Apparatus and method of forming an inverted, truncated pyramidal shape of stacked golf balls within a tray and forming on top an upright, pyramidal shape of stacked golf balls

Abstract

A tray for stacking golf balls into a truncated, inverted pyramidal shape and upon which may be stacked on top a regular pyramidal stack of golf balls that self-supports to retain its shape. The tray includes a base, four diverging walls and a rim. The walls are between the rim and the base. The base has a plurality of curved rails that have convex surfaces within an inward facing side of the tray. The curved rails are separated from each other in succession by flattened regions. The rim has holes for securing rope handles. Golf balls may be poured into a hopper on the rim of the tray to stack the golf balls in the tray first in an inverted pyramid shape manner and then in a regular pyramid shape manner.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A golf ball stacking tray, comprising:
 a tray positioned so that a base of the tray is in a substantially horizontal position, the base having retention portions and non-retention portions, the tray having a rim and having diverging walls that diverge from a periphery of the base to the rim, the rim defining an outer periphery that is wider in dimension than that of the diverging walls, the retention portions and the non-retention portions being configured and arranged to retain a base layer of uniformly-sized golf balls in position with respect to each other over the retention portions and between neighboring ones of the non-retention portions, the tray being formed to stably support, without tipping over, a stack of uniformly-sized golf balls, inclusive of the layer of uniformly sized golf balls, that altogether resemble an inverted, truncated pyramidal shape.   
     
     
         2 . The golf ball stacking tray of  claim 1 , wherein the rim has a plurality of holes, further comprising:
 two handles that pass through a respective pair of the holes so that holding onto two of the handles together enables the tray to be carried in a stable manner with the tray containing golf balls.   
     
     
         3 . The golf ball stacking tray of  claim 2 , wherein the two handles are each made of rope and are knotted beneath the holes. 
     
     
         4 . The golf ball stacking tray of  claim 1 , wherein the base has a plurality of rails spaced apart from each other by regions, each of the rails having a convexly curved surface that rises to elevations higher than that of the regions with the base in a substantially horizontal orientation, the convexly curved surface of each of the rails being within an inward facing side of the truncated, inverted pyramid shape. 
     
     
         5 . In combination, the golf ball stacking tray of  claim 1  and a hopper on the rim, the hopper having walls that extend in a converging manner away from the rim of the tray. 
     
     
         6 . In combination, the golf ball tray of  claim 1  and a stack of golf balls within confines of a space bounded by the base and the diverging walls, the stack of golf balls being stacked to resemble the inverted, truncated pyramidal shape within confines of the space, the base layer of the golf balls defining a plurality of rows of the golf balls in linear relationship with each other for each of the rows. 
     
     
         7 . The combination of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a further stack of golf balls that are stacked in a self-supporting manner to resemble an upright, pyramidal stack of golf balls, the further stack being atop the inverted, truncated pyramidal stack and supported in a stable manner by the inverted, truncated pyramidal stack to extend beyond confines of the space bounded by the diverging walls and the base.   
     
     
         8 . The combination of  claim 5 , wherein the base and the diverging walls bound a space, the stack of golf balls being within confines of the space bounded by the base and the diverging walls; and
 a further stack of golf balls that are stacked in a self-supporting manner to resemble an upright, pyramidal stack of golf balls, the further stack being atop the inverted, truncated pyramidal stack and supported in a stable manner by the inverted, truncated pyramidal stack to extend beyond confines of the space bounded by the diverging walls and the base and being within confines of the hopper.   
     
     
         9 . A method of stacking golf balls, comprising:
 positioning a tray so that a base of the tray is in a substantially horizontal position, the base having retention portions and non-retention portions, the tray having a rim and having diverging walls that diverge from a periphery of the base to the rim, the rim defining an outer periphery that is wider in dimension than that of the diverging walls;   retaining a base layer of uniformly-sized golf balls in position with respect to each other over the retention portions and between neighboring ones of the non-retention portions;   stably supporting, without tipping over, a stack of the uniformly-sized golf balls, inclusive of the base layer, to resemble an inverted, truncated pyramidal shape.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 passing two handles through a respective pair of holes in the rim so that holding onto two of the handles together enables the tray to be carried in a stable manner with the tray containing golf balls.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 knotting the two handles beneath the holes, the two handles being made of rope.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising stacking golf balls within confines of a space bounded by the base and the diverging walls to form the stack of the golf balls. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the base has a plurality of rails spaced apart from each other by regions, each of the rails having a convexly curved surface that rises to elevations higher than that of the regions with the base in a substantially horizontal orientation, the convexly curved surface of each of the rails being within an inward facing side of the truncated, inverted pyramid shape; 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising;
 placing a hopper on the rim, the hopper having walls that extend in a converging manner away from the rim of the tray; and   pouring the golf balls into the hopper to stack the golf balls to resemble the inverted, truncated pyramidal shape within confines of the space and to also resemble an upright, pyramidal shape atop the inverted, truncated pyramidal shape that is supported in a stable manner by the inverted, truncated pyramidal stack and extends beyond confines of the space to be within confines of the hopper and that is self-supporting to retain the upright, pyramidal shape.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising removing the hopper from the rim of the tray with the golf balls remaining stacked to resemble the inverted, truncated pyramidal shape within the confines of the space and to resemble the upright, pyramidal shape beyond the confines of the space in a manner that remains self-supporting to retain the upright, pyramidal shape. 
     
     
         16 . In combination, a device that supports stacks of golf balls, comprising:
 a tray having a base, a rim and diverging walls that diverge from the base to the rim, the base having recessed portions and non-retention portions;   a bottom stack of golf balls that resemble an inverted, truncated pyramidal shape within confines of the tray, the bottom stack including a base layer of uniformly-sized golf balls retained in position with respect to each other over the recessed portions and between neighboring ones of the non-retention portions; and   a top stack of uniformly-sized golf balls atop the bottom stack, the top stack of uniformly-sized golf balls resembling an upright pyramidal shape and self-supporting on the bottom stack.