Abstract:
A golf assistance device for placing a golf ball, the device having different embodiments. One embodiment may be used to place a golf ball and tee while another embodiment of the device may be used to pick up and/or place a golf ball on the ground without a tee. Another embodiment of the device may be adjusted such that the ball and tee are set a desired height. The legs of the device may be locked such that the device may be left unattended in a standing position. However, when inverted, the legs may collapse against the handle of the device to facilitate storing the device in a golf bag.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention generally relates to the game of golf and more particularly to a device which allows a golfer to place and/or retrieve a golf ball without having to bend over. In addition, a ball and tee may be placed within the device and set at a desired height for the golfer to drive the ball.  
         [0002]     Various devices are known for picking up or placing golf balls, allowing a golfer to enjoy a round of golf without excessive bending over. Some devices also claim to be able to place a golf ball in combination with a tee so the golfer may drive the ball. In teeing up a ball, the tee must be set nearly perpendicular to the ground surface in order for the ball to remain balanced in the cup of the tee. In addition, the ground penetrating tip of the tee must be implanted at sufficient depth as to allow the tee to support the weight of the ball. A device which places a ball in combination with a tee should be able to reliably accomplish these two functions on a consistent basis, consistently setting the ball and tee combination at position in the driving box which allows the golfer to properly drive the ball. It would also be desirable for such a device to be adaptable for the golfer to use both long tees and short tees.  
         [0003]     The known devices have various disadvantages, such as being too large for convenient transportation and storage, too complicated, or simply unable to properly function. Other devices, because they do not remain in an upright position, defeat the purpose of the device because the user may have to bend over to pick up the device itself.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention is directed to a golf assistance device which responds to the needs identified above. An embodiment of the device may be used to set a golf ball both with and without a tee, at a desired location on the ground without the golfer having to bend over. An embodiment of the device may also be self-standing, such that the golfer may set the device down upon its legs and it will remain standing, thereby eliminating the need for the user to bend over to retrieve the device. As an additional feature, an embodiment of the device comprises legs which, when the device is inverted, the legs collapse along the shaft of the device, making the device capable of being placed within a golf bag without utilizing excessive space by simply turning the device upside down.  
         [0005]     An embodiment of the device comprises a mandrel comprising claw attachment receptacles, leg attachment receptacles, an operating rod aperture, and a lock engagement fossa. This embodiment further comprises a sliding member where the sliding member comprises an operating rod connected to a ball engagement member. The operating rod is slideably disposed within the operating rod aperture of the mandrel. The ball engagement member comprises a claw activation member and a downwardly facing ball engagement surface. A lock slidably engages the operating rod, where the lock is adapted to gravitationally slide along the operating rod and be received by the lock engagement fossa. This embodiment further comprises a plurality of legs, with each leg comprising a ground engaging end and an attachment end. Each attachment end is pivotally attached to the mandrel. The attachment ends are adapted to be engaged by the lock when the lock is gravitationally disposed within the lock engagement fossa. This embodiment further comprises at least a pair of claws, each claw comprising a pivot end and a free end, the pivot ends each pivotally attached to the mandrel, the free ends each pivotal from a first position to a second position, the first position comprising the position at which the free ends support the underside of a golf ball, such that the upper surface of the golf ball is disposed against the ball engagement surface, the second position comprising the position at which the free ends withdraw from beneath the golf ball, wherein the claws are pivoted from the first position to the second position by reciprocal motion of the claw activation member. A shaft is connected to the operating rod. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of an embodiment of the disclosed apparatus in which the device is in a standing position and preparing to set a golf ball in combination with a tee.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a top view of the disclosed apparatus in which the device is in a standing position.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  shows another side view of an embodiment of the disclosed apparatus in which the device is in a standing position and preparing to set a golf ball in combination with a tee.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  shows a front view in which the device is in a standing position and preparing to set a golf ball in combination with a tee.  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  shows a front view of an embodiment of the disclosed apparatus in which the device has set and released a golf ball in combination with a tee.  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosed apparatus.  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  is a bottom view of an embodiment of the disclosed apparatus.  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  is a view of an embodiment of the disclosed apparatus in an inverted position, showing how the legs of the device fold toward the center axis of the device.  
