Background Art As well known to those skilled in the art, a putt is an act of striking a golf ball gently so as to make it roll along the green into the putting hole. Since the putt requires a highly skilled technique, a lot of practice is needed to be good at it.

For the practice, a variety of apparatuses for practicing golf putts are proposed. Such conventional apparatuses for practicing golf putts are typically classified into two types; the first type of such an apparatus has a return device for automatically returning the ball putted into the putting hole to the putting position and the second type of such an apparatus adjusts the slope of the putting green.

However, in the first type of apparatuses, the slope of the putting green is not be adjusted, but the putted ball is automatically returned to the putting position.

On the other hand, in the second type of apparatuses, the putted ball is not automatically returned to the putting position, but the slope of the putting green is regulated within a narrow limitation. As a result, according to the first type of the apparatus, various practicing situations are not provided to a user. On the other hand, according to the second type of the apparatus, the inconvenience for a user to return the ball to the putting position is not only caused, but various practicing situations are not provided to a user, also.

In addition, such a conventional apparatus for practicing golf putts causes the following problem. In an actual putting green, a golfer regulates a putting angle using natural reference marks. However, in such a conventional apparatus

for practicing golf putts, there are no putting marks on the apparatus to which the user refers for regulating the putting angle because an artificial grass is employed in the apparatus.

In brief, the user of such a conventional apparatus is not able to obtain sufficient practicing results and becomes easily bored with the practice using the apparatus.

Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for practicing golf putts, capable of regulating the slope of the putting green and automatically returning the ball putted into the putting hole to the putting position.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for practicing golf putts comprises a main frame provided with a conveying path in its interior, an upper plate having a putting hole at its far end and a return hole at its near end and being seated on the main frame, an upper plate slope regulating means regulating the slope of the upper plate and being mounted at a far or near end of the main frame, a sensing means sensing a ball putted into a putting hole and generating a drive signal, a conveying means conveying the ball into the return hole and having a drive means, and a control means controlling the sensing means, the drive means and the conveying means.

Brief Description of the Drawings The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an apparatus for practicing golf putts according to an embodiment of this invention;

Figs. 2a and 2b are views showing two embodiments of an upper plate slope indicator; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the apparatus for practicing golf putts according to an embodiment of this invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a supporting means of this invention; Figs. 5a and 5b are front views showing two upper plate slope regulating means according to two embodiments of this invention; Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of a main frame of this invention; Figs. 7a, 7b and 7c are views showing the operation of a ball input regulator of this invention; Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a conveying means of this invention; and Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a pulley locking member of this invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention As shown in Fig. 3, an apparatus for practicing golf putts, according to the preferred embodiment of this invention, comprises a main frame 10 provided with a conveying path 11 in its interior, an upper plate 20 having a putting hole 21 at its far end and a return hole 22 at its near end and being seated on the main frame 10, an upper plate slope regulating means 30 regulating the slope of the upper plate 20 and being mounted at a far or near end of the main frame 10, a sensing means 50 sensing a ball putted into a putting hole and generating a drive signal, a conveying means 60 conveying the ball into the return hole 22 and having a drive means 40, and a control means 70 controlling the sensing means 50, the drive means 40 and the conveying means 60.

The upper plate 20 is provided with artificial grass 23 at its upper surface and a fence 24 at its two sides and far end edges. The fence 24 is projected upward high than the upper surface of the upper plate 20 so as to prevent the rough end edge from being exposed and a golf ball from leaving the upper plate 20. In

addition, the fence 24 is preferably configured to be gradually tapered from a relatively low height to a relatively higher height so as to prevent a user's foot and a putter head from coming into contact with the fence 24.

An upper plate slope indicator 90 indicates the slope of the upper plate 90 and is mounted to the highest position of the upper surface of the fence 24 so that the user may easily recognize the slope of the upper plate 20 with the unaided eye when the user regulates the slope of the putter green. Two embodiments for the device are illustrated in Figs. 2a and 2b.

