US20020183138A1

US20020183138A1 - Combination golf apparatus

Info

Publication number: US20020183138A1
Application number: US10/148,051
Authority: US
Inventors: George Malcolm
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-12-04
Filing date: 2000-12-04
Publication date: 2002-12-05
Also published as: WO2001039848A1; AU1946501A

Abstract

The invention is combination adjustable golf tee setter and divot tool with a golf ball marker comprising a case, a screw, and a divot tool. The case comprises a retainer for retaining the divot tool the screw comprises a head with includes a magnet for retaining a golf ball marker. The head of the screw includes a recess for facilitating removal of the golf ball marker as required.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: U.S. Provisional

Application for Patent No. 60/169,042, filed Dec. 4, 1999, with title, “Combination Adjustable Golf Tee Setter and Divot Tool With Golf Ball Marker Retainer” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Par. 119(e) (i).[0001]

Statement as to rights to inventions made under Federally sponsored research and development: Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an adjustable device for setting a pin, such as, but not restricted to, a golf tee into a substrate at a controlled height. In the preferred embodiments, the device enables a golfer to set a golf tee at an exact height, that can be adjusted in accordance with which club will be used to hit a golf ball. It incorporates a divot tool as an accessory item as well as a golf ball marker retainer.

2. Background Information

This inventor is of the opinion that a key to successful golf is setting a ball on a tee at an exact height, predetermined in accordance with which club will be used to hit the ball. It is very desirable to control said height so that it is repeatable.

A golf ball set high for a given club will tend to loft when struck with said club.

A golf ball set low for a given club will tend to skip along the ground when hit with said club.

Professional golfers tend to properly set their tees instinctively. For the unprofessional golfers, there is no convenient mechanical apparatus available, or known to the trade, to exactly set a golf tee to correspond to a given club, on a repeatable basis.

A divot can be defined as a piece of turf gouged out with a club in making stroke. For the typical golfer, divots are a problem. A golfer is expected to repair his divots. A divot tool tends to be one more piece of hardware distracting from a serious golfer's focus on his game.

Convenient access to a ball marker is desirable for a golfer. The distraction of reaching and searching for a ball marker in one's pocket can detract from a serious golfer's concentration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, a combination adjustable golf tee setter and pivot tool assembly with a ball marker retainer, is a device comprising a case, a screw, and a divot tool. The case comprising a case, a screw, and a divot tool. The case comprises a means for retaining the divot tool, a case reference, a protrusion, projections, and a clearance for accepting the screw. The screw comprises a shank, a head, a thread, tee height indicators, a recess, grooves, a magnet, a sloped recess, and a convex surface to match a golf tee head. The magnet is set in the recess as a provision for retaining a ball marker. The sloped recess enables a golfer to press on an edge of the ball marker to flip up the marker for removal from the magnet. The protrusion and projections in the case match up with the grooves in the screw so an elevation of the screw with respect to the case sets the convex surface of the screw with respect to the case, so when the convex surface is placed against a head of a golf tee, and the tee is inserted into a ground surface until the case makes contact with the ground, the golf tee is set at a fixed repeatable height with respect to the ground, predetermined by the setting of a given tee heights indicator with respect to a case reference. The head comprises said tee height indicators, representing alternate golf clubs. A helical groove in the case which results in a one and one quarter inch of linear travel per rotation of the screw just happens to correlate with settings ranging from a wedge, through

number

1, 2, and 3 woods, through number 4 through 9 irons. An individual golfer, with practice, soon learns that a given fractional setting might work better for him or her i.e. instead of the exact setting of a height indicator on the case reference, a fractional turn such as a one half or a one quarter setting of a height indicator before or beyond the case reference, as an example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the various embodiments of the present invention. [0013]
FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention, and illustrates a divot tool and ball marker. [0014]
FIGS. 3, 4, [0015] 5, and 6 illustrate the various embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 7, 7A, [0016] 8, and 8A indicate a correlation of height indicators versus tee placement.
FIGS. 9, 10, and [0017] 11 illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a [0018] combination golf apparatus 1 comprising a case 2, a screw 3, and a divot tool 4.
Referring to FIG. 2, the [0019] case 2 comprises a clearance 2A, a divot tool clearance 2B, ledges 2C, a protrusion 2D, projections 2E (shown in FIG. 3), and a case reference 2F (shown in FIG. 1). The ledges 2C in conjunction with the divot tool clearance 2B serve to contain the divot tool 4. When repairing a divot, the divot tool 4 can be moved downward from the case 2 sufficiently to use it to work on the divot to replace it into the turf from which the divot was dislodged by a golfer.
Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, [0020] 5 and 6, the screw 3 comprises a head 3A, a recess 3B, at least one helical groove 3C, a magnet 3D, a sloped recess 3F (shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6), a convex surface 3G, and tee height indicators 3H. The golfer places a metallic ball marker 3E on the magnet 3D for convenience in carrying said ball marker 3E. The ball marker 3E is usable to mark the position of a ball on a green when said ball needs to be removed from said green so another player can putt. The sloped recess 3F permits a golfer to press down on an edge of the ball marker 3E for ease of the ball marker 3E removal from the magnet 3D. The at least one groove 3C matches up with the protrusion 2D and the projections 2E to control the linear position of the screw 3 within the case 2. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the helical groove 3C with one and one inch of linear travel per rotation of the screw 3 within the case 2 works well for ten settings corresponding to ten common golf club variations running from a wedge, through number 1, 2, and 3 woods, through numbers 4 through 9 irons.
In operation, after a golfer has selected his club, the golfer rotates the [0021] screw 3 within the case 4 until the club number indicated by the tee height indicator 3H matches the case reference 2F of the case 2. Referring to FIG. 4, the device 1 is inserted over a golf tee 5 so that the convex surface 3G of the screw 3 mates with the golf tee 5. The golf tee 5 is inserted into the ground 100 (shown in FIG. 7) until the case 2 touches the ground. The golf tee 5 is now set at a height with respect to the ground 100 in accordance with the height setting determined by the matching of a tee height indicator 3H and the case reference 2F. Arrow A in FIGS. 7, 7A, 8, and 8A illustrate a correlation between golf tee height settings and tee height indicators 2F. An advantage of the device 1 is that it permits repetitive settings at a repeatable given height. This is important for consistent golf ball striking. If a golfer finds that for his clubs and optimum performance is set the tee height indicators 2F slightly different for his club performance, this is easily accomplished by eyeballing a Kentucky windage factor, i.e. setting a tee height indicator 3H a fractional turn ahead of, or behind, the case referenced 2F. A prime advantage of the device 1 is that it permits repeatable settings.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the combination of at least one [0022] helical groove 3C in the screw 3 and the protrusion 2D and projections 2E in the case 2 work well. An alternate embodiment of threads in both the case 2 and the screw 3 was not as convenient for manual manipulation of the device 1 in operation.
Except for the [0023] magnet 3D, the preferred material of construction of the present invention is an injection moldable structural grade plastic. The magnet 3D can be made of any suitable magnetic material.
Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. [0024]
For example, while the invention is discussed in terms of setting golf tees into the ground at predetermined heights, the basic mechanism may well have other applications, such as setting pins in a substrate, such as nails in wall for picture hanging, or setting studs at varying heights, or nails for temporary structures such as concrete forms where it is desirable to have the nails driven in completely so as to facilitate teardown. Currently this is accomplished with a special double headed nail, which is more expensive than a conventional nail. [0025]
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. [0026]

Claims

I claim:

1. A device for setting a pin into a substrate at a controlled height, such as a golf tee into the ground, comprising:

a case and

a screw,

wherein the screw is contained within the case and interconnected by means of a projection and protrusions into a helical groove, so that rotating the screw with respect to the case results in linear travel of the screw with respect to the case,

wherein the case has a clearance to receive the screw,

wherein the screw can be adjusted linearly within the case,

wherein there are either height indicators or a reference on the case with either a reference on the screw to match the height indicators on the case or height indicators on the screw to match a reference on the case,

wherein, once the screw is adjusted within the case to an appropriate setting, the screw is placed onto the pin and the pin pushed into the substrate until the case touches the substrate, resulting in the pin inserted to a desired repeatable installed height.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a divot tool which is contained within the case.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the screw has a head with a magnet for retaining a ball marker.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the screw has a head with a recess that facilitates removal of a retained ball marker.