         [0014]      FIGS. 9-10  show how the claws of the device may be activated by reciprocation of the operating rod thereby releasing the ball and the tee.  
         [0015]      FIG. 11  shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the sliding member.  
         [0016]      FIG. 12  shows a front view of the disclosed apparatus having ball retrieval members, showing the movement of the ball retrieval members.  
         [0017]      FIG. 13  shows a front view of an embodiment of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 12 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 14  shows a side view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     Referring now specifically to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a front view of one embodiment device  20 . As shown in greater detail in  FIG. 6 , this embodiment comprises a mandrel  22  comprising claw attachment receptacles  24 , leg attachment receptacles  26 , an operating rod aperture  28 , and a lock engagement fossa  30 . The lock engagement fossa  30  is a depression which may be machined or otherwise placed in the top or upper side of the mandrel  22 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the lock engagement fossa  30  may be generally circular in shape, and the operating rod aperture  28  may be disposed within the center of the lock engagement fossa, such that the fossa is symmetrically disposed about the operating rod aperture  
         [0020]     This embodiment further comprises a sliding member  32  where the sliding member comprises an operating rod  34  connected to a ball engagement member  36 . The operating rod  34  is slideably disposed within the operating rod aperture  28  of the mandrel  22 . The ball engagement member  36  comprises a claw activation member  38  and a downwardly facing ball engagement surface  40 . A lock  42  slidably engages the operating rod  34 , where the lock is adapted to gravitationally slide along the operating rod and be received by the lock engagement fossa  30 .  
         [0021]     An embodiment of the device further comprises a plurality of legs  44 , with each leg comprising a ground engaging end  46  and an attachment end  48 . Each attachment end  48  may be pivotally attached within the leg attachment receptacles  26  by the use of attachment means, such as pin  49  inserted within an opening  47  in the mandrel  22  and engaging opening  51  of the attachment end  48 . Other attachment means such as rivets, screws, bolts, etc. may also be used to attach legs  44  to the mandrel  22 .  
         [0022]     The attachment ends  48  are adapted to be engaged by the lock  42  when the lock is gravitationally disposed within the lock engagement fossa  30 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the attachment ends may have notch  53  such that the edges  43  of lock  42  engage the notch, thereby locking the legs into place. When the device is in a generally vertical position and oriented as shown in  FIG. 1  with respect to the ground surface, lock  42  will engage the notches  53  of the attachment ends  48 , thereby holding each leg  44  in place. This feature of the device allows the legs of the device to be locked in position such that the device may be left unattended in a standing position.  
         [0023]     However, it is to be appreciated that if the device is inverted, gravity will cause lock  42  to disengage from the attachment ends  48 , allowing the legs  44  to freely pivot from a first standing position, as shown in  FIG. 1 , where the lock is in place, to a second position, where the second position is shown in  FIG. 8 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , this second position may be defined as the position of a leg  44  when a first axis L 1  defined by the leg is generally parallel to a second axis L 2  defined by the operating rod  34 . This feature allows the device to be easily stored within a golf bag, because once the device is inverted, the lock  42  will disengage, and gravity will cause legs  44  to fall into the second position, where the legs are collapsed against the shaft  45 .  
         [0024]     Each leg  44  may further comprise foot assembly  50 . Foot assembly  50  may comprise one or more ground engaging pads  52 , which provide greater stability in variable turf conditions. The foot assemblies  50  further enable an embodiment of the device  20  to maintain a standing position without any support by the user. The length of legs  44  may be adjusted so as to increase the stability of the device. Each foot assembly  50  may further comprise elevation screw  54 , which may be adjusted such that the ball  56  may be set higher off of the ground. This feature, i.e., adjusting the height of ball with respect to the ground, allows a user to select either a long tee or a short tee as desired. As an alternative means of changing the height, foot assemblies may be changed out, and extended reach foot assemblies may be installed.  
