US20140057740A1

US20140057740A1 - Golf tee

Info

Publication number: US20140057740A1
Application number: US13/665,936
Authority: US
Inventors: Yu-Song Liao; Chia-Tsung HSUEH
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-08-21
Filing date: 2012-11-01
Publication date: 2014-02-27
Also published as: CN103623556A; TW201408351A

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an improved golf tee, which has a body and a retaining member. The body is composed of a ball-supporting cup, a shank and a dentated trench. The dentated trench is disposed on the outer surface of the shank, and is composed of a longitudinal groove, and a plurality of rectangular slots. The retaining member includes an interior cavity, and a tab extended from the inner surface of the interior cavity. The retaining member is capable of moving along the longitudinal groove on the shank by engaging the tab with any of the plurality of rectangular slots, thereby allows the user to adjust the retaining member to any desirable position on the body of the golf tee.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to a Taiwan Patent Application No. 101130224, filed on Aug. 21, 2012; the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a golf tee. More particularly, the disclosure invention relates to an improved golf tee having a structure that allows a user to select and adjust the golf tee to a desirable height before inserting it into the ground.
2. Description of Related Art
With golfing gradually becomes popular in recent years, playing golf is now a well-accepted sport in many countries. However, to play it well requires not just a lot of practices, but also the aid of proper facilities; especially when teeing off, at which circumstance, most golfers would require the aid of a golf tee. Specifically, by placing the ball on the golf tee to elevate its height prior to striking, this will improve the effective striking distance made by the user. Furthermore, one needs accumulated experiences for setting up the proper depth or height of the golf tee to accommodate various landscape changes in different golf courts. Therefore, golfing is not an easy sport to take on, especially for a beginner.
The known golf tees, especially those with adjustable heights, i.e., those that allow users to determine the depth of the tee needed to be inserted into the ground, are usually composed of a body, a plurality of plastic sleeves capable of stacking on to one another, and a retaining member. The height of the tee is adjusted by how many plastic sleeves are looped through the body and staked and fixed via the retaining member. By controlling the number of the plastic sleeves, the user may adjust the golf tee to a desirable height before inserting it into the ground, and with the bottom of the retaining member comes into contact with the ground it provide extra support to the golf tee. However, such known golf-tees suffer from the disadvantages of not being able to control their heights in a more precise manner, and are easily lost due to lack of storing means for the plurality of plastic sleeves.
In view of the foregoing, there exists in the related art a need for an improved golf tee, which allows the user to adjust the insertion or penetration depth of the golf tee into the ground in a more precision manner, so as to improve the stability of the golf tee, as well as the golfer's striking accuracy.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/critical elements of the present invention or delineate the scope of the present invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The present disclosure relates to an improved golf tee, which has a body and a retaining member, and allows the user to adjust the insertion or penetration depth of the golf tee into the ground as well as stabilizes the golf tee after the insertion.
In view of the foregoing purposes, the golf tee of the present disclosure is characterized to include a body and a retaining member. The body is composed of a ball-supporting cup, a shank and a dentated trench. The ball-supporting cup is disposed at the upper end of the body. The shank extends downward from the bottom of the ball-supporting cup toward the lower end of the body and gradually forms a tapered end for easily penetrating or inserting the body of the golf tee into the ground. The dentated trench is disposed on the outer surface of the shank, and is composed of a longitudinal groove and a plurality of rectangular slots. The longitudinal groove is oriented to be parallel to the vertical direction of the shank, and the plurality of rectangular slots are disposed vertically along at least one side of the longitudinal groove. Furthermore, the retaining member includes an interior cavity and a tab that is extended from the inner surface of the interior cavity. The retaining member may move along the longitudinal groove on the shank by engaging the tab with any of the plurality of rectangular slots, thereby allows the user to adjust the retaining member to any desirable position on the body of the golf tee.
According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the golf tee further comprises a level indicator disposed at the center of the ball-supporting cup.
According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of rectangular slots are disposed vertically along one or both sides of the longitudinal groove. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of rectangular slots are alternatively disposed vertically along both sides of the longitudinal groove.
In on example, any two adjacent rectangular slots on the same side are spaced apart in a distance between about 0.1 to about 2 cm. Preferably, the distance is between about 0.2 to about 0.5 cm. In another example, any two adjacent rectangular slots on the same side are spaced apart equally, or the distance between any two adjacent rectangular slots is the same.
According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the golf tee further comprises a securing nail and a connecting member. The securing nail is couple to the retaining member of the golf tee via the connecting member. The connecting member may be a piece of thread.
According to various embodiments of this invention, the ball-supporting cup or the shank may be made from plastics, metals, synthetic materials (e.g., a synthetic rubber), or natural materials (e.g., wood or bamboo).
Many of the attendant features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomes better understood with reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present description will be better understood from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a golf tee 100 in according with one embodiment of this invention;

FIGS. 2A-2C are schematic drawings of the body 110 in accordance with various embodiments of this invention;

FIGS. 3A-3C are schematic drawings of the retaining member 140 in accordance with various embodiments of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of the golf tee 100 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of the golf tee 100 in accordance with still another embodiment of this invention.

In accordance with common practice, the various described features/elements are not drawn to scale but instead are drawn to best illustrate specific features/elements relevant to the present invention. Also, like reference numerals and designations in the various drawings are used to indicate like elements/parts.

DESCRIPTION

The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present example may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.
The singular forms “a”, “and”, and “the” are used herein to include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The plural forms “a plurality of” and “the plurality of” are used herein to include two or more referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The objective of this invention is to provide a golf tee that allows the user to adjust the insertion or penetration depth of the golf tee into the ground in a more precise manner, hence allows the user, particularly an inexperience user, may easily strike a desirable curve ball with the aid of the golf tee set at a desirable height. In view of the foregoing objective, the present disclosure therefore provides an improved golf tee that allows the user to select and adjust the golf tee to a desirable height before inserting it into the ground in a more accurate or precise manner. Furthermore, for the purpose of allowing a curve ball being struck more easily, the golf tee of the present disclosure further comprises a level indicator, which assists the user to adjust the inclination of the golf tee so as to control the striking angle of the golf ball when the user is making a swing. Furthermore, a securing nail is attached to the golf tee via a connecting member for further securing the golf tee into the ground to prevent the golf tee from being lost when strikes are made during golfing; which in turn may further reduce the cost for a new placing tee.
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a golf tee 100 in accordance with one embodiment of this invention. The golf tee 100 includes a body 110 and a retaining member 140. The body 110 is composed of a ball-supporting cup 120, a shank 130 and a dentated trench 150. The ball-supporting cup 120 is concavely recessed and disposed at the upper end of the body 110 for supporting a golf ball. The shank 130 extends downward from the bottom of the ball-supporting cup 120 toward the lower end of the body 110 and gradually forms a tapered end for easily penetrating the body 110 of the golf tee 100 into the ground. The dentated trench 150 is disposed on the outer surface of the shank 130, and is composed of a longitudinal groove 152 and a plurality of rectangular slots 154. The longitudinal groove 152 is oriented to be parallel to the vertical direction of the shank 130, and the plurality of rectangular slots 154 are disposed vertically along at least one sides of the longitudinal groove 152.
According to various embodiments of this invention, the body 110 may be made from plastics, metals, synthetic materials (e.g., a synthetic rubber), or natural materials (e.g., wood or bamboo). The body 110 of the golf tee 100 of this invention may be made from any suitable material via any known or equivalent method. For example, the body 110 of the golf tee 100 may be inject-molded from plastics or rubber. Alternatively, the body 110 may be pressed-molded or cut-molded from any metals or natural materials. In optional embodiments, the ball-supporting cup 120 and the shank 130 may be respectively made from different materials. For instance, the ball-supporting cup 120 may be made from the synthetic rubber for prolonging its tolerance to strikes and/or life span; whereas the shank 130 may be made from plastics.
The retaining member 140 may move along the longitudinal groove 152 of the dentated trench 150 and engage itself with the dentated trench 150 on various positions or heights along the shank 130 by locking itself on any of the plurality rectangular slots 154, thereby allows a user to select and adjust the golf tee 100 to a desirable height before subjecting it for penetrating into the ground. The retaining member 140 may be made from plastics, metals, synthetic materials (e.g., a synthetic rubber) or natural materials (e.g., wood or bamboo). However, the body 110 and the retaining member 140 can be made from the same or different materials. In one embodiment, the body 110 and the retaining member 140 are both made from plastics. In another embodiment, the body 110 is made from plastics and the retaining member 140 is made from rubber.
FIGS. 2A-2C are schematic drawings of the body 110 in accordance with various embodiments of this invention.
As depicted in FIG. 2A, the dentated trench 150 of the body 110 is composed by a longitudinal groove 152 and a plurality of rectangular slots 154, in which the longitudinal groove 152 is generally oriented to be parallel to the vertical direction of the shank 130; and the plurality of rectangular slots 154 are disposed vertically along one side of the longitudinal groove 152. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 on the same side are spaced apart by a distance P; and the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 is the same in this example; however, the distance P may be different in other examples. For example, the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 close to the tapered end of the body 110 may be larger than that at the other end opposites the tapered end of the body 110. Alternatively, the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 close to the tapered end of the body 110 may be smaller than that at the other end opposites the tapered end of the body 110. Still alternatively, the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 may vary in accordance with other rules or may be changed in an irregular manner.
In another example, as depicted in FIG. 2B, the plurality of rectangular slots 154 are disposed on both sides of the longitudinal groove 152 and parallel to each other along the vertical direction of the body 110, wherein the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 on the left side of the rectangular slots 154L is larger than that on the right side of the rectangular slots 154R, thereby allows the user to lock or fix the retaining member 140 at a preferable position by moving and engaging the retaining member 140 to a desirable rectangular slot in accordance with the manner described above in FIGS. 1 and 2A.
