Abstract:
A flexible football tee for supporting a football at a selected elevation above the ground. The football tee provides a steady base resistant to movement, and provides uniformity in the football placement. The football tee provides virtually no resistance to movement of the foot of a kicker as the football is struck, thereby reducing variables in the transfer of momentum from the foot to the football. The football tee is reusable and provides a surface for presentation of printed matter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to the field of football tees. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved football tee which provides flexible support for a football.  
           [0002]    The function of football tees is simple. A football tee provides support to elevate a football above the ground to facilitate impact between a football and a kicker&#39;s foot. Numerous football tee concepts have been developed to accomplish this seemingly simple function.  
           [0003]    A conventional football tee was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,087 to Cullity (1964), and an adjustable football tee was described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,602 to Tatter (1969).  
           [0004]    The unique requirements of soccer style kickers were addressed by Jan Stenerud of the Kansas City Chiefs in his patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,910 (1983), wherein the back of a football tee was configured to the foot orientation of a soccer style kicker. An improvement to football ball tees for soccer style kickers was noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,397 to Kopp (1985), wherein a flexible cone shaped football tee had a cutout for permitting passage of the football after impact from the kicker&#39;s foot.  
           [0005]    Various tripod style football tees were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,122 to Kline (1987), in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,880 to Deal (1989), in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,165 to Rambacher (1990), and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,445 to Treadwell et al. (1996). A similar approach was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,135 to Bourgeois (1992).  
           [0006]    Recent football tee concepts were disclosed by Spiegel et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,252 (1987), in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,453 (1987), in U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,316B1 (2001), and in design Pat. Nos. 305,448 (1990), in 372,062 (1996), in 383,816 (1997), in 383,817 (1997), in 391,275 (1998), and in 392,705 (1998).  
           [0007]    Although numerous football tees have been developed, existing football tees interfere with the impact to the football and provide a potential risk to players on the field. A need exists for an improved football tee which provides stability for football support, permits unique placements of the football, and provides limited resistance to movement of a foot contacting the football.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The invention provides an apparatus for supporting a football on the ground as the football is contact with a foot. The apparatus comprises a pedestal base formed with a flexible material, wherein said base has a lower end for contacting the ground, and wherein said base has an upper end for supporting the football at a selected elevation above the ground. In different embodiments of the invention, the base can be cylindrical or can be shaped as an oval or in other configurations. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 illustrates a flexible base for supporting a ball such as a football.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the orientation of a base and football vertical to the ground.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the orientation of a base and football 15 degrees from vertical.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the orientation of a base and football 45 degrees from vertical.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the orientation of a base and football 90 degrees from vertical.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 10 illustrates the position of a flexible tee after use.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 11 illustrates a base upper end angled to the ground surface.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 12 illustrates a base having a varying wall thickness.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 13 illustrates a base formed from a mesh material. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    The invention provides a superior football tee which does not interfere with the transfer of momentum from a kicker&#39;s foot to a football. The invention facilitates orientation of the football toward a target such as a goal post or distal position on the football field.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 illustrates on embodiment of the invention wherein flexible base  10  supports a ball such as football  12 . Base  10  comprises a light weight material formed as a structure to rest on ground  14 , with sufficient strength to support football at a selected elevation and orientation above ground  14 . Base  10  has lower end  16  in contact with ground  14  and has upper end  18  for contacting and supporting ball  12 . Base  10  provides sufficient stability for ball  12  without penetrating the surface of ground  14 , and such stability resists ball movement during high winds.  
         [0020]    Base  10  is formed with a flexible material such as rubber, plastic, nylon, or other material offering properties of durability, flexibility, and minimal mass. When contacted with a kicker&#39;s foot as shown in FIG. 2, base  10  elastically deforms to provide virtually no resistance to the movement of the kicker&#39;s foot. Such minimal resistance permits the momentum of the kicker&#39;s foot to be more nearly completely transferred to ball  12  without deflecting or otherwise interfering with the dynamic contact between the kicker&#39;s foot and ball  12 .  