         [0025]     The device further comprises at least a pair of claws  60 , each claw comprising a pivot end  62  and a free end  64 . The pivot ends are each pivotally attached to the mandrel  22  within the claw attachment receptacles  24 . The claws  60  may be pivotally attached within the claw attachment receptacles  24  with pin  66  or with other pivotal attachment means, such as a bolt, screw, rivet or other known means, which may be inserted into opening  68  of the pivot end.  
         [0026]     The free end  64  of each claw  60  is pivotal from a first position to a second position. The first position is shown in  FIG. 1 , and is defined as the position at which the free ends  64  of the claws  60  come together and support the underside of a golf ball  56 , such that the upper surface  70  of the golf ball is disposed against the ball engagement surface  40 , shown in  FIG. 11 . The second position comprises the position at which, as described below, the free ends  64  are pushed away from the underside of the golf ball  56 , allowing the golf ball to be released from the device.  
         [0027]     The claws  60  are pivoted from the first position to the second position by reciprocal motion of the sliding member  32  including claw activation member  38 . Claws  60  may further comprise tee aperture  72 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . Tee aperture  72  is dimensioned such that the shaft of a tee  58  fits within the aperture when the claws  60  are in the first position. The cup portion of the tee, with a golf ball  56  disposed within it, is retained above the aperture when the claws  60  are in the first position. This feature allows a golfer to use this embodiment to place a ball  56  disposed upon a tee  58  as desired for driving the ball. As shown in  FIG. 10 , when the claws  60  are pivoted into the second position, the ball  56  and tee  58  may be placed as desired on the ground. It is to be appreciated that while claws  60  are pivoted from the first position to the second position by reciprocation of the claw activation member  38 , the pivoting of the claws is further assisted by the underside of the golf ball  56  acting against the free ends  64  of the claws  60 .  
         [0028]     The claws  60  may be biased in the first position by the use of biasing means, such as an elastic band  74  looping around the outside edge of the claws. The claws  60  may further comprise band retainer notch  75 , which provides an engagement surface for the elastic band  74 . The mandrel  22  may comprise band retainer stays  76  which provide further means for retaining the elastic band  74 . Alternatively, the biasing means may comprise a separate spring attached to each claw  60 , to bias the claws in the first position.  
         [0029]     One embodiment of the device allows the claws  60  to remain locked in the second position. In this embodiment, claw activation member  38  further comprises a locking notch  78  as shown in  FIG. 9 . The locking notch  78  engages a comer  80  of claw  60  as shown in  FIG. 10 . This feature facilitates pulling  
         [0030]     An embodiment of the device which may be used to retrieve golf balls is shown in  FIGS. 12 through 14 . This embodiment comprises ball retrieval members  82  attached to each claw  60  with a variety of fastening means, such as screw  84  or other known means such as rivets, pins, bolts, or bonding means such as glue or welding. As shown in  FIG. 12 , the device  20 ′ may be placed over ball  56 . As the retrieval members  82  are pressed against the ball  56 , the retrieval members spread apart sufficiently to allow the ball to be engaged as shown in  FIG. 13 . Once the ball  56  has passed through retrieval members  82 , biasing means such as elastic band  74  causes the claws  60  to return to the first position, such that ball retrieval members  82  engage the ball as shown in  FIG. 13 .  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , an embodiment of the device may further comprise means for adjusting the height of a golf ball  56  with respect to the grounds as the ball rests upon a tee  58 . Depending upon a golfer&#39;s preference, the ball  56  may be set high or low by adjusting how deeply the device sets the tee  58  into the ground. Operating rod  34  may comprise threads  86 , upon which first adjustment nut  88  is disposed. As shown in  FIG. 10 , adjustment nut  88  adjusts the length of travel of operating rod  34  with respect to mandrel  22 . As adjustment nut  88  engages the top of lock  42  and mandrel  22 , the downward motion of sliding member  32  is stopped, thereby limiting the penetration of tee  58  into the ground. Second adjustment nut  90  may be used to adjust the make-up of shaft  45  onto the operating rod  34 , thereby making the overall length of the device adjustable.  
         [0032]     While the above is a description of various embodiments of the present invention, further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the size, shape, and/or material of the various components may be changed as desired. Thus the scope of the invention should not be limited by the specific structures disclosed. Instead the true scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims.