Patent Publication Number: US-2006014596-A1

Title: Golf ball teeing apparatus and tee

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/589,115 entitled GOLF BALL TEEING APPARATUS, filed on Jul. 19, 2004, by Konrad H. Marcus et al., the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a golf ball teeing device.  
      Golf has become an increasingly popular activity which individuals can enjoy throughout their life. Many golfers, as they age, incur joint problems which, although still allowing arm movement and body rotation, prevent or make it very painful to bend over. Such motion is required for teeing a golf ball as well as retrieving the ball from the cup once holed.  
      There have been proposed numerous devices for assisting such golfers in teeing and retrieving their golf balls. Such devices usually take the form of an extension arm which includes a ball and tee holding mechanism at one end and a ball retrieving suction cup at an opposite end. Representative of such golfing aids are those devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,609,198; 4,529,432; 4,589,661; 4,951,947; 5,330,177; 5,330,178; 5,439,213; 5,632,696; 5,669,646; and 5,759,117.  
      Although these patents represent devices which suggest some solutions to the problems encountered by many golfers, they have not met with widespread success due either to their cost, reliability over long-term use, or their difficulty or complexity to use. Thus, there remains a need for a cost effective, reliable, and easy to use golf ball teeing device and ball retriever.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A golf ball teeing device includes an outer tube having an easily gripped handle at one end, a spring-loaded concentric inner tube slidably mounted within the outer tube and including an end with a ball-engaging spring biased tip. A movable trigger is coupled to the inner tube for moving the inner tube to a retracted position. The teeing device further includes a concave ball-receiving foot coupled to the outer tube at an end remote from the handle and positioned in spaced relationship with respect to the tip end of the inner tube. The foot is configured to hold a tee. When the inner tube is extended for holding a ball between the tee-holding foot and the tip end of the inner tube, a trigger lock holds the inner tube in place, such that the tee can be inserted into the ground. The moveable tip at the end of the inner tube is coupled to a spring for urging the tip into a ball-engaging position to provide a positive locked ball and tee engaging relationship between said foot and tip end of said inner tube. Subsequent to teeing a ball, the trigger is unlocked allowing the inner tube to be retracted to release the teed golf ball. A tee is provided which cooperates with the device and is more easily handled than standard tees.  
      These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a left side elevational view of the golf ball teeing device of the present invention;  
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  are enlarged, fragmentary, vertical cross-sectional views of the ball-holding device shown in  FIG. 1 , shown in a golf ball and tee holding position;  
       FIG. 2C  is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of the area IIC of  FIG. 2B ;  
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are views of  FIGS. 2A and 2B , shown with the device in a golf ball releasing position and with a tee retrieving fork extended;  
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the foot end of the golf ball teeing device;  
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the handle of the golf ball teeing device;  
       FIG. 6  is a fragmentary enlarged bottom view of the outer tube showing the slot for receiving the sliding trigger mechanism;  
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical cross-sectional view of the foot of the teeing device, shown during the teeing of a golf ball in the ground;  
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical cross-sectional view of the foot of the teeing device, shown being removed from the now teed golf ball;  
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical cross-sectional view, showing the tee and the tee pick-up fork extended to retrieve the tee;  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the foot of the teeing device;  
       FIG. 11  is a side elevational view of one preferred embodiment of a tee for use with the teeing device of the present invention;  
       FIG. 12  is a top plan view of the tee shown in  FIG. 11 ;  
       FIG. 13  is a front elevational view of the tee of  FIG. 11 , shown with a golf ball thereon;  
       FIG. 14  is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of a tee for use with the teeing device of the present invention;  
       FIG. 15  is a top plan view of the tee shown in  FIG. 14 ; and  
       FIG. 16  is a front elevational view of the tee of  FIG. 14 , shown with a golf ball thereon. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      The golf ball teeing device  10  is shown in  FIG. 1  and includes an outer cylindrical anodized aluminum tube  20  to which a polymeric pistol grip handle  30  is attached. The outer tube  20  has an end insert cap  22  ( FIGS. 2B and 3B ) at the handle end with a ball pick-up resilient socket  28  attached thereto. The teeing device  10  includes a hook  12  mounted near the pistol grip handle  30  for attaching the device to a golf bag or cart for transportation during a golf game. The pistol grip handle includes a sliding trigger assembly  40  which is coupled to a sliding spring-loaded bolt  42  within outer tube  20 . Bolt  42  has one end  35  ( FIGS. 2B and 3B ) coupled to an end of an inner tube  50  slidably and concentrically mounted, as is bolt  42 , within outer tube  20 . The trigger assembly  40  is coupled to this bolt through a sear  44 A and  44 B ( FIG. 5 ), which extends through a slot  24  ( FIG. 6 ) in outer tube  20  and into a recess  46  ( FIGS. 2B and 3B ) in bolt  42 . Fasteners, such as screws  45  ( FIG. 6 ) secure the sear  44 A,  44 B to bolt  42 . A further description of the trigger assembly  40  follows the description of the bolt and inner and outer tube assemblies.  
