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Putting practice deviceRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Golf, Body Movement Or Position Indicator (e.g., Stance Aids, Etc.), Reflective DevicePutting practice device description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070243944, Putting practice device. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a putting practice device, and more particularly, to a putting practice device having a reflecting surface with guiding lines and reference lines to provide visual feedback to the golfer. BACKGROUND ART [0002] Visual acuity and the ability to focus on a target is a major principle in many sports, including golf. A golfer's score usually comes down to how well the golfer putts the golf ball on the green. Excellent motor skills and hand/eye coordination are essential to top-level performance in golf. Putting accuracy within 3 meters (approximately 10 feet), a distance generally accepted among golfers as the most difficult to consistently make in a pressure situation, is critical and a major factor in lowering scores while significantly increasing the enjoyment of the game. [0003] To putt accurately, the golfer first must learn how to envision where the target line will be, from the golf ball to the cup. Then the golfer must learn how to align the ball to the target line. Next, the golfer must learn how to position the body so that his or her eyes are placed vertically over the golf ball and to aim the strike along the desired target line. [0004] The golfer must then learn how to swing the putter such that the putter travels exactly along the target line and, such that the face of the putter head is always kept exactly perpendicular to the direction of the target line. Once all of these individual steps are learned, the golfer must then learn how to combine them and execute these steps consistently according to a learned habit. [0005] Various devices have been developed to practice and improve a golfer's putting game. Some devices provide a sight to allow a golfer to view the line of the stroke while putting the ball. These sights are usually placed on the head of the club to assist the golfer in orienting the club in a desired direction toward the cup. U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,100 describes a golf putter having a reflective face and alignment guide including a head portion having a forward face and a rearward face. [0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,197 describes a device for teaching correct putting that can be attached to the shaft of a putter. A mirror is pivotally attached to an arm which extends behind and is parallel to the face of the putter such that the center of gravity for the mirror is between the pivot point and the face of the putter. [0007] Other patents describe devices attached to the club that use laser beams or other electromagnetic signals. U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,099 describes a laser training device which clamps onto the shaft of a standard golf club. The device has a holding block which holds a laser device pointing in a downward direction. [0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,188 describes a putter aligning system which comprises an alignment apparatus using an infrared generation signal device requiring a reflector on the putter with alignment indicators near the target. These invasive devices alter the weight and the feeling of the golf putter and alter the natural putting stroke. Without the apparatus attached, the golfer's club stroke is different due to the different balance of the club. [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,751, utilizes an audible sound system to aid visually handicapped golfers in locating the putting cup and thus to align their putters. Other devices provide a ramp or a wall that guides the putter along a desired putting line during a swing. The golfer places the head of the club against the ramp or wall and swings the club so that the head is guided along the putting line. Some devices even use a combination of the sight and a ramp or wall. [0010] Other devices use a string or an elongated material to provide a putting line from the ball to the cup. The string is extended toward a cup to allow a golfer to practice swinging the putter along the length of the string and putting the ball toward the cup. U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,732 utilizes the reflection of an elongated material on a reflective surface to aid the golfer in positioning his or her eyes substantially vertically overtop of the target line and the golf ball. [0011] In these kind of training devices, time is required to set them up in-line with the cup. Since the string or elongated material must be arranged along the putting line to the cup, the devices take time to arrange and take up a lot of space on the putting green and might interfere with the actual swinging of the golf club or with the trajectory of the ball. This can cause the golfer undue stress and frustration, which can detract from a good training session. These devices do not give any feedback that can easily translate to game situations. All these devices share the inability to build natural muscle-memory under game-like conditions. These devices all interfere with the golfer's actual putting stroke and inhibit the golfer's ability to learn how to improve the putting stroke. [0012] While these devices can help a golfer execute an appropriate pendulum movement with the putter, the golfer can become reliant on the device. A golfer can especially become reliant on ramps or reflective or laser devices attached to clubs, but these devices cannot be used during a game of golf. Thus, a better training device is needed to provide a tool for a golfer to practice putting techniques using his or her regular putting club and improve his or her putting skill. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [0013] The invention is a golf putting practice device utilizing guiding lines and reference lines on a reflective surface to provide visual feedback to the golfer. This allows the golfer to observe and adjust the alignment of his or her body and the golf club relative to the ball, and allows the golfer to accurately establish the trajectory of the ball relative to the target putting cup. With consistent use of the invention, a golfer's level of putting accuracy in a game improves because his or her muscle memory retains the skills and habits gained by using the invention. [0014] Binocular vision involves the simultaneous employment of both eyes and produces stereoscopic, three-dimensional vision. In human vision, however, there is a tendency for the brain to accept visual stimulus predominantly from one eye, the dominant eye. When both eyes are employed, the dominant eye alters the stereoscopic visual perception in favor of the stimulus received by the dominant eye. When a golfer is putting, the dominant eye effect tends to direct the golfer to hit the ball in a trajectory determined by stimulus from the dominant eye but which deviates from the actual center of the putting cup. [0015] This invention corrects for inaccurate visual perception created by the dominant eye effect by providing the golfer with a reflected view of the putting cup, the ball and the ball's trajectory toward the cup. The golfer views the reflected putting cup location and aligns the trajectory of the ball with the center vertical ball line of the reflective surface. The reflected image of the putting cup stimulates the eyes to consistently see the putting cup in its actual location which creates an accurate focal point for the putting cup and corrects for the dominant eye effect. [0016] The invention takes a different visual perceptual approach compared to the competitors' methodology of requiring mechanical physical motion or requiring a fundamental change in the golfer's technique. This non-invasive training device allows the golfer to correctly place the eyes over the ball on the intended line, and subsequently allows the golfer to feel stroke variations. [0017] The golfer is able to perform a natural putting stroke, unrestricted by any of the components of the invention. The putting training aid easily sets up behind the putting cup or indoor practice mat. The invention is simple to use, compact, portable, self-contained. The invention can be carried along easily on the golf course and takes up minimal storage space. The non-invasive, self-teaching approach makes the putting training aid unique from the existing putting training devices on the market. [0018] The putting practice device includes a reflective panel and an enclosing panel, which are held together by two screw hinges. The device also has a handle on top for ease of transportation. In the closed position, the enclosing panel and the reflective panel are rotated adjacent to each other so that the enclosing panel covers and protects the reflective surface. In the open position, the enclosing panel is rotated away from the reflective panel at an angle and placed on the ground in an inverted "V" frame pattern. The unhinged short edge of the enclosing panel and the unhinged short edge of the reflective panel are placed on the ground or floor with the hinged edges forming the top. The reflective panel is placed at an angle to allow the golfer to view the ball position, which in turn facilitates the golfer to position directly over the ball. [0019] The invention differs significantly from other products on the market by allowing golfers to use the golf club and golf stroke they have. The putting training device is engineered to focus on putts within the critical range of 90 centimeters to 3 meters (approximately 3 feet to 10 feet), a distance generally accepted as the most important and difficult shot in pressure situations. [0020] To use the putting practice device, the golfer needs to perform some setup steps. The golfer opens the putting practice device by pivoting the reflective panel away from the enclosing panel around the two screw hinges to have the device assume an inverted "V" shape until the reflective panel is oriented to the outside of the inverted "V" shape. [0021] The golfer then positions the putting practice device on the floor or ground with the reflective panel facing the golfer and further positions the device until the lower side of the reflective panel is tangent to the putting cup location and the lower part of the right and left vertical lines of the reflective surface are aligned with the putting cup edges. Continue reading about Putting practice device... Full patent description for Putting practice device Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Putting practice device 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. 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