Patent Abstract:
An elevation tube comprising a substantially cylindrical body having a first end configured to hold a golf ball and a second end configured to insert into the ground. The second end includes a tapered portion, a bullet-like shaped portion, a spike-like shaped portion, a serrated edge, a regularly curved edge or an irregularly curved edge. An elevation tube comprising a substantially cylindrical body having a first end configured to hold a golf ball, the elevation tube being coupleable to a conventional golf tee, wherein when the elevation tube is coupled to the conventional golf tee, the first end of the elevation tube holds the golf ball to the exclusion of a golf ball holding means of the conventional tee.

Full Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE  
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/589,559 entitled “Golf Tee” that was filed on Jan. 23, 2012 and names Lon Klein as inventor. The entirety of that application is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into this application. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]    In golf, a tee is normally used for the first stroke of each hole, and the area from which this first stroke is hit is informally known as the teeing box, also known as the teeing ground. Normally, teeing the ball is allowed only on the first shot of a hole, called the tee shot, and is usually not allowed for any other shot. Teeing gives a considerable advantage for drive shots, so it is highly desirable whenever allowed. A standard golf tee is 2.750″ (two and three quarter inches) long, but both longer and shorter tees are permitted and are preferred by some players. 
       SUMMARY  
       [0003]    An elevation tube comprising a substantially cylindrical body having a first end configured to hold a golf ball and a second end configured to insert into the ground. The second end includes a tapered portion, a bullet-like shaped portion, a spike-like shaped portion, a serrated edge, a regularly curved edge or an irregularly curved edge. An elevation tube comprising a substantially cylindrical body having a first end configured to hold a golf ball, the elevation tube being coupleable to a conventional golf tee, wherein when the elevation tube is coupled to the conventional golf tee, the first end of the elevation tube holds the golf ball to the exclusion of a golf ball holding means of the conventional tee. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  shows an elevation tube that is used as a golf tee or a portion of a golf tee according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  shows a second exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  shows a third exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube. 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube. 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  shows a sixth exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe a golf tee that may be implemented to hold a golf ball for a tee shot by a player. 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows an elevation tube  10  that is used as a golf tee or a portion of a golf tee. In the example of  FIG. 1 , the elevation tube  10  includes a first end  12  and a second end  17 . The first end  12  is designed to hold the ball, while the second end  17  is designed for insertion either into the ground and/or into another portion of the tee. The other portion of the tee may be a core section that is fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/956,310. Thus, the elevation tube  10  described herein may be used with or without the core section. When used with the core section, the elevation tube  10  is used in generally the same manner as described in the above-described patent application. In addition, the materials and general construction of the elevation tube  10  is the same as the described elevation tube in the above-described patent application, except for the modifications described herein. 
         [0012]    However, when the elevation tube  10  is used without the core section, the elevation tube will be inserted directly into the ground of the tee box. As shown in  FIG. 1 , this exemplary embodiment of the elevation tube  10  includes a taper  20  at the second end  17  to aid in the insertion into the ground of the tee box. The taper  20  is generally shown as having an approximately 45 degree taper angle. However, the taper angle may be varied to any angle to aid in the insertion. The variance of the taper angle may depend on any number of factors including the structural rigidity required for the insertion into the tee box, the structural rigidity of the material(s) used for the construction of the tee, etc. In fact, the elevation tube  10  may be provided to consumers with varying taper angles, so consumers may select the elevation tube  10  with the taper angles that they desire. During the manufacturing process, the elevation tube  10  may be manufactured initially as a long tube that may be cut into multiple elevation tubes  10  with different taper angles. 
         [0013]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the total length of the elevation tube  10  is the length of the taper  20  (T) plus the length of the remainder of the elevation tube  10  (H). The length T of the taper  20  is preferably not to exceed ½″. Those skilled in the art will understand that the taper  20  may aid in the insertion of the elevation tube  10  into the ground. That is, the taper  20  results in the second end  17  having a pointed or wedge-shaped portion, which may allow for a more easy insertion into the ground than a blunt end. 
         [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a second exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube  30 . The elevation tube  30  is similar to elevation tube  10  described above, except that elevation tube  30  includes a second end  37  that includes a bullet-like shape to aid in insertion into the ground of the tee box. Again, the angles of the bullet shape from the body of the elevation tube  30  may be varied, and the lengths discussed above are similar for this elevation tube. In  FIG. 2 , the outer walls  38  of elevation tube  30  having the bullet-like shape are illustrated using straight lines. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the outer walls  38  may also be curved either concavely or convexly. Furthermore, the bottom  39  of the bullet-like shape is shown as a closed point. It is possible that the second end  37  is cut or formed such that it stops, for example, at the location of line  36 , meaning that if the elevation tube  30  were generally hollow, the second end  37  would also include a hole in the area of line  36 . 
