Tubular golf tee

United States Patent Application 20060009312

A golf tee comprised of a single symmetrical cylindrical tubular structure manufactured of a rigid plastic. The upper end will be the receiving ball part, formed by the flaring out of the said tubular structure with the cylindrical geometry to a diameter sufficient for a golf ball to rest on. The lower end will be formed by the tapering down in a longitudinal direction from the ball receiving part maintaining the cylindrical tubular geometry with a common wall thickness when the taper of the outside diameter abruptly becomes acute and creates a thin tubular edge as it meets the inner diameter at the lower end.

Chotos, Konstantino (Miramar, FL, US)

10/710430

01/12/2006

07/09/2004

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473/387

A63B57/00

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WONG, STEVEN B

KONSTANTINO CHOTOS (MIRAMAR, FL, US)

What is claimed is:

1. A golf tee having an all inclusive cylindrical tubular structure therein, whereby the top portion, maintaining the inherent tubular geometry is flared out to an appropriate cylindrical diameter for the golf ball to rest on, then tapering down in a longitudinal direction, maintaining the constant wall thickness to an inner and outside diameter creation of a thin constant cylindrical tubular edge.

2. A golf tee according to claim 1, wherein a tubular edge is formed at the lower end for penetrating the earth as a single constant edge, comparable to the blade of a knife.

3. A golf tee according to claim 1, wherein a tapered tube is formed allowing the golf tee to nest within itself in order to raise the height of the golf ball.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a golf tee.

2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Heretofore most golf tee designs limited the golfer to a single solid cylindrical structure which has a ball placement part at one end and a shaft tapering down to a sharp point at other end. If the golfer, using different clubs to strike the ball would require ball placement at an increased height over and above what the present tee would provide, the golfer is then required to carry longer tees in addition to the present tees. Having to carry more than one size tee is cumbersome for the golfer. Another disadvantage, the sharp point of the solid tee is a hazard to the golfer who may accidentally be punctured with the handling of the said solid golf tee. Some patented golf tees attempt to overcome these problems but each of them has a number of other disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 2,011,203 issued to Seiki (1935) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,431 issued to McGuire (1992) have tubular structures but they require an accessory to enable the installation of the tee into the ground. Having to carry one or more added items in addition to the golf tee is cumbersome and installation of the said tee is time consuming. U.S. Pat. No. 2,747,768 issued to Raines (1956), U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,763 issued to Barrett (1952) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,130 issued to Rydborn (1990) include the provision for nesting the tee, but the patented tees have a sharp point which is a puncture hazard to the golfer.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional golf tee and invented the tubular golf tee for stably supporting the golf ball.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf tee which is all inclusive.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf tee that has a blunt end for inserting into the ground and not be a hindrance to the golfer as the sharp point of a conventional golf tee can be.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a golf tee that can be nested so that the height of the golf ball can be raised to suit the golfer.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a golf tee which is easily manufactured of plastic by the injection molding process.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the receiving ball part of the golf tee.

FIG. 2 depicts the tubular edge of the golf tee used for penetrating the earth in order to set the height of the golf ball.

FIG. 3 depicts the nesting of the golf tee in order to increase the height of the golf ball.