         [0021]    Base  10  provides sufficient strength to support ball  12  at a selected elevation above ground  14 . The configuration of base  16  provides sufficient strength while permitting use of a material capable of providing minimal resistance to the side impact created by the kicker&#39;s foot. The support provided by base  10  is superior to the small contact provided by conventional three prong football tees because a larger surface area of upper end  18  can contact ball  12 , thereby providing superior ball stability in high wind conditions. The lower end  16  of base  10  does not have to be larger in diameter or circumference than upper end  18  to provide the requisite stability for ball  12 .  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the orientation of ball  12  in a vertical orientation and the relative deformation of base  10  as a substantial circle in plan view.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIGS. 4 and 5 show the orientation of ball  12  in a position angled fifteen degrees from vertical. The invention provides consistent stability to ball  12  regardless of the direction of ball  12  angle relative to the goal post or other target. Whereas a conventional style kicker would lean ball  12  back toward the kicker, a soccer style kicker might place ball  12  at a forty-five degree angle sideways as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. When ball  12  is vertical the center of mass for ball  12  is in the center of base  10 , and base  10  will retain a substantially circular plan view configuration as illustrated in FIG. 3. When ball  12  is angled away from vertical, the center of mass for ball  12  shifts and base  12  elastically deforms to form an oval or ellipsoid in plan view as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7. The unique configuration of base  10  permits such automatic adjustment as the ball is moved, without requiring special movement or orientation of base  10  to compensate for such movement of ball  12 . Throughout the different movement of ball  12  relative to base  10 , upper base end  18  remains in continuous contact with ball  12  to provide exceptional stability for different field and climactic conditions.  
         [0024]    If the maximum elevation allowable for ball  12  is two inches, the height of base  10  can be selected to provide the maximum elevation in view of the flexible nature of base  10 . When ball  12  is placed in a horizontal or flat orientation for the initiation of an onsides kick such as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, upper end  18  of base  10  will deform to the exterior surface of ball  12 , thereby reducing the effective elevation above ground  14 .  
         [0025]    After ball  12  has been kicked away from base  10  the loose base  10  does not present a tripping or impact threat to players on the playing field. If base  10  is sufficiently thin and flexible, base  10  will fold to lie substantially flat on the playing field as illustrated in FIG. 10, further reducing the possibility that such base  10  would interfere with play.  
         [0026]    As shown in FIG. 1, the exterior surface of base  10  provides one or more surfaces for displaying printed matter such as letters, names, or logos. This feature of the invention is not practical on conventional football tees because of the configuration of such devices. By permitting a larger, flexible base to be used in support of ball  12 , printed matter can be added to base  10  without interfering with contact between the kicker&#39;s foot and ball  12 . Such printed matter can include directional marks to facilitate the kicker in lining up to ball  12  in relative to goalposts or other targets, and can include marks or words accomplishing additional functions.  
         [0027]    The invention provides other useful features toward improving kicking accuracy and distance. As shown in FIG. 11, upper base end  18  can be angled relative to ground  14  to facilitate placement of ball  12  on base  10 , or upper base end  18  can be substantially in a plane parallel to ground  14  as illustrated in the preferred embodiments. FIG. 12 shows that the wall thickness of base  10  can be varied in different ways to accomplish different performance characteristics, and FIG. 13 shows that one or more holes or apertures can be placed in base  10 , or that base  10  can be configured from a mesh material to further accomplish the desired performance characteristics.  
         [0028]    The invention provides numerous advantages over prior art football tees. The invention provides superior stability for the football, particularly in gusty wind conditions. The flexible base is sufficiently light and flexible to provide virtually no resistance to the kicker&#39;s foot, and removes hazards presented by the possibility of a player stepping on the tee later in play.  
         [0029]    Although the invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, it will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications and improvements can be made to the inventive concepts herein without departing from the scope of the invention. The embodiments shown herein are merely illustrative of the inventive concepts and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention.