DE9213233U1 - Golf ball tee combination for driving range - Google Patents

Description

Description: GOLF BALL TEE COMBINATION FOR DRIVING RAPTOR.

A. General

Every golf course has a so-called driving range, where, in contrast to a real round of golf, golf balls are hit from a fixed location exclusively for practice purposes and then collected again later.

Since thousands of balls are hit from these fixed locations every day, tee mats have been laid out to protect the grass. These sometimes consist of just one homogeneous mat, but are also occasionally complete in the sense of this patent application, but always consist of the individual components of a standing mat, tee brush with or without a tee (but not height-adjustable), and ball reservoir (very rarely with a support device). However, the combination of individual components has many disadvantages, whether it _is that the components do not fit together perfectly, or are not selected in full and in high quality for cost reasons (also because of the possible risk of theft on golf courses that are unguarded at night), and last but not least, they do not withstand the rough everyday use on the driving range for long, especially by beginners. The standing mats are subject to particular wear and tear from spikes under golf shoes, and the tee brushes and their side borders are subject to wear and tear from mishits. Separate, reversed tee mats are also required for left-handers, but these are usually left empty. Some manufacturers have already made attempts to create integrated and therefore cost-effective complete solutions for both right- and left-handers, but these have never been thoroughly thought through and have not been accepted by golfers, partly because of serious defects. In particular, previous ball placement mechanisms are considered to be too complicated and prone to damage and, particularly due to their high construction, pose a safety risk for golfers due to balls bouncing back when hitting the wrong ball.

Basically, it can be said that the golfer's concentration on a clean shot, especially during training, is greater the more he is spared from disruptive influences! The aim of the present invention is to consistently avoid the aforementioned factors.

B. Advantages of the subject matter of the invention:

- The two-part, collapsible combination made of highly weather-resistant, impact- and crush-resistant plastic (eg IMPAX _1, a product from General Electric Plastics) largely prevents damage from spikes and misfires on the tub edges thanks to a well thought-out design of the mat inserts. Outlet openings prevent water from accumulating.

- The standing mat and tee brush are separate and can therefore be optimally selected (firm standing mat and soft brush).

- The standing mat is cut out octagonally within its square basic shape and can therefore be rotated three times and, due to the localized wear caused by spikes on the golf shoes, also offers three times the service life with optimal standing quality.

The standing height above ground of approx. 5 cm offers the golfer optimal swing security (no "podium fear").

- The abseiling brush extends over the entire width of the tub. This minimizes the risk of hitting the edge of the brush, especially for beginners. This protects the polfer's arm (epicondilitis) and the brush equally.

-The elastically mounted and continuously height-adjustable rubber tee (0 - 2.5 cm) enables the ball to be placed at an individually adjustable height above the brush surface, in contrast to the previously used tees with at most two different standard heights. This is particularly important for the same, and therefore irritation-free, conditions as on a real round of golf, where every golfer can place his tee at an individually high level on the grass. The spring-elastic, pendulum-like attachment of the rubber tee on a pre-tensioned coil spring also prevents premature wear, but guarantees that it is placed vertically at all times.

- The ball reservoir for up to 100 balls with integrated ball support lever is located close to, but not too close behind, the rubber tee, and does not protrude above the ball support height on the rubber tee at any point - even when completely full of balls. This avoids both irritation during the swing and danger to the golfer from rebounding balls when hitting the wrong ball, as well as damage to the ball reservoir and support lever.

Filling the balls from the usual ball bucket is quiet compared to the metal tubs available on the market, and the presence of a ball reservoir in general avoids the annoying fishing or poking with the bat in the bucket or on the lawn, and also ensures that the balls are always clean.

- The ball placement mechanism is deliberately simple in design and easy to handle with the club. It places ball after ball precisely on the tee without having to bend down, from where it can alternatively be rolled onto the brush for direct hits. The placement lever automatically disappears into the ball reservoir after being released by the club and preloads the next ball.

With an average of around 100 balls hit on the driving range, it protects the golfer's back and avoids having to correct his stance again before each shot.

- The hinge connection of the two parts of the tee combination makes it possible to easily turn it between zero and 180 degrees into any desired position by lifting the standing mat part around the ground anchor in the brush part, e.g. precisely in the direction of a pitch flag, or even into a left-handed position. Additional and often empty left-handed places are therefore superfluous and save costs and space. Concentrically arranged sliding ribs under the brush part make turning easier, but longitudinal ribs under the standing mat part prevent it during the swing.

- When it rains, or in the evening, or for winter storage, the two parts can be folded together and secured with a padlock if necessary. This largely prevents water fountains when teeing off after rain or early thaw, contamination from leaves or flying dust, and theft.

- When designing the entire tee combination, we consciously paid attention to simplicity, long-term durability and thus low susceptibility to damage and ease of maintenance. All essential wearing parts, such as stand mats, tee brushes, rubber tees including coil springs, as well as rubber tension bands and pads for the ball support lever are standardized commercial goods and can be purchased quickly and inexpensively from any relevant specialist shop, regardless of the manufacturer, and replaced on site.

Drawings:

The invention is shown in the drawings Figures 1 to 5 and provided with the reference numbers in brackets in the claims.

