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Light emitting golf ball, kit and systemLight emitting golf ball, kit and system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070173349, Light emitting golf ball, kit and system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CLAIM OF PRIORITY [0001]This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/762,390, filed on Jan. 26, 2006. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]1. Field of the Invention [0003]The present invention relates to golf balls and, more particularly, to a light emitting golf ball adapted for use in the night, which emits light for clear visibility at night, and to kits and systems utilizing such balls. [0004]2. Description of the Related Art [0005]Golf is an extremely popular game that is played throughout the world. Because of the great numbers of people who enjoy playing golf and the limited number of courses in many areas upon which to play, players and golf course owners have looked for ways to increase the number of rounds that could be played on a given course. One such way has been to devise ways to allow players to play golf at night. [0006]Night golf has heretofore taken two basic forms; night golf with a lighted ball and flagstick and night golf with a lighted course. The first form requires a golf ball that will provide adequate illumination to allow it to be seen while swinging, during flight and between shots, and that will fly in a manner similar to a conventional golf ball. The second form of night golf requires a significant investment in lights on the part of the course owner and requires the owner to incur the continued expense of keeping lights on for extended period of time. For this reason, very few courses have installed such lighting. Further, for those courses that have installed lights, these lights often cast odd shadows and seldom extend into the rough, causing golfers to inaccurately estimate the direction and amount of flight of the golf ball and, consequently, to lose balls that would otherwise be found were there sufficient light to do so. Thus, many night golfers on lighted courses utilize light emitting golf balls in order to avoid the time and expense associated with unsuccessfully searching for golf balls during their round. Finally, golfers who play in the evening and need to finish their round during twilight hours may also utilize light emitting golf balls for the same reasons. [0007]A number of light-emitting golf balls have been developed and utilized in the past. One of the first such balls was manufactured of a solid, substantially transparent material having a bore through its center into which a miniature chemical luminescent light stick was inserted. These balls allowed users to see the balls at night, even when hit into the rough. However, the light sticks were either prone to ejection from the bores when excessive spin was placed on the balls, causing the balls to be lost, or were difficult to eject in order to replace the light sticks. Further, the light sticks are affected by the ambient temperature and humidity at the time of play, which impacts the light intensity and duration of light. [0008]Recently, a number of other light-emitting golf balls have been developed. Some of these balls employ a chemical luminescent material in the core of the ball, which is activated upon contact between the ball and golf club, in much the same manner as "cracking" a chemical luminescent light stick. These golf balls overcome the problem of lost light sticks, as there is no light stick to be lost, and also provide brighter and more uniform light dispersion through the ball. Further, because they appear as conventional balls, they may be used as conventional balls after their chemical luminescence has dissipated, although the key purpose of nighttime play is no longer possible after dissipation. However, they suffer from the other problems attendant to chemical luminescence; i.e. the decreasing amount of light provided, the fact that they only remain lighted for a maximum of one round. Further, because the ball needs to be struck with considerable force in order to activate the light, the average golfer might not hit the ball sufficiently hard to activate the light so course professionals would have to activate the lights prior to the start of a tournament. This requirement led to increased costs for the tournament operator from the labor required for activation, relatively low yield for the number of balls that would light and shortened light-life for balls. [0009]Another recent development in the field of light emitting golf balls has been to install a flashing light within a substantially opaque shell of a multilayered design. One such ball is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,487, which discloses a ball having a light emitting electronic circuit that is activated by an impact sensor and causes the ball to flash on and off for a predetermined period of time. This type of light emitting golf ball overcame the problems attendant to chemical luminescence; i.e. the decreasing amount of light provided, the fact that they only remain lighted for a maximum of one round. However, they are not without their drawbacks. [0010]First, the flashing of the light in these golf balls proves a distraction to the golfer when attempting to hit the ball. Second, although the timer based off switch allows the batteries to be conserved to the point where the ball may be used for more than one round, this arrangement is detrimental to its function. For example, in instances where it takes a great deal of time to attempt to find a lost ball, the ball may turn off before it is located so the ball is lost in play. Similarly, in instances where slow play by a group in front of the user causes a delay between shots exceeding the predetermined time period, the ball will not be illuminated when the user attempts to hit it. Third, the user has no control as to when to turn the light off as this function is programmed in the electronic circuitry and permanently sealed in the ball. Thus, in cases where these balls are inadvertently illuminated, such as when a user drops the ball in a parking lot, the user has no way of shutting off the light and must waste the battery until the ball automatically shuts off. [0011]Therefore, there is a need for a light emitting golf ball that users can easily see at night, even when hit into the rough, that provides a substantially continuous level of light for a sustained period of time, that does not need to be struck in order to be illuminated, that is adapted for more than a single use, that has a light source that cannot be removed from the ball through impact from a golf club, that may be adapted to float when hit into water, that does not flash when in use, that does not require the use of expensive impact-controlled electronic circuitry that does not automatically shut off after a predetermined period of time, and that a user may shut manually shut off when the light is not desired. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012]The present invention is a light emitting golf ball, light emitting golf ball kit, and a light emitting golf ball system. In its most basic form the light emitting golf ball includes a substantially spherical outer shell that is sized, and has a dimple pattern on its outer surface, similar to that of conventional golf ball. The outer shell is manufactured of a material that allows light to pass therethrough. A light assembly is disposed within said outer shell and adapted to produce light that passes through the outer shell. The light assembly includes a light source, preferably a light emitting diode (LED), a battery, and a magnetic switch, such as a Hall Effect sensor, that controls a flow of power to from the battery to the light source. In the preferred embodiment, the magnetic switch stops the flow of power when it is placed in the presence of a magnetic field and allows power to flow from the battery to the light source when the ball is removed from the magnetic field. However, in some embodiments of the invention the magnetic sensor is a latched sensor, which turns the light source on when a first magnetic field is applied and turns the light source off when a second magnetic field is applied. [0013]The preferred light assembly includes two 3-volt batteries and a printed circuit board to which one LED surface mount type light source, a Hall Effect type magnetic sensor, a resistor and a capacitor are mounted. Depending upon the specific battery, light source and magnetic sensor used, the light assembly may include one or more resistors, transistors and/or capacitors in order to further control the power flowing from the battery to the light source. In the preferred embodiment two cushioning members included, with one being disposed between the printed circuit board and first battery and the other between the first battery and second battery. The cushioning members are preferably a closed cell foam having a thickness of 1.5 millimeters and having adhesive on both sides, such as foam adhesive mounting tape sold by a number of manufacturers. It is likewise preferred that the printed circuit board has a thickness of approximately 1.75 millimeters, which is thicker than conventional boards. The thickening of the board and the provision of cushioning members are preferred, as their inclusion has been shown to increase the durability of the ball and decrease incidents of breakage of the light assembly [0014]It is preferred that the light assembly be arranged and disposed within the outer shell such that the center of gravity of the ball is at the geometric center of the ball. This is preferred in order to ensure that the that the ball will fly and roll in a uniform, true, manner, and to ensure that the performance of the ball, in terms of driving distance and roll, is comparable to a conventional golf ball. [0015]In some embodiments, the light emitting golf ball is adapted to allow the ball to float on water. In these embodiments, the light assembly is preferably encapsulated within an epoxy material, preferably Loctite Superflex.RTM. Non-Corrosive RTV distributed by the Henkel Corporation of Irvine, Calif., and the outer shell is a preferably manufactured of a substantially transparent urethane or nylon, which has a milky white color, which is molded around the light assembly. In some embodiments, a photosensitive dye, such as fluorescein, is dispersed within the outer shell of the light emitting golf ball, or within a lens disposed over the light source. The use of a fluorescein dye causes the light generated by the light source to excite the dye, effectively illuminating the entire ball substantially evenly rather than appearing as a relatively small point source as the light source would appear in embodiments in which a dye is not used. Further, as fluorescent dyes come in a variety of colors, the illumination provided by such balls may likewise be altered to appear as different colors. This is advantageous as it allows users to readily identify whose ball is whose when playing a round of night golf, or to identify the flight of their ball when taking shots at a night driving range. However, the preferred embodiment utilizes colored LED light sources with and a white dye within the outer shell, which produces a colored light having good dispersion. [0016]In other embodiments, the light emitting golf ball is not adapted to float, but rather is manufactured to substantially conform to requirements set forth by the United States Golf Association (USGA). In these embodiments, the outer shell of the illuminated golf ball is manufactured of multiple layers, in a manner similar to conventional balls, and includes an outer layer manufactured of the material marketed under the trademark SURLYN.RTM., by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del., and an inner core manufactured of clear polyurethane in which the light assembly is encapsulated. [0017]In the preferred embodiment of the light emitting golf ball, the light assembly is disposed within an inner shell and encapsulated therein by a core material. It is preferred that the inner shell be manufactured of a polycarbonate material that includes at least two centering pins extending therefrom for centering the light assembly within a mold while the remainder of the ball is manufactured. The preferred inner shell includes five centering pins, with one pin extending in the north and south direction, when the ball is viewed as a globe, and the other three centering pins extending from the equator at equal distances from one another. The preferred core material is a Loctite Hysol.RTM. E-30CL adhesive, distributed by the Henkel Corporation of Irvine, Calif., which is a resilient epoxy material that encapsulates the light assembly and does not fracture when the ball is struck by a golf club. [0018]In its most basic form, the light emitting golf ball kit of the present invention includes at least one light emitting golf ball, and a ball holder in which the balls may be stored when not in use. The kit of the present invention is intended to allow users of the balls to de-energize the balls when not in use, and to allow sellers of small quantities of the balls to keep the balls in a de-energized position until they are sold. [0019]The ball holder of the kit of the present invention is dimensioned to accommodate at least one golf ball and includes at least one magnet that is disposed within or upon the ball holder in proximity to at least one golf ball stored within the ball holder so as to create a magnetic field of sufficient strength to activate the magnetic switch within the golf ball and stop the flow of power from the battery to the light source when the ball is disposed within the ball holder. [0020]In some embodiments, the ball holder is merely a cardboard sleeve style box, such as those used to store new conventional golf balls, having separate magnets adhered to the inside surface of the box at locations corresponding to the locations of the balls stored within. Such a box will typically be adapted to accommodate from one to four golf balls and will include a corresponding number of magnets. In other embodiments in which the ball holder is a cardboard sleeve style box, a single strip of magnetic material is disposed within the box between its inside surface and the golf balls. Such a strip magnet may be adhered to the box, or may merely float within the closed box during shipping. [0021]In other embodiments, the ball holder takes the form of a sleeve having an attachment, such as a clip or strap, which allows the ball holder to be attached to a golf bag or user's clothing. Such embodiments are similar to the sleeve style boxes insofar as they may include one magnet, or multiple magnets, and may be adapted to hold one ball, or a plurality of balls. Further, it is preferred that such sleeves be designed in such a way as to maintain the balls in place when not in use while allowing the balls to be easily removed when the user wishes to use them. Continue reading about Light emitting golf ball, kit and system... Full patent description for Light emitting golf ball, kit and system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Light emitting golf ball, kit and system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Light emitting golf ball, kit and system or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Compositions for golf equipment Next Patent Application: Fully-neutralized ionomers for use in golf ball having a large core and a thin, dense layer Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Light emitting golf ball, kit and system patent info. 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