Alternatively, as depicted in FIG. 2C, the plurality of rectangular slots 154 are alternatively disposed on both sides of the longitudinal groove 152 along the vertical direction of the body 110; in which the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots on the left (i.e., the left rectangular slots 154L) and on the right (i.e., the right rectangular slots 154R) are the same, thereby allows the user to adjust the height of the golf tee 100 in a more accurate or precise manner.
Referring again to FIGS. 2A to 2C, according to one embodiment, the distance P between any two adjacent rectangular slots 154 on the same side is between about 0.1 to about 2 cm, such as about 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, or 2.0 cm. Preferably, the distance P is between about 0.2 to 0.5 cm, such as about 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 cm. Any person having ordinary skill in the art may make appropriate and/or numerous alterations to the distance P depending on the market demands and/or product applications.
FIG. 3A is a schematic drawing of the retaining member 140 in accordance with one embodiment of this invention. The retaining member 140 includes an interior cavity 144 and a tab 142 that is extended from the inner surface of the interior cavity 144.
Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 3, the body 110 of the golf tee 100 is inserted into the interior cavity 144 of the retaining member 140, thereby allowing the retaining member 140 to move along the longitudinal groove 152 on the shank 130 by engaging the tab 142 with any of the plurality of rectangular slots 154. The size of the tab 142 and longitudinal groove 152 are carefully designed so that the tab 142 may move vertically along the longitudinal groove 152 and the retaining member 140 will not come off easily from the body 110. Further, the size of the tab 142 and any of the plurality of rectangular slots 154 are also carefully designed so that the tab 142 may be held by any of the plurality of rectangular slots 154. The height of the retaining member 140 relative to the vertical direction of the body 110 may be adjusted accordingly by afore-mentioned manners, thereby allows the user to adjust the insertion or penetration depth of the golf tee 100 into the ground. According to the spirits and concepts of this invention, the user may adjust the retaining member 140 to any desirable position on the body 110 of the golf tee 100 by sliding and/or pushing the retaining member 140 along the longitudinal groove 152 disposed on the shank 130. Moreover, most users can achieve position change as described above by using just one hand, hence, the golf tee 100 of this invention is easy to use and is superior than that of most similar products currently available on the market.
As described above, the body 110 and the retaining member 140 can be made from the same or different materials, and the retaining member 140 can be made from plastics, metals, synthetic or natural materials (i.e., wood or bamboo).
FIG. 3B is a schematic drawing of the retaining member 140 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention. The retaining member 140 has a trumpet-like structure, which includes a flange 150 disposed on the top of the retaining member 140 for supporting the golf tee 100 when being inserted into the ground.
FIG. 3C is a schematic drawing of the retaining member 140 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention. The retaining member 140 is frusto-conical in structure; hence the diameters of the upper and lower part of the retaining member 140 are different. Specifically, the upper part of the retaining member 140 has a diameter A that is longer than that (i.e., the diameter B) of the lower part of the retaining member 140, hence may provide better support to the golf tee 100 when being inserted into the ground.
In addition, according to another preferable embodiment, the retaining member 140 may have several protrusions and/or screw threads (not shown) disposed thereon its lower surface so as to improve frictions between the retaining member 140 and the ground, and for supporting the golf tee 100 when being inserted into the ground.
FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of the golf tee 100 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention. In this embodiment, the ball-supporting cup 120 of the golf tee 100 further comprises a level indicator 160. The level indicator 160 is a bubble level indicator with a circle 162 marked at its center. When the bubble is located at the center of the circle 162, it indicates that the golf tee 100 is vertical to the ground. In a preferred embodiment, an additional curve 164 is marked on respective right- and left-hand sides of the circle 162 of the level indicator 160. This allows the user to strike a desirable curve ball by setting the bubble to be located on respective lines of the curves 164. In this design, the user may experience the relationship between various horizontal positions of the ball-supporting cup 120 of the golf tee 100 and each swings of the user, so as to improve the user's golfing skill.
FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of the golf tee 100 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention. Note that for illustration purpose, the respective sizes of the securing nail 170 and the golf tee 100 in FIG. 5 are out of proportion. In this embodiment, the golf tee 100 as depicted in FIG. 1 further comprises a securing nail 170 and a connecting member 180. The securing nail 170 is couple to the retaining member 140 via the connecting member 180. For further securing the body 110 of the golf tee 100, the securing nail 170 may also be nailed to the ground to prevent the golf tee 100 from coming off when strikes are made during golfing. The connecting member 180 may be a piece of thread made from cotton, nylon, rubber or similar materials.
It will be understood that the above description of embodiments is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those with ordinary skills in the art. The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although various embodiments of the invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those with ordinary skill in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A golf tee for positioning and supporting a golf ball, comprising:

a body having an upper end and a lower end, which comprises:

a ball-supporting cup disposed at the upper end of the body for supporting the golf ball;

a shank extends downward from the bottom of the ball-supporting cup toward the lower end of the body and gradually forms a tapered end; and

a dentated trench disposed on the shank and is consisted of a longitudinal groove and a plurality of rectangular slots, wherein the longitudinal groove is oriented to be parallel to the vertical direction of the shank and the plurality of rectangular slots are disposed along at least one side of the longitudinal groove; and

a retaining member having an interior cavity and a tab that is extended from the inner surface of the interior cavity;

wherein during operation, the retaining member is capable of moving along the shank by engaging the tab with any of the plurality of rectangular slots to adjust and/or fix the retaining member at a desirable position.

2. The golf tee of claim 1, further comprising a level indicator disposed at the center of the ball-supporting cup.

3. The golf tee of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rectangular slots are disposed on both sides of the longitudinal groove.

4. The golf tee of claim 3, wherein the plurality of rectangular slots are alternatively disposed on each side of the longitudinal groove.

5. The golf tee of claim 1, wherein any two adjacent rectangular slots are spaced between a distance of about 0.1 to 2 cm.

6. The golf tee of claim 5, wherein the distance is about 0.2 to 0.5 cm.

7. The golf tee of claim 5, wherein the distance between any two rectangular slots is the same.

8. The golf tee of claim 5, wherein the distance between any two rectangular slots is different.

9. The golf tee of claim 1, further comprising a securing nail; and a connecting member, wherein the securing nail is coupled to the retaining member via the connecting member.

10. The golf tee of claim 9, wherein the connecting member is a thread.

11. The golf tee of claim 1, wherein the ball-supporting cup is made from a plastic, a metal, a natural or synthetic material.

12. The golf tee of claim 1, wherein the shank is made from a plastic, a metal, a natural or synthetic material.