GB2258406A

GB2258406A - Golf tee inserting device

Info

Publication number: GB2258406A
Application number: GB9204521A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Curtis
Original assignee: SALCO PRECISION ENGINEERING LI
Current assignee: SALCO PRECISION ENGINEERING LI
Priority date: 1991-08-06
Filing date: 1992-02-17
Publication date: 1993-02-10
Anticipated expiration: 2012-02-17
Also published as: GB9204521D0; GB2258406B

Abstract

A golf tee inserting device comprises a body member 1 having a handle 2 at one end. A bore 3 through the body opens sideways to receive the tee head (Figure 2). A spring-loaded plunger 8 slides within the bore and engages the head of the tee to hold it while a driving force is applied to the handle to drive the tee into the ground. <IMAGE>

Description

GOLF TEE INSERTING DEVICE This invention relates to a golf tee inserting device.

Golf tees conventionally have a pointed shaft and a dished head for receiving a golf ball. The tee is usually driven into the ground by applying a thumb to the head.

Where the ground is hard and dry, this operation can be uncomfortable, and may lead to the tee being positioned wrongly.

The present invention provides a golf tee inserting device comprising a body member having a handle at one end thereof and tee-receiving means at the other end thereof for temporarily gripping the head of the tee to permit driving force applied to the handle to be transmitted to the tee.

Preferably, the tee-receiving means comprise a bore within the body member arranged to accommodate the head of the tee, the bore having an opening at the end of the body member of reduced diameter to allow the shaft of the tee to pass therethrough, the bore being open with a slot in the side of the body through which a tee may be inserted into the bore, and a sprung member within the bore to engage the head releasably to hold it in the bore.

The bore preferably has a section tapering down to the opening, and the slot may be shaped so that, when the tee is seated in the tapering section, it cannot be displaced through the slot. The sprung member is such as to allow movement along the bore between an insertion position and the seated position. In this way, the tee may be inserted into the device and held firmly until driven into the ground, at which point the driving force displaces the tee head to the insertion position, permitting the device to be disengaged by a sideways movement from the tee head. Thus, the tee may be inserted into the ground in a single-handed operation.

The device is suitably formed from a plastics material, the handle being shaped for comfort and effectiveness in transmitting the driving force to the tee.

Reference is made to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a part-sectional elevation of a device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is an underneath plan view of the device shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an elevation of a device according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

The device comprises a moulded plastics body 1 having a handle 2 at one end. The body has a bore 3 therethrough with a portion 4 adjacent to the end remote from the handle 2 wide enough to accommodate the head of a golf tee, (not shown) with its shaft extending through a narrow opening 5 in the end of the body. The portion 4 has a concave part 6 leading to the opening 5 and shaped so that the head of the tee seats therein. A slot 7 opens the side of the portion 4, the slot 7 being shaped so that the tee can be inserted into the portion 4 at the upper part thereof, but when seated in the concave part 6 is prevented by the reduced width of the slot from being withdrawn-sideways from the device; a lifting action of the tee relative to the device is required for insertion.

A spring-loaded plunger 8 is mounted within the bore 3 of the device and engages the head of the tee to urge it into the seated position in the tapering part 6. The plunger 8 has an enlarged head portion 8a accommodated within a wider part 9 of the bore 3 The bore 9 communicates with the tee-inserting portion 4 through a narrower section 10, through which the plunger 8 passes. A spring 11 within the bore 9 urges the head portion 8a into contact with the shoulder 12 defining the narrower section 10.

The upper part 13 of the bore 3 is internally screw-threaded and receives a correspondingly threaded plug 14 against which the upper end of the plug 14 is slotted to permit to be rotated with the aid of a screwdriver, to adjust the length of travel of the plunger 8. By this means, the depth of insertion of the tee into the ground may be regulated, with the advantage that a consistent depth may be achieved.

In use, the tee head is inserted through the slot 7 into the portion 4, with the shaft of the tee extending through the opening 5, the plunger 8 being urged upwardly against the spring 11 to permit this. With the tee held in the device, the shaft of the tee may be pushed into the ground to the desired depth by applying downward pressure on the handle 2 until the lower end of the device engages the ground. The device is then disengaged from the tee head by a sideways movement so that the head passes out through the slot 7 (at this point the spring will be partially compressed, so that the head is clear of the seated position.

Referring now to Figure 3, an alternative means of regulating the depth of insertion of the tee into the ground avoids the use of the screw plug 14 (Figure 1), but instead provides a sliding plug 30 within the bore in the device.

The plug 30 provides a seat for the spring 11 (Figure 1) and has a knob 31 extending through a slot 32 in the wall of the body 1. The slot 32 extends longitudinally of the body and has two side branches 32a, of which only the lower branch is visible, the knob 31 being located in the other.

The branches 32a provide, with the uppermost portion in the slot 32, three alternative depth settings for the device, the knob sliding readily between them and being latched in the branches 32a as required.

Claims

1. A golf tee inserting device, comprising a body member having a handle at one end thereof and tee-receiving means at the other end thereof for temporarily gripping the head of the tee to permit driving force applied to the handle to be transmitted to the tee.

2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the tee-receiving means comprise a bore within the body member arranged to accommodate the head of the tee, the bore having an opening at the end of the body member of reduced diameter to allow the shaft of the tee to pass therethrough, the bore being open with a slot in the side of the body through which a tee may be inserted into the bore, and a sprung member within the bore to engage the head releasably to hold it in the bore.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the bore has a section tapering down to the opening, the slot being shaped so that, when the tee is seated in the tapering section, it cannot be displaced through the slot.

4. A device according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the sprung member is such as to allow movement along the bore between an insertion position and the seated position, whereby the tee may be inserted into the device and held firmly until driven into the ground, at which point the driving force displaces the tee head to the insertion position, thereby permitting the device to be disengaged by a sideways movement from the tee head.

5. A device according to any preceding claim, formed from a plastics material.

6. A golf tee inserting device, substantially as described with reference to, or as shown in, Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3 of the drawings.