      Teeing device  10  further includes a foot assembly  60  mounted to the opposite end of outer tube  20  from handle  30  for selectively holding and releasing a golf ball  70  and tee  75  for the teeing of the ball in the ground, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 ; subsequently removal of the device from the teed ball, as shown in  FIG. 8 ; and the retrieval of the tee from the ground, as shown in  FIG. 9 . An inner tube  50  extends concentrically within outer tube  20  and is coupled to the left end  35  of bolt  42 , as seen in  FIGS. 2B and 3B , while a compression spring  52  is coupled to the right end of bolt  42  and engages the cap  22 . Spring  52 , therefore, urges the bolt  42  and inner tube  50  to an extended position, as seen in  FIGS. 1, 2A ,  2 B, and  7 . As described below, in this position, the inner tube  50  is locked against movement to the right, as viewed in  FIGS. 2A and 2B .  
      The end of inner tube  50  remote from bolt  42  includes a tip assembly  54  ( FIG. 4 ) which includes a polymeric golf ball engaging tip member  53  having an end  55  with a concave indentation  56  ( FIGS. 7-9 ). The tip member  53  is surrounded by a compression spring  57  and includes a pair of outwardly extending resilient tabs  58  which extend through spring  57 , as seen in  FIGS. 7-9 , and snap-fits into a mounting collar  59  which extends into and is secured to the open end  51  of inner tube  50 . Thus, tip member  53  provides a small incremental adjustment of about 0.25 inches, such that, when the inner tube is in an extended position, such as shown in  FIG. 7 , the golf ball  70  is held against the upper concave surface  77  of tee  75 , with an amount of compression (about 4.5 pounds) sufficient to hold the ball in place while the ball is being teed by pushing the handle  30  in a downward direction, as indicated by arrow A in  FIG. 7 . The foot assembly  60  cradles the ball in position with respect to the tee  75  and includes molded polymeric halves  61 A and  61 B having mating ends which define concave, spaced-apart ball-receiving concave walls  62 A and  62 B which, when assembled as shown in  FIG. 10 , define a tee-receiving slot  64 . The concave curved walls  62 A and  62 B surround and encompass about one-third of a golf ball, as illustrated in  FIGS. 7-9 , and have a radius of curvature corresponding to a radius of curvature of a golf ball as does the concave recess  56  of tip  55 .  
      The foot assembly  60  further includes a rectangular slot  66  ( FIG. 10 ), which extends longitudinally along the length of the foot assembly and includes an opening  67  ( FIGS. 2A and 3A ) through the end thereof, such that a tee-retrieving fork  80  can be slidably received therein and can be retracted into the storage position, as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 7  and  8 , and extended and locked into a use position, as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 9 . For such purpose, the fork  80  ( FIG. 4 ) includes a spring-loaded locking pin  82  which extends within one of two locking apertures  84  or  86  in foot assembly  60  for locking the tee-retrieving fork in an extended position or a retracted position. Further, the fork  80  can be removed from the foot assembly  60  for cleaning by retracting pin  82  and sliding the fork  80  from slot  66  upwardly toward the pistol grip  30  of the teeing device, if desired. The foot assembly  60  is integrally molded of a suitable material, such as polyvinyl chloride, ABS, polycarbonate, or the like, and includes a collar  63  with a circular opening  65  ( FIG. 10 ) for extending over the outer tube  20 , as seen in  FIGS. 1, 2A ,  2 B, and  7 - 9 . Suitable fasteners, such as screws  67  ( FIG. 4 ), secure the foot assembly  60  to the end of outer tube  20 . The trigger assembly  40  and handle  30  cooperate to selectively hold the inner tube  50  in an extended locked position or, when the trigger is squeezed, to a retracted position utilizing the structure now described.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 2B, 2C ,  3 B, and  5 , it is seen that the pistol grip handle  30  comprises two polymeric molded halves  31 A and  31 B, which are secured to the outer tube  20  in fixed relationship thereto by means of fastening screws  33 . Thus, the pistol-shaped grip handle  30  remains stationary with respect to the outer tube  20 . The trigger assembly  40  includes a pair of trigger halves  41 A and  41 B which are secured to the sear sections  44 A and  44 B and which are captively held between sections  41 A and  41 B of the trigger in fixed relationship thereto by a fastening screw  43 , while a pivot pin  45  pivotally mounts a trigger lock  47  to the trigger members  41 A and  41 B. The trigger lock  47  is pivotally mounted by the pivot pin between a locking position, as seen in  FIG. 2B . In this position, a compression spring  48 , which is captively held by a mounting boss  49  on the generally L-shaped trigger lock  47  at one end and fits within a slot  39  in sear  44 , biases lock  47  clockwise to a locking position, as seen in  FIG. 2B . In this position, an end  38  of trigger lock  47  engages a wall  37  of handle  30 , which prevents the inner tube  50  attached to bolt  42  from moving rearwardly due to the connection between sear  44 , trigger lock  47 , and the locking connection between end  38  and wall  37  of handle assembly  30 . Thus, when the ball is positioned within the device as shown in  FIG. 7 , the inner tube cannot retract and the tip assembly  54  holds the ball cradled against the tee within the concave curved walls  62  of foot assembly  60 .  
      The operation of the device in loading the golf ball and tee is now presented in connection with  FIGS. 2A, 2B ,  2 C,  7 , and  8 . Initially, the trigger lock  47  is squeezed rearwardly, rotating the end  38  of trigger lock counterclockwise above wall  37  in pistol handle  30 , such that the end  38  can now slide in an open slot  32  (above wall  37 ) formed in handle  30 , as seen in  FIG. 3B . This allows the trigger  40  to be simultaneously squeezed to slide rearwardly compressing spring  52  while bringing bolt  42  and inner tube  50  to a ball and tee receiving position, as illustrated in  FIG. 3A . In this position, a tee  75  is inserted into the tee-receiving slot  64  and a ball  70  is positioned in the concave recess  76  of tee  75 , and the hand grip pressure on trigger lock  47  and trigger  40  is released. This allows the compression spring  52  to expand into the position shown in  FIG. 2B , while the compression spring  48  pivots the end  38  of trigger lock  47  into a position to engage wall  37 , as seen in  FIG. 2B . With the compression spring  52 , bolt  42 , and inner tube  50  moved to the left as shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the golf ball  70  and tee  75  are securely held in a teeing position.  
      The user then orients device  10  in a vertical position, as shown in  FIG. 7 , at a location on the tee box where it is desired to tee the ball. Handle  30  is then pushed downwardly to compress spring  57  of the tip assembly  54  slightly until its travel limit has been reached. After which, a further downward force against the locked inner tube  50  inserts the tee into the ground, as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . Once the ball has been teed to a desired height, which can be controlled by the dimension D of the foot assembly  60  as seen in  FIG. 7 , if desired for the minimum ball height, the trigger lock  47  is again squeezed simultaneously with squeezing the trigger  40  to allow the trigger assembly to be slid rearwardly to the position shown in  FIGS. 3A, 3B , and  FIG. 8 . In this position, tip  55  of the teeing device is spaced from ball  70  sufficiently to allow the device  10  to be retracted, as shown by arrow B in  FIG. 8 , from the teed ball.  
