or more circumferentially spaced brashes extending radially inwardly of the cup shaped housing to contact sides of a golf ball, a golf ball when positioned within the housing extending above the top of the housing sufficiently for the manual rotation of the ball within the housing, and for the application of downward pressure on the ball to release fluid held within the sponge to wet the ball.