Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ALL-CLIMATE ARTIFICIAL DRIVING RANGE FOR GOLF
BACKGROUND FOR THE INVENTION
Golf is a. sport that is normally practised during the
summer and when the weather is suitable (not too cold or
wet). This means that professional and semi-professional
players as well as amateur players will have difficulties
to maintain their skills and technique during the winter,
especially in areas where that season implies cold weather
and snow.
In countries located much to the north or south such as the
Scandinavian countries, Scotland, Canada, Alaska, Iceland,
Russia etc. the part of the year when golf or driving range
training is impossible to practice may extend to 500, or 6
months. Such long interrupts constitute obstacles for the
individual golfplayer's development of his skills.
There has been previous suggestions for artificial driving
ranges, such as the GB patent 2.356.573, including an area
from where the drives are made and a fenced-in "fairway"
ball collecting area.
There are further variations of tee-off areas and
collecting systems for practice golf balls described in the
US Patents 3.797.827, 5.513.841 and 5.547.186.
The US Patents 3.860.236 and 4.889.342 suggest small
cabins or boxes from where golf players can drive their
balls in rainy or cold weather.
Even though all these different arrangements may be
possible to use - to some extent - during winter
conditions, none of them are dedicated for this kind of
climate. They would most likely not work at all at
temperatures below 0°C (freezing point) or after heavy snow
falls.
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There is apparently a lack of driving ranges which are
suited for winter climate with low temperatures and snow.
For such an arrangement to be of any interest it should
also include:
- a sheltered and heated tee-off area
- a suited ball collecting and transport system
- a challenging length of the range (to make it possible
to practice a full golf swing)
The only solution until now for such requirements has been
buildings with the facilities fully indoor, with a would-be
very high construction cost for the range size indicated.
The herewith suggested system probably provides the first
affordable all-climate artificial driving range for golf.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention is intended for practice of golf independent
of the climate, in the form of an artificial driving range
with tee-off "indoor" and an outdoor range area.
At one end of the range there is located a building
preferably equipped with floodlights and tee-off facilities
for driving golf balls through a heated air curtain(s).
Connected to this building is a fence which surrounds the
ball receiving range area. Artificial surfaces on both
sides of the central axis of the range and sloping down
towards a transport system of the central axis provide the
return of the golf balls to the tee-off building.
The artificial surfaces are shaped in a net structure or
grating which is elevated above the ground as a raised
floor. The mesh size of the net structure is small enough
to carry golf balls and big enough to let snow etc. through
and be collected under the raised floor.
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Additional functions based on these principles are length
measurement and practice golf greens with results displayed
for the golf player.
A range plate, a preferred component to build the raised
floor, constitutes a part of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND DRAWINGS:
Figure 1:
An overview drawing of the whole all-climate artificial
driving range for golf, the invented system
Figure 2:
An overview figure showing the raised floor principle
Figure 3:
A drawing showing the outline of an example of a basic
floor component for the range area, the "range plate".
Figure 4:
General depiction of the allocation of range plates and the
mounting of impact detectors on a part of the range area.
Figwre 5:
A drawing showing a section of the range plate, where the
surface structure of the plate is indicated together with a
golf ball.
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Figure 6a and 6b:
A principal drawing of a possible shape of the range plate
with vibration dampers for adjacent plates or supports
indicated.
Figure 7:
A general drawing of a preferred fence arrangement for the
all-climate artificial driving range according to the
invention. The fence includes certain types of nets
arranged to catch stray golf balls.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The references are made to details in the figures.
The all-climate artificial driving range is, as mentioned
above, a system for practicing golf including an area which
is closed. with a high fence (1), typically made of a net,
yarn or similar. The height of the fence shall be adjusted
to the height of the golf balls trajectories in the
respective parts of the range system (may vary with the
distance from the tee-off stalls), preferably up to 35
meters high.
The fence (1) runs from a building (2), which includes a
number of tee-off stalls for golf players, and all around
the range area, until it returns to the other side of the
building.
Building and Range Area
The building can be opened towards the range area in order
to let the golf players stand upright and make their drives
onto the range area or °fairway" of the artificial range
system in a cone shaped volume with theoretical maximum
openings of -90° to +90° horizontally and 0° to
+90°
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vertically, the theoretical shot angles are considerably
reduced in practice - depending on the selected length of
the range. The tee-off openings of the building may range
from one individual to the whole side of the building
depending on the requirements.
The fence is supported by a number of posts (3) which
preferably, and together with the building, carry
floodlights for lighting of the range. The distance between
posts is preferably in the range 20 - 50 meters. The mesh
size of the webbing comprising the fence shall prevent golf
balls to pass through. Such a mesh size may lie in the
range up to 10.000 mm2 with a preferred, but not necessary,
lower limit of 1 mm2, the 'upper limit being defined by the
fact that the mesh size may be bigger than a golf ball
where balls hit the net at a very flat angle, where the
"upper limit" angle is dictated by the cosine of the angle
at which the golf ball.hits the net.
The building (2) is equipped with heating in order to be
used during the winter or in bad weather. The tee-off
openings shall preferably be provided with heated air
"curtains" in order to keep the warmth inside the building
and the cold outside. Another relevant means of heating is
infrared heating radiators. The building shall preferably
be divided into compartments, one for each individual (or
group of) tee-off with its own opening towards the range
area. A possible size of a tee-off compartment may be 4-9
m2.
The building shall be located above the ground, as will the
range area, in order to accommodate a winter's accumulated
snowfall under it. Alternatively, the building can be
designed in two or more storeys with tee-off openings
towards the range area from each of them.
The form and dimensions of the range area, closed-in by the
fence (1) is not critical as long as it is large enough to
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receive golf shots from the practicing players in the
building (2) in a satisfactory way. However, a rectangular
shape is preferred for the all-climate artificial driving
range. As an example the range area can be of dimensions 25
x 150 meters, but also dimensions down to 25 x 30 meters
may be relevant. Another example of range areas is 40 x 300
meters down to 40 x 30 meters.
Over the range area a net may be mounted in order to keep
the golf balls within the range system, for both safety and
economic reasons. The mesh size of such a net may lie in
the range indicated supra.
Raised floor
The bottom of the range area shall be covered with a raised
floor in the form of a net structure or grating (5). The
height above the ground~shall preferably be about 0,3 - 1
meter at the lowest point but is depending of the local
conditions, such as topography and typical snow depth.
The net structure or grating on the range area shall have
an open mesh structure, which is as big as possible but
small enough to keep a golf ball from falling through the
structure. Hence the net structure or grating will be part
of the ball collection and return transport function while
it allows e.g. rain and snow to fall through the structure
and be accommodated under the raised floor of the range
area.
A preferred mesh size in such a net structure or grating
will cover 1 - 300 cm~ (the greater value for very
elongated mesh shapes).The~openings in the net structure
can have any shape such as round, polygon, trapezoid or
rectangular, where rectangular or square is preferred. The
upper surface of the range plate may be smooth or may
comprise ridges as shown in figure 5. If the range plate
comprises ridges such ridges will form lanes running
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towards the ball collecting system. When a rectangular
shape of the openings are selected in the range plate, and
the areas of the openings are larger than the sectional
area of the golf ball, the transverse 'length of the
openings will be smaller than the diameter of the golf
ball.
The raised floor of the range area (5) shall have a ball
collecting function and therefore be installed with a
gentle slope preferably towards a central return transport
mechanism (6). The slope shall be big enough to make sure
that the golf balls do not get stuck on the raised floor.
Such a slope is preferably in the interval 2° - 15°.
One application of these principles is the use of a
dedicated rigid grating component in building up the raised
floor, referred to as a "range plate" below. However, the
invention's principles of a range area net structure with
specified mesh size and raised above the ground are valid
for any net structure made of stiff or soft material.
Possible rigid materials to be used in such range plates
may be metal (aluminium or stainless steel) or plastic.
Several all-climate artificial driving ranges may be
installed side by side without fences along the common
sides, in order to create a wider range area.
Range plate
As mentioned above, the raised floor (5) of the range area
is preferably consisting of range plates, ref. figure 3 and
4. The design of range plates shall be focused on keeping
them straight after mounting on the raised floor, without
sinking down in the middle and thereby worsening the
collecting function when balls roll down to the return
transport unit (6).
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Hence the size and material of the plate shall be such that
the rigidity is optimised. If necessary, additional
supporting beams under the plates may be used.
It is further preferred to design the thickness of the
range plates as high as possible, balanced against the
requirement for low weight and easy-handling. The thickness
of the plates' grating will increase the rigidity of the
plate and is preferably in the range 15 - 50 mm, where
around 30 mm is the most preferred.
The grating shall preferably be unsymmetrical such that the
parts of the surface of the range plate which are parallel
to the desired direction of the rolling golf ball shall be
higher than the parts which are perpendicular to it. Please
refer figure 5. Mounted on the raised floor of the proposed
range system the higher parts of the structure of the
plates shall be positioned at 90° angle to the central axis
(and return transport system (6)) of the range area. A
difference in height between the two levels of the plate's
structure shall be 1-15mm, where 4-10 mm is preferred. The
basic aim is to avoid having a golf ball (7) resting on the
higher part of the grating touching the lower part, and
possibly stop. Hence the height between the two parts of
the structure will be depending on the distance between the
longitudinal bars (8) of the grating, since that distance
will decide how far down towards the lower structure (9)
the ball will reach.
It is further preferred that the range plates can be
located firmly and close together in order to form a fully
covering surface. For this purpose they may be provided
with clasps, hooks or similar (10,11) for the mechanical
connection plate-to-plate and/or plate-to-support
structure. The clasps shall be located at the bottom or
lower side of the range plate in order not to obstruct a
rolling golf ball on top of the grating.
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It is further preferred that the range plates are isolated
from each other with regard to vibrations. This is done by
the use of absorbing materials in an anti-vibration
mounting (11), possibly incorporated with the earlier
mentioned mechanical connection, figure 6 indicates the
vibration absorbers (11).
This isolation of each range plate is essential for the
length-measuring system as the detection of impact on a
plate will be isolateel to the specific plate and false
detections avoided. The system for length measurement is
described below.
Possible dimensions of one range plate can be 1-5 meter x
5-20 meter, for example 3 x 10 meters. Size and weight of
the range plate should still allow for easy handling of one
plate by two persons. The final design - overall
dimensions, material, mesh size etc. - of the range plate
will be made by a professional based on the requirements
above.
Length Measurement
In order to detect and record a golf drive to any part of
the range area, and present the length and direction of it
for a practising golfer the raised floor is preferably
equipped with impact detectors.
Detection can be accomplished by use of pressure detectors,
vibration detectors or similar mounted under or in the net
structure of the raised floor. When a golf ball hits for
example one of the range plates, which the grating is
preferably consisting of, the impact will be detected and a
signal will be transmitted to a display unit. The display
will then indicate the length with a resolution basically
determined by the size o.f the range plate. Figure 4, top-
view of the range area, indicates how range plates may be
mounted side by side, each with its central axis at a 90°
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angle to the central axis of the range. The signals from
indicated transducers/detectors (e.g. pressure or
vibration) are preferably routed along the central axis of
the range, where also the return transport is organised.
The detectors are indicated mounted in the middle of each
plate.
It is preferred to arrange the display such that the
lengths of a number (e.g. ten) of the last shots are
displayed at the same time. Also other means for
registering impact on the range area, based on principles
such as magnetism or microwaves, may be used.
Artificial Golf Green
One or more artificial golf greens (4) are preferred
mounted on top, and above; of the raised floor. Preferably
made in the same net structure or grating as the rest of
the range area. The edges of such a green shall be shaped
in order to restrict a ball on the green to leave it. The
surface of the green shall preferably slope inward to a
hole where the ball can fall down to the raised floor. It
is preferred to have a system (micro switch, photocell or
other) for detecting the ball falling down from the green
in order to present hits.on the green on the same display
as previously mentioned.
Return Trax~.sport of Balls
It is preferred that the range area includes mechanisms for
return transport of golf balls driven out onto it
(indicated by arrows in figs. 3 and 4). Such mechanisms can
be of passive or active type or a combination of both.
Passive return transport is achieved by having the net
structure or grating sloping directly back to the building
and the tee-off area or towards an active transport system.
This invention prefers sloping of the raised floor of the
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range area towards an active transport system, such as the
one indicated (6) in the overview figure 1.
The active return transport is achieved by installing a
transport system, such as conveyor belt or transport lift,
powered mechanically or electrically. The active transport
system shall preferably be constructed in covered sections
suited for installation on the main axis of the range area
with balls entering through, openings from the raised floor,
sloping down to it on both sides. The detailed design of
the active transport system will ~be made by an expert in
his field based on these requirements.
An alternative arrangement of the range plates is mounting
a second net structure or grating above the already
described raised floor. The mesh size of the second, higher
up located, net structure shall be bigger than a golf ball
in order to act as a barrier for powerful golf shots and
reduce the hard impact on, and risk of damaging, the more
delicate detecting range plates below.
A preferred embodiment of location of the floor levels is
shown in Fig. 2, wherein the reference number 12 indicates
the highest level of the raised floor, reference number 13
indicates the location of the lowest level of the raised
floor and the reference number 14 indicates the ground
level.
A possible arrangement of a fence around the golf range
area as well as nets for catching golf balls having a
trajectory indicating that they were going to fall outside
the artificial golf range area according to the invention
is indicated in figure 7. The fence includes a low level
fence 15 surrounding the artificial golf range according to
the invention and two triangular high level fences 16
running on each side of the range area and on top of the
low level fence 15. The highest point of the high level
fence lies preferably at a height of about 25-35 meters.
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Furthermore it is preferred (but not strictly required)
that there are attached one or more drop nets to the fence
for catching stray golf balls. Thus there may be located
an arc shaped drop net 17 at the highest point of the
fence, and there may also be placed square drop nets 18 at
a location between the building 2 and the farthest part of
the artificial golf range according to the invention.
This invention has been described above with references to
the attached figures and to preferred versions of it.
However, other alternatives to these versions may be found
within the claims of the invention.