The main frame 10 forms a base of this apparatus. As shown in Fig. 3, the main frame 10 is provided with the conveying path 11 at its interior. The conveying path 11 is extended from the position under the putting hole 21 to the position under the return hole 22. The conveying path 11 is provided with a stopper 12 under the return hole 22 so as to prevent a golf ball from moving along the conveying path 11 toward the putting hole 21 after having reached the return hole 22. As shown in Figs. 7a, 7b and 7c, a ball input regulator 91 is installed between the putting hole 21 and the inlet of the conveying path 11 in order to prevent more than one ball from entering the conveying path 11 at one time.

Folding legs 13 are respectively mounted under the near and far ends of the main frame 10 so that the user may practice putts on the conditions of an upward slope and a downward slope. Each folding leg 13 is made of rigid rod or rigid strip and has a form of trapezoid. In a normal state, the folding leg 13 is folded to the lower surface of the main frame 10. On the other hand, in practice, the folding leg 13 may be unfolded so that its lower end is supported by the ground. When the leg 13 is unfolded, the far end portion including the putting hole 21 or the near end portion including the putting position is raised, thus allowing the user to practice putts on the conditions of an upward slope and a downward slope.

A supporting means 80 is seated on the upper surface of the main frame 10 so as to rotatably support the upper plate 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the supporting means 80 consists of a support leg 81, an upper bracket 83 and a rotation shaft 82, the rotation shaft 82 rotatably connecting the upper bracket 83 to

the support leg 81.

The upper plate 20 may be configured to be sloped down toward the putting hole 21 so as to introduce a misputted ball into the putting hole 21. In this case, the far end R of the upper plate 20 may be sloped down to the putting hole 21 and a wedge-shaped guide partition W may be mounted in the middle of the far end R.

When the golf ball is putted far, the putted ball is introduced to the middle portion by the far end R and the introduced ball is guided into the putting hole 21 by the wedge-shaped guide partition W. The golf ball, which is not putted too far, may be returned to the original putting position with a golf putter.

As shown in Fig. 5a, the upper plate slope regulating means 30 comprises a connecting member 31 mounted between the main frame 10 and the upper plate 20 so as to allow the upper plate 20 to be rotated around a hinge PI, a socket holder 32 provided with multiple pin holders 32a and integrated with the connecting member 31 into a single structure, an elastic spring 33 mounted at a side of the connecting member 31, a spring locking plate 38a locking the elastic spring 33, a holding bracket 34a spaced apart from a side of the connecting member 31, a rod 34 provided with two locking pins 38 and 38'and rotatably inserted into the holding bracket, a first locking pin 38 releasably locking an outer end of the socket holder 22 and a second locking pin locking the elastic spring 33, two wires 37 connecting an upper plate support 35 with the rod 34 at both sides of the connecting member 31, the upper end of each wire 37 being fixed to the upper plate support 35 and the lower end of each wire 37 being fixed to and wound around the rod 34, and a regulating grip 36 fixed to the end of the rod 34.

In the upper plate slope regulating means 30, the connecting member 31 is secured to the main frame 10 by means of locking bolts B.

The rotating shaft PI of the connecting member 31 is rotatably inserted into the upper plate support 35. The rod 34 provided with a regulating grip 36 is movably and rotatably inserted into the penetrating hole 3 la of the lower portion of the connecting member 31, the penetrating hole 31a being illustrated by an imaginary line in Fig. 5a.

The upper end of each wire 37 is fixed in the hole 39 of the upper plate support 35, while the lower end of each wire 37 is fixed in the hole 39'of the rod 34 and is wound around the rod 34. The fixation of each wire 37 is performed by means of a clip (not shown). The wires 37 are wound around the rod 34 in opposite directions, so that one wire 37 is wound and the other wire 37 is unwound while the rod 34 is rotated.

The rod 34 is provided with two spaced-apart locking pins 38 and 38'.

The locking pin 38'is positioned to allow the elastic spring 33 to be between the connecting member 31 and the locking pin 38', while the locking pine 38 is positioned to engage with one of the pin holders 32a of the socket holder 32.

