Golf putting aid apparatus for the visually handicapped

Claim 1

A golf putting aid apparatus for a visually handicapped person capable of use with a standard type golf cup, said putting aid comprising a housing insertable in said golf cup, said housing having a golf ball receiving portion and an audible electronic sound emitting portion, said ball receiving portion having an entrance portion alignable in said golf cup for receiving a golf ball putted thereinto, said audible electronic sound emitting portion comprising an audible alarm means capable of providing at least two different independently selectable audibly distinguishable electronic sound emissions, a power supply operatively connected to said electronic alarm means for providing power thereto, bistable switch means having a first open circuit state and a second closed circuit state, said bistable switch means arming said audible alarm means in said second state for providing a first independently selectable audibly distinguishable electronic sound emission for audibly indicating to said visually handicapped person the location of the golf cup in which said housing has been inserted, and spring biased golf ball activated switch means having a first state and a second state for providing a different second independently selectable audibly distinguishable electronic sound emission for audibly indicating to said visually handicapped person that a putt has been successfully completed, said first state being a stable state in which said ball activated switch means is in a resiliently biased normal open circuit condition with no ball in said ball receiving portion, said second state being a state in which said ball activated switch means is in a closed circuit condition with a ball resting in said ball receiving portion, said ball activated switch means comprising a resiliently biased member normally resiliently biased to said open circuit condition by a predetermined resilient bias force, said resilient bias force being selected to be less than the force exerted by a received ball due to the weight of the ball, said resiliently biased member being disposed in said ball receiving portion for enabling pressure contact with a ball received therein for enabling the weight of said received ball to overcome said resilient bias force to place said ball activated switch means into said second state, said ball activated switch means arming said audible alarm means in said second state for providing said second audibly distinguishable electronic sound emission, whereby when said bistable switch is armed said golf cup is initially uniquely audibly located for a subsequent putt whose successful completion is subsequently uniquely audibly indicated when said ball activated switch is armed.