Figure 1 and 2: Combined tees in plan view and section A-A with the following reference numbers:

(1) Standing mat tray

(2) Brush tray

(3) Ball reservoir left with inlet and locking bolt (3a) Ball reservoir right with inlet

(3b) Ball pickup point with ball

(4) Sliding ribs on the underside of the impact brush tray, running concentrically to the pivot point (9)

(5) Ball support lever in rest position

(6) Cutting brush ,

(7) Ball support lever in support position

(7a) Release cam for ball release mechanism (24) in lay-down position

(8) Rubber tea

(9) Pivot bearing hole for ground anchor bolt

(10) Stand mat corner firmly glued

(11) Stand mat center piece, octagonal, rotatable around central fixed point

(12) Folding axle with hinge

(13) Longitudinal ribs or ribs on underside of standing mat tray

(14) Handle and locking openings on stand and knock-off tray

Figure 3: Height-adjustable, elastic rubber tee, detail of (8) with the following explanatory reference numbers:

(15) Rubber Tee Tube (Ball Carrier)

(16) Preloaded coil spring, pendulum elastic

(17) Screw nut glued into tee for height adjustment

(18) Screw nut fixed in the tub bottom, holds coil spring

(19) Vannenboden, seam of foamed upper and lower parts

Figure 4 &ugr; 5: Ball support lever in plan view and section B-B, Detail of (5) and (7) with the following explanatory reference numbers:

(20) Under-grip tab for golf clubs to carry out the ball loading process.

(21) Shock absorbing rubber for recoil movement

(22) Jammed golf ball

(23) Clamping rubber for clamping stamp

(24a) Clamping stamp, screwed to adjustable pull rod (24b).

(24b) Pull rod for clamping stamp with hinged wire hook(24c)

(24c) Wire hook at tie rod end (24b), rotatably connected to rotation axis (28).

When the support lever is fully swiveled, the pull rod with clamping stamp is slightly tilted and pulled back due to lateral pressure from the release cam (24d), thus releasing the ball.

(24d) Functional arrangement and direction of action of the release cam mounted in the support lever groove on the vane floor for ball release

(25) Ball receiving frame&eegr;

(26) Slots for the elastic return band, which folds the application lever back after the application process.

(27) Direction of pull in which the return rubber band (26) acts.

(28) Rotation axis of the support lever with indicated direction of rotation when unfolding (arrow).

Claims (7)

Protection claims: 1. Two-piece golf ball tee combination for the so-called Driving range, with a standing mat section and a tee brush section, the latter with an integrated rubber tee for ball positioning, and a ball reservoir with ball support device, characterized by the following features: 1.1. The standing mat (l) and the brush part (2) each consist of a flat, square tub, which are connected by hinges (12) and can therefore be folded together. 1.2. A square mat is inserted into the base (1), the four firmly glued corners (10) of which are separated from the inner part of the mat in such a way that the latter forms a tightly fitted regular octagon (ll) which can be rotated around its fixed center in angular increments of 45 degrees. 1.3. The base of the tub (1) is provided with studs or longitudinal ribs (13) on the underside to prevent it from slipping. 1.4. In the middle part of the kick-off tray (2) there is a kick-off brush (6) which extends over the entire width but only about 30% of the length and is inserted into a recess. 1.5. The rubber tee (8) in the brush (6) of the teeing trough (2) is height adjustable and is attached to the trough floor in a spring-elastic pendulum manner with a pre-tensioned coil spring. 1.6. The knock-off trough (2) has a vertical, ridged hole (9) in the inner part (on the hinge side) around which the entire combination can be rotated horizontally using an anchor bolt set into the ground. For this purpose, the knock-off trough is provided with concentrically arranged sliding ribs (4) on its underside. 1.7. The teeing tray (2) contains a ball reservoir (3 and 3a) for up to 100 balls in the outer part with an integrated lever mechanism (5) that can be operated manually using a golf club, with which the balls can be placed individually on the rubber tee (8). 2. Two-part Galf tee combination according to claim 1, characterized by the following features: The two Vannteiled u.2) of the combination consist of two highly weather-resistant plastic shells (upper and lower sections), which are permanently and stiffly connected by foaming. 3. Two-part golf tee combination according to claim 1 to 2,, characterized by the following features: The quality and thickness of the stand mat (ll) and/or the kick brush (6) can be freely selected by each user, so that the total height of the kick tray combination in the unfolded (operating) state only exceeds 5 cm to the extent that the mat or brush thickness is selected to be greater than 3.5 cm. 4. Two-part golf tee combination according to claims 1 to 3, characterized by the following features: Both Vannenteiled u. 2) have integrated handle openings (14) in the middle of the outer edges, which allow locking with a padlock when closed, and lifting the standing tub (l) to rotate the combination horizontally when opened. Rainwater drainage openings are provided at all relevant points. 5. Two-part golf tee combination according to claims 1 to 4, characterized by the following features: The bottom of the centrally divided ball reservoir (3 and 3a) at the outer end of the teeing tray (2) is inclined concentrically towards the ball receiving point (3b) for the support mechanism (5). The left side of the reservoir (O) can be blocked for ball inflow until the right side (3a) is empty. 6. .Two-part golf tee combination according to claims 1 to 5, characterized by the following features: The support mechanism in the ball reservoir (3) consists of a lever (5) that can be folded out 180 degrees against a rubber band spring in the direction of the tee brush (6), which has a frame (25) at the outer end that is open at the top and bottom and encloses the ball receiving point (3b) and in which the ball that was rolled up during the last support process is located. A clamping stamp (24a) mounted longitudinally elastically on the inner surface of this frame can clamp the ball and release it again over the rubber tee by means of a pulling process controlled by the stand cam.