When the slope of the upper plate 20 needs to be regulated, the regulating grip 36 is moved horizontally and rotated to the desired extent. By this, the locking pin 38 is removed out of the pin holder 32a and, subsequently, one wire 37 is wound while the other wire 37 is unwound, so that the slope of the upper plate 20 is regulated. When the force exerted on the regulating grip 36 is removed, the elastic spring 33 compressed by the spring locking plate 38a is returned to its original position by its restoring force, thereby fixing the regulated slope of the upper plate 20.

The holding bracket 34a is a bent strip and secured to the main frame 10 by means of the bolt 34b. The rod 34 is rotatably inserted into the hole of the holding bracket 34a.

Another upper plate slope regulating means 300, according to another embodiment of this invention, is illustrated in Fig. 5b. The upper plate slope regulating means 300 comprises a connecting member 310 mounted between the main frame 10 and the upper plate 20 so as to allow the upper plate 20 to be rotated around a rotating shaft P2, a link 320 mounted under the connecting member 310, a first rod 330 rotatably connected to the link 320 by a hinge pin P3, the first rod 330 having a internally threaded portion 330a at its one end, a holding bracket 340 spaced apart from a side of the first rod 330, a second rod 350 rotatably inserted into the hole of the holding bracket 340 and engaged with the first rod 330 at its externally threaded portion 350a, and a regulating grip 360 fixed

to the an end of the second rod 350.

When the slope of the upper plate 20 needs to be regulated, the regulating grip 360 is rotated to the desired extent. By this, the externally threaded portion 350a of the second rod 350 is rotated and the first rod 330 is moved horizontally, so that the connecting member 310 is rotated around the rotating shaft P2 and the slope of the upper plate 20 is regulated.

The connecting member 310 and the link 320 may be substituted with a single rod. In such a case, when the holding bracket 340 is loosely fixed to the main frame 10, the same effect is generated as that of the first embodiment.

The holding bracket 340 is secured to the main frame 10 by means of the bolt 340a. The second rod 350 is rotatably inserted into the hole of the holding bracket 340.

A plurality of aiming marks are indicated on the upper surface of the artificial grass 23. As shown in Fig. 1, the aiming marks consist of makes near to the putting hole 21 and makes near to the putting position, the aiming marks being used to aim at a target and recognize the course of the putted ball.

As shown in Fig. 6, the sensing means 50 consists of a first sensor S1, a second sensor S2 and a third sensor S3. The first sensor S1 senses the ball putted into the putting hole 21 and starts an electromotor 41. The second sensor S2 senses the moving direction of the conveying member 65 and the arrival of the member 65 at an initial conveying position and stops the drive means 40. The third sensor S3 senses the arrival of the conveying member 65 under the return hole 22 and reverses the moving direction of the conveying member 65.

The three sensors may be micro-switches. Such a micro-switch is provided with a sensing line made of a steel wire. The micro-switch is operated to close its contact point when an object passes one end of the steel wire.

Therefore, one end of the first sensing line connected to the first sensor Sl is arranged to be between the putting hole 21 and the return hole 22. One end of the second sensing line connected to the second sensor S2 is arranged to be at the initial conveying position at which the operation of the electromotor 41 should be stopped. One end of the third sensing line connected to the third sensor S2 is

arranged to be at a position at which the moving direction of the conveying member 65 should be reversed.

However, the sensors of this invention are not limited to the micro- switches, but may be various sensors, such as a proximity sensor. In the proximity sensor, the arrangement of the sensing line is eliminated because light is used to sense an object in the sensor, but the cost of the sensor is high compared with the micro-switch.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the conveying means 60 comprises an electromotor 41 installed in the interior of the apparatus, a drive pulley 61 coupled to the drive shaft of the electromotor 41, a drive wire 62 moved together with the drive pulley 61, a guide pulley 63 guiding the drive wire 62, a pulley locking member 64 fixing the guide pulley 63, and a conveying member 65 connected to the drive wire 62. A tension spring 66 is mounted at a side of the conveying member 65, a pusher 67 is vertically mounted between the tension spring 66 and the conveying member 65 and two guide brackets 68 are mounted between the tension spring 66 and the pusher 67. The guide brackets 68 move along the one side of the conveying path and prevent the spring 66 from interfering with the third sensor S3 and prevent the conveying member 65 from leaving the conveying path 11.

Incidentally, since the power generated by the electromotor 41 is transmitted to the conveying member 65 through the drive wire 62, a tension should be exerted on the drive wire 62 and the tension spring 66 performs this function.

As shown in Fig. 9, a locking bolt hole 64a is formed in the form of longitudinal hole in the pulley locking member 64 so as to allow the tension of the drive wire 62 to be regulated.

The conveying operation of a golf ball is described in the following.

When the conveying means 60 is in an initial state, the conveying member 65 is moved toward and stopped under the putting hole 21 as shown by an imaginary line in Fig. 6.

When the putted ball is inputted into the putting hole 21, the ball input

regulator 91 is in an opened position. Afterwards, the inputted ball comes into contact with the sensing line of the first sensor S 1 as shown in Fig. 7a, so that the control means 70 renders the drive means 40 to be operated according to the"on" signal of the first sensor S 1.

When the drive means 40 is operated, the drive pulley 61 is rotated.

Consequently, the drive wire 61 in contact with the drive pulley 61 is rotated counterclockwise, so that the conveying member 65 is moved together with the putted ball to the return hole 22.

At this time, the third sensor S3 senses the approach of the conveying member 65 to the return hole 22 and transmits a sensing signal to the control means 70. The control means 70 alters the polarity of the current supplied to the drive means 40. According to this altered polarity, the drive means 40 is reversed, thereby allowing the conveying member 65 to be returned to the initial position. That is, when the conveying member 65 approaches to the initial position by the reverse of the drive means 40, the second sensor S2 senses the approach of the conveying member 65 to the initial position and transmits a sensing signal to the control means 70. The control means 70 stops the current supply to the drive means 40. According to this stop of the current supply, the drive means 40 is stopped at the initial position. At this time, a stopper, provided in the conveying path, prevents the conveying member 65 from leaving the desired position in the process of the return to the initial position.

When the putts are performed continuously after the golf balls are conveyed to the position under the return hole 22, the balls come out of the return hole 22 one by one.

On the other hand, while the conveyance is performed, the ball input regulator 91, provided between the putting hole 21 and the inlet of the conveying path, blocks the path temporarily. At this time, the conveying member 65 is moved to the third sensor S3 and a guide bracket 68 mounted to the conveying member 65 comes into contact with the third sensor S3. The sensing signal generated by the third sensor S3 is transmitted to the control means 70 and the control means 70 reverses the drive means 40.

As the conveying member 65 is moved to the initial position by the reverse of the drive means 40, the projected pusher 67 mounted to the conveying member 65 comes into contact with one end of the ball input regulator 91 and proceeds to the second sensor S2 before the conveying member 65 comes into contact with the second sensor S2. At this time, the control means 70 senses this action and operates the ball input regulator 91, thus allowing the golf ball to move from the putting hole 2 into the conveying path 11 by changing the state of Figs.

7b and 7c to the state of Fig. 7a.

Industrial Applicability As described above, according to the present invention, since the slope of the portion of an upper plate near a putting hole may be regulated while the upper plate is secured to a main frame, the putting ground does not have a uniform slope, but has an irregular surface. Therefore, a putting ground similar to an actual putting ground is obtained and, thus, a more challenging putting practice may be experienced.

Additionally, according to this invention, the inconvenience of manually returning the balls is eliminated, the actual putting time is lengthened and the reliability of the apparatus is increased because the ball inputted into the putting hole is forcibly conveyed and the ball is automatically returned to the putting position by the sensing means and controller.

In brief, it is clear that the apparatus of this invention is more convenient in use and improves the practice effects compared with the conventional apparatus.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.