         [0015]    In addition, it is possible to stack multiple elevation tubes  30  within each other to vary the height of the tee. For example, a first elevation tube  30  may be placed into the tee box. However, the golfer may desire that the tee have a greater height than the height of the first end  32 . In this case, the golfer may place the second end  37  of a second elevation tube  30  into the first end  32  of the elevation tube  30  that is currently in the tee box. As should be apparent from the figure, the bullet-like shape of the second end  37  of the second elevation tube  30  will be received into the first end  32  of the first elevation tube  30 . When the non-tapered cylinder portion of the second elevation tube  30  reaches an insertion point approximately equal to the first end  32  of the first elevation tube  30  a mechanical fit will be created between the two elevation tubes  30 . This results in a stack of two elevation tubes  30  having a height that is greater than a single elevation tube  30 . Additional elevation tubes  30  may also be stacked to achieve any height desired by the golfer. While this stacking example is provided with respect to elevation tube  30 , those skilled in the art will understand that any of the elevation tubes disclosed herein may be designed to be stackable. 
         [0016]    It is further noted that the second end  37  or a portion thereof may further include a coating material that may be applied on the external or internal surface of the second end. The coating material is designed to make the second end  37  more rigid and/or more durable for insertion into the ground. The coating material may be any material that makes the second end more rigid and/or durable such as a plastic coating material or synthetic coating material. It is also noted that while the coating of the second end  37  is described with respect to this particular embodiment, any of the second ends for any of the described embodiments may include such a coating material. 
         [0017]    In a further exemplary embodiment, the second end  37  may also include a separate tip piece that may be constructed from a different material than the remainder of the elevation tube  30 . For example, referring to  FIG. 2 , the tip piece may be added to the second end  37  in the area from the line  36  to the bottom point  39 . This tip piece may be constructed from a material such as a plastic material or a synthetic material that is more rigid and durable than the material used to construct the remainder of the elevation tube  30 . Again, since the second end  37  is designed to be placed into the ground, the rigid and durable tip piece will aid in placing the elevation tube  30  into the ground, especially where the tee box is hard. In one exemplary embodiment, the elevation tube  30  is a complete piece, e.g., the elevation tube  30  material extends all the way to bottom point  39 . In this embodiment, the tip piece may be placed over the material of the elevation tube  30  and coupled thereto such as by gluing or other known fastening means. In another exemplary embodiment, the elevation tube  30  material ends in the are of the line  36  resulting in a hole in the bottom of the elevation tube  30 . In this embodiment, the tip piece may be coupled to the end of the elevation tube  30  in the area of the hole, either on the exterior or interior surface of the elevation tube  30 . It is again noted that while the additional tip piece is described with respect to this particular embodiment, a similar tip piece may be coupled to the second ends of any of the described embodiments. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  shows a third exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube  40 . The elevation tube  40  is similar to elevation tube  10  described above, except that elevation tube  40  includes a second end  47  that includes a spike-like shape to aid in insertion into the ground of the tee box. Again, the angles of the spike-like shape from the body of the elevation tube  40  may be varied, and the lengths discussed above are similar for this elevation tube. 
         [0019]      FIG. 4  shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube  50 . The elevation tube  50  is similar to elevation tube  10  described above, except that elevation tube  50  includes a second end  55  that includes a serrated end to aid in insertion into the ground of the tee box. Again, the angles and number of serrations of the elevation tube  50  may be varied, and the lengths discussed above are similar for this elevation tube. 
         [0020]      FIG. 5  shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube  60 . The elevation tube  60  is similar to elevation tube  10  described above, except that elevation tube  60  includes a second end  67  that includes a regular or irregular curved shape to aid in insertion into the ground of the tee box. Again, the lengths discussed above are similar for this elevation tube. 
         [0021]      FIG. 6  shows a sixth exemplary embodiment of an elevation tube  70 . In this embodiment, the elevation tube  70  is a cylinder that may be placed over a conventional wooden or plastic tee  80 . That is, the conventional tee  80  is placed into the ground and the elevation tube is placed over the portion of the conventional tee that would normally hold the ball. The elevation tube  70  may be secured to the conventional tee  80  in any manner, e.g., friction fit, protrusions that rest on the conventional tee, etc. Thus, in this embodiment, the elevation tube  70  holds the ball, rather than the conventional tee  80 . It is also noted that the elevation tube  70  may be inserted onto the conventional tee  80  by pushing the elevation tube  70  in the direction  90 . 
         [0022]    In an alternative embodiment, the elevation tube  70  may be placed onto the conventional tee  80  by pulling in the direction  95 . In such an embodiment, the elevation tube  70  may be pre-attached to the convention tee  80  such as in the area of the shaft  82  of the conventional tee  80 . After the conventional tee  80  is inserted into the ground, the elevation tube  70  may be pulled up in the direction  95  to result in the configuration shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0023]    It should be noted that while the above exemplary embodiments described inserting the elevation tubes directly into the teeing ground, it is also possible that the golfer will have a tool to prepare the ground for receiving the elevation tubes. For example, the tool may soften the teeing ground or create a hole or indent in the teeing ground into which the elevation tube may be inserted. 
         [0024]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0