      Once the golfer strikes the ball, the tee can be picked up without bending over by extending the tee retrieval fork  80 , as seen in  FIG. 9 , utilizing the fork slot  85  to engage the outer diameter of the spike  72  of tee  75  in a force fitting coupling to allow the tee to be picked up by the golfer without bending over. Similarly, when the golfer has holed the putt on a green, the device can be inverted with the ball pickup resilient socket  28  mounted on the pistol grip end of the outer tube  20  to be extended into the cup and grip the ball for removal of the ball from the cup.  
      One form of a tee  75  used with a teeing device having a handle at one end and a ball-receiving foot at an opposite end includes a spike  72  and an integrally formed ball-receiving head  77 . The head includes a concave ball-receiving recess  73  and has an outer diameter of about 0.75 inches. The junction of the spike  72  and head  77  is substantially orthogonal with a radius of curvature no greater than about 0.05 inches. The tee  75  is about 0.27 inches in length. This tee is somewhat oversized for ease of handing with teeing device  10  and is integrally molded of a polymeric material, such as Nylon 6/6, polycarbonate or other material, which can withstand the repeated impact forces of a driver.  
      One embodiment of a preferred tee of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 11-13 . In  FIG. 11 , a tee  90  is shown which is preferably integrally molded of a polymeric material, such as Nylon 6/6, polycarbonate or other polymeric material, although it can be manufactured of traditional materials, such as wood. Tee  90  includes a head section  92  and an integral spike section  94  with the head  92  having an upper surface  93  which is concavely curved and which integrally includes three upwardly extending tines  95 - 97  with ends  98 , which are concavely curved, as best seen in  FIG. 11 . The tines extend at approximately 120° intervals on the outer periphery  91  of head  92  and extend upwardly from the surface  93  a distance of at least approximately 0.1 inches or more. Spike  94  is tapered inwardly from a diameter near the head of about 0.25 inches to the tip  99 , which is formed to a point for ease of insertion of the spike into the ground. The head  92  has a diameter of about 0.75 inches and the spike has a length of about 2.7 inches to cooperatively engage the ball-receiving foot of the teeing device  10  of the present invention. The junction of the spike and head  92  is substantially orthogonal (radius of curvature of about 0.05 inches), as best seen in the side views of  FIGS. 11 and 13 . With the tee  90 , as best seen in  FIG. 13 , a ball  70  is positioned on the concavely curved ends  98  of the tines  95 - 97  and spaced above surface  93  a distance corresponding to the height of the tines, which supports the ball with a minimum amount of contact with the tee, thereby easing the release of the ball from the tee when struck by a club.  
      A second alternative embodiment of the tee which can be used with the teeing device  10  is shown in  FIGS. 14-16  and has overall dimensions which are substantially the same as tee  90 . Tee  100  includes a head  102 , and integral spike  104  with the head  102  including four upwardly extending tines  105 ,  106 ,  107 , and  108 , as best seen in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . Each of the tines  105 - 108  have upwardly curved, concavely curved surfaces  109  and are spaced at approximately 90° intervals. Like the tines of the  FIGS. 11-13  embodiment, the tines extend upwardly from the concave upper surface  103  of head  102  a distance of about 0.1 inches or more. The spike or tee  100  is tapered inwardly from the head to the tip  110 , which is pointed to ease insertion of the spike  100  in the ground. The tee is preferably integrally molded of a polymeric material, such as Nylon 6/6, polycarbonate or other suitable material, although it could be machined from wood. Ball  70  is held on the four equally spaced tines of tee  100 , as seen in  FIG. 16 , to support the ball above the concave surface  103  of the head  102  of tee, such that a minimum contact is made with the ball, which is stably supported on the concavely curved ends of the tines. As in the earlier embodiment, the concave radius of curvature is approximately that of the ball  70 , such that the ball is cooperatively held by the tines, as seen in  FIG. 16 .  
      The teeing device of the present invention, which employs polymeric molded foot assembly, a trigger assembly, a handle assembly, and a pair of concentric tubes and compression springs represents a relatively inexpensive but highly reliable construction for a device which is easy to use, intuitive in its operation, and which allows a golfer with limited flexibility to enjoy the game of golf. Both the inner and outer tubes are manufactured of anodized aluminum while the tee-retrieving fork  80  was made of chromium-plated steel for durability. The springs employed are similarly treated to be weather resistant to assure long life of the device.  
      It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the preferred embodiment of the invention as described herein can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.