Golfing Tee With Flexible Top

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a golf tee, and more particularly, to a golf tee in which a portion on which a ball is placed is formed of a flexible material so as to prevent the tee from being lost or damaged by being broken or displaced due to an impact applied thereto by a golf club head when making a tee shot, and which is configured to be stably fixed and to be easily stuck into/pulled out from the ground and to maintain the initial height of the ball constant so as to reduce the inconvenience of adjusting the height of the ball whenever the tee is inserted into the ground.

Claims

1. A golf tee comprising: a ball placement unit configured to place a ball thereon; and an insertion unit configured to be inserted into the ground, wherein the ball placement unit includes a through hole formed in a lower portion thereof, and the insertion unit is configured to be inserted into the ground while passing through the through hole from an upper side to a lower side.

2. The golf tee of claim 1, wherein the ball placement unit is formed of a flexible material such as silicone or rubber or any other similar materials so as to be bendable by an external force, and to maintain an initial shape thereof when the external force is not applied thereto.

3. The golf tee of claim 2, wherein the ball placement unit is formed to have a predetermined height, and includes a contact surface on an upper portion thereof so as to place the ball thereon.

4. The golf tee of claim 3, wherein the contact surface is formed to have an opening, and the insertion unit is capable of being accommodated through the opening.

5. The golf tee of claim 4, wherein the ball placement unit includes a lower surface provided to come into contact with the ground.

6. The golf tee of claim 5, wherein a plurality of ball placement units having different heights are provided, and the insertion unit is capable of being selectively accommodated in any of the ball placement units having different heights.

7. The golf tee of claim 5, wherein the contact surface is formed to be inclined inwards and downwards.

8. The golf tee of any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the insertion unit made of an inflexible material such as metal or plastic or any other similar materials is provided so as not to be bent by an external force, and includes a pin inserted into the ground and a head provided on an upper portion of the pin, and the head has a flat surface having an area that is comparable to that of the base of the interior of the ball placement unit.

9. The golf tee of claim 8, wherein the pin has a diameter that is generally increased from a lower portion to an upper portion thereof.

10. The golf tee of claim 4, wherein the ball placement unit has a diameter that is increased from a lower portion to an upper portion thereof.

11. The golf tee of claim 4, wherein the ball placement unit is formed to have a constant diameter from a lower portion to an upper portion.

12. The golf tee of claim 4, wherein the ball placement unit further includes a protrusion on an outer peripheral surface or an inner peripheral surface, and the protrusion is formed to protrude in a predetermined shape from a surface of the ball placement unit such that the ball placement unit and the insertion unit can be easily pulled out from the ground.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0038] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional golf tee;

[0039] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional net golf tee;

[0040] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a golf tee according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the golf tee according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which no external force acts on the golf tee according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which an external force acts on the golf tee according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 7 is a view showing a body 11 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 8 is a view showing a body 11 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG. 9 is a view showing a body 11 according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a golf tee according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which a golf ball is placed on a golf tee according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0049] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a golf tee according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0050] Hereinafter, embodiments of a golf tee according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present disclosure, a detailed description of known functions or configurations will be omitted when it is determined that the detailed description may make the subject matter of the present disclosure rather unclear. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein have the same meanings as the general meanings of the terms understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs, and when the general meaning conflicts with the meaning of the terms used herein, the meanings of the terms follows the definition used in the specification.

[0051] Throughout the specification, when a component is described as including a certain component, it means that other elements may be further included, rather than being excluded unless specifically stated otherwise. As used herein, terms such as . . . unit mean units for processing at least one function or operation. When certain components are described as being connected, it is not limited to the case in which the components are in direct contact with each other and being fastened to each other, but may include the case in which the components are fastened to each other via other components. Further, it may mean that the components are disposed to be capable of transmitting a predetermined force or energy to each other even if they are not fastened to each other. Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail by describing embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0052] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a golf tee according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the golf tee according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in a golf tee 1, a portion on which a ball is placed is formed of a flexible material so as to prevent the tee from being lost or damaged by being broken or displaced due to an impact applied thereto by a golf club head when making a tee shot. The tee is configured to be stably fixed as well as to be easily inserted into/pulled out from the ground, and to keep the initial height of the ball constant so as to reduce the inconvenience of adjusting the height of the ball whenever the tee is inserted into the ground. The golf tee 1 may include a ball placement unit 10 and an insertion unit 30.

[0053] The ball placement unit 10 may be provided so as to place a golf ball thereon. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the ball placement unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has a generally hollow cylinder shape, and may be provided such that a ball is placed on the upper portion thereof and the lower portion thereof comes into contact with the ground, so that the distance from the ground to the golf ball may be constant when the ball is placed thereon. The ball placement unit 10 may include a body 11, a contact surface 13, and a lower surface 15.

[0054] The ball placement unit 10 may be formed of a flexible material. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which no external force acts on the golf tee according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which an external force acts on the golf tee according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the ball placement unit 10 may be formed of rubber or silicon, or may be formed of a flexible material or a mixture of flexible materials. The ball placement unit 10 is bendable when an external force is applied thereto since the ball placement unit 10 is formed of a flexible material. Due to a restoring force, the ball placement unit 10 maintains the initial shape thereof when no external force acts thereon, so the ball placement unit 10 is capable of being returned to the generally hollow cylinder shape thereof.

[0055] When a golf ball is put on a golf tee and a tee shot is made using a golf club, an external force acts on the golf ball and the golf tee in the process in which the club head strikes the golf ball. Before the impact process, the initial shape of the ball placement unit 10 is maintained as illustrated in FIG. 5. However, when a force is applied to one side thereof by the club head, an external force F acts on the ball placement unit 10 as in the case of FIG. 6, and the ball placement unit 10 made of the flexible material is impacted by being flexed or bent sideways. Thereafter, after the impact process is completed, the ball placement unit is returned to the shape shown in FIG. 5 again by the restoring force.

[0056] A conventional golf tee does not include a flexible portion, and thus, if an external force equal to or greater than a certain level is applied, the golf tee is broken or pulled out of the ground, thereby being lost or damaged. Even if the golf tee includes a flexible portion, it is impossible for the flexible portion to exhibit sufficient resistance and the force is transmitted to the lower portion, which causes the portion to be broken or pulled out because the flexible upper portion and the lower portion inserted into the ground are integrally formed. However, in the present disclosure, the ball placement unit 10 and the insertion unit 30, which will be described later, are not provided integrally but are applied to the flexible ball placement unit 10. Thus, the possibility that the hard portion of the insertion unit 30 is broken or pulled out from the ground is greatly reduced even if a force of a predetermined level or more is applied to the flexible ball placement unit 10.

[0057] The body 11 forms the overall shape of the ball placement unit 10, and may have a predetermined height so as to place the golf ball on the upper portion thereof. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the body 11 may form the outer shape of a hollow cylinder. A contact surface 13, which will be described later, may be formed on the upper portion of the body 11, and the golf ball may be placed thereon, so that the body 11 has a form on which the golf ball can be stably placed. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper portion of the body 11 may have an annular plane, and other embodiments of the present disclosure may have predetermined irregularities in the upper portion thereof. It is sufficient that the body 11 be formed to be able to hold a ball with a predetermined height, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to what is shown in the drawings.

[0058] FIGS. 7 to 9 are views showing a body 11 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, the body 11 has a predetermined height, and respective golf tees according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include bodies 11 having different heights such that the heights from the ground to the golf balls placed on the ball placement units thereof are different from each other. When inserting a golf tee into the ground, with a general conventional golf tee, it is difficult to know how far to insert the golf tee into the ground and/or how far the golf tee is inserted into the ground in the case of a general conventional golf tee. Thus, when the ball is placed on the tee, it is not easy to make the height of the ball from the ground constant. When the height from the ground to the ball is not constant, the impact of the ball and the club head when making a tee shot may be inaccurate. Thus, the accuracy of the shot may be deteriorated and the driving distance may be reduced. However, in the present disclosure, as will be described later, since the lower surface 15 of the ball placement unit is in contact with the ground and the distance from the ground to the ball is constant and is equal to the height of the body 11, it is possible to perform a correct shot with a constant impact when making a tee shot. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the ball placement unit may be formed to have a body 11a, as shown in FIG. 7. The ball placement unit may be formed to have a body 11b having the function of a short tee in which the height from the ground to the ball placed thereon is low, as shown in FIG. 8, and may be formed to have a body having the function of a long tee in which the height from the ground to the ball placed thereon is high, as shown in FIG. 9. Accordingly, a plurality of ball placement units 10 having different distances from the ground to the ball may be provided, and the ball may be placed at a desired height as the insertion unit 30 to be described later is selectively accommodated in any of the ball placement units 10.

[0059] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a golf tee according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 10, the body 11 may not have the hollow cylinder shape, but may have an inverted hollow cone shape, the diameter of which is increased from the lower portion to the upper portion thereof. Typically, a golf tee is formed such that a portion other than a portion on which a golf ball is placed is formed to be thin for easy insertion into the ground and a flat surface of the portion on which a golf ball is placed is formed to be wide such that the ball can be stably placed thereon. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the diameters of the insertion unit 30 and the lower portion of the body 11, which will be described later, are small, and the body 11 extends from the lower portion to the upper portion with the same diameter, it may not be easy to stably place the ball thereon. Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the body 11 may have an inverted hollow cone shape, the diameter of which becomes larger from the lower portion to the upper portion thereof, so that it is possible to stably hold the ball on the upper portion.

[0060] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which a golf ball is placed on a golf tee according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 4, 10, and 11, the contact surface 13 is formed at the upper portion of the body 11. The contact surface 13 is provided to place a ball thereon and thus to come into contact with the ball. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 8, the contact surface 13 may be inclined downward and inward. If the contact surface 13 is flat, the contact surface 13 that is to be in contact with the golf ball when the golf ball is placed on the ball placement unit is restrictive due to the spherical shape of the golf ball, and stable support of the golf ball may not be possible. Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the contact surface 13 may be provided so as to be inclined downward and inward, preferably to be inclined in the form of a curved surface that corresponds to the curvature of the golf ball to be placed thereon, thereby stably supporting the golf ball.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 4, the contact surface 13 may include an opening 13a. As the contact surface 13 includes the opening 13a and the opening 13a is formed in the upper portion of the ball placement unit 10, the insertion unit to be described later may be inserted through the opening 13a.

[0062] The lower surface 15 is provided to form the bottom of the ball placement unit 10, and is provided so as to come into contact with the ground when the golf tee 1 according to the present disclosure is fixed to the ground. Since the lower surface 15 is formed of a flexible material such as rubber or silicone, the lower surface 15 is capable of coming into contact with the ground when the golf tee 1 is fixed even if predetermined irregularities are formed on the ground. Since the lower surface 15 is provided so as to come into contact with the ground, the distance from the ground to the ball placed on the upper portion of the ball placement unit is capable of being kept constant, and when the same ball placement unit is used, it is possible to make a tee shot at the same height from any place on the ground.

[0063] As can be seen from FIG. 4, the lower surface 15 may include a through hole 15a. The through hole 15a is preferably provided in the center of the lower surface 15 so as to accommodate the insertion unit (described later) therethrough. It is preferable to form the through hole 15a such that the diameter thereof is larger than the maximum diameter of a pin 33 (described later) so as to fully accommodate the pin 33 therethrough.

[0064] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a golf tee according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 12, the ball placement portion 10 may further include protrusions 17. The protrusions 17 may be provided on the outer peripheral surface or the inner peripheral surface of the body 11. When the golf tee is fixedly inserted into the ground, there is a problem in that it is not easy to pull out the golf tee from the ground after the tee shot. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the protrusions 17 are formed on the outer peripheral surface or the inner peripheral surface of the body 11, it is possible to pull out the golf tee from the ground by holding and pulling up the protrusions 17 or by inserting fingers into and pulling up the protrusions 17, rather than by holding and pulling up the entire ball placement unit 10. As shown in FIG. 12, the protrusions 17 may be provided such that the golf tee is capable of being pulled out from the ground by inserting fingers or the like into the protrusions or by holding the same. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the shapes shown in the drawing, and the protrusions may have any shape as long as they are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the body 11 to enable the golf tee to be easily pulled out from the ground.

[0065] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6 again, the insertion unit 30 is provided so as to be fixedly inserted to the ground, and is further inserted into the ground through the through hole 15a in the ball placement unit 10 from the upper side to the lower side. The insertion unit 30 is preferably formed of a rigid material such as plastic or metal. The insertion unit 30 may be provided so as to be fixed to the ground and to restrict the movement of the lower surface 15 of the of the ball placement unit while maintaining its shape even when an external force is applied thereto. When making a tee shot, it is possible to prevent the golf tee from being displaced from the insertion position or lost even though the shape of the ball placement unit 10 is deformed by the external force. In addition, since the insertion unit 3 is not formed integrally with the ball placement unit 10 so as to be separable therefrom, it is possible to adjust the distance from the ground to the ball when the golf tee is inserted into the ground, and to further prevent the golf tee from being damaged or lost when making a tee shot. Referring to FIG. 6, an external force F acts when making a tee shot. Since the lower surface of the ball placement unit 10 is in contact with the ground, an impact is dispersed to the ground, and since the lower surface and the insertion unit 30 are separated from each other rather than being integrally formed, the impact applied to the ball placement unit 10 is not fully transmitted to the insertion unit 30. The insertion unit 30 may include a head 31 and a pin 33.

[0066] The head 31 is formed on the upper portion of the pin 33 (to be described later), and may be preferably formed such that the diameter thereof is larger than that of the through hole 15a so that the area of the flat surface of the head 31 is wider than the through hole 15a in a plan view. The head 31 may be formed to be entirely flat. Since the head 31 has a predetermined area, it is easy to insert the insertion unit 30 into the ground, and it is possible to prevent the ball placement unit 10 and the insertion unit 30 from being separated from each other. Since the flat surface of the head 31 is formed to be wider than the through hole 15a and the insertion unit 30 is fixed to the ground, the movement of the lower surface 15 of the ball placement unit is restricted, and even if the ball placement unit is deformed by an external force during the tee shot, the golf tee may be neither broken nor displaced. Preferably, the head 31 may be formed such that the lower inner peripheral surface of the body 11 corresponds to the flat surface thereof, and may be formed to be approximately similar to the opening 13a. Since the head 31 is as wide as possible, it is easy to insert the insertion unit 30 into the ground or pull out the insertion unit 30 from the ground.

[0067] The pin 33 is provided to fix the insertion unit 30 to the ground, and may be formed such that the diameter thereof is generally reduced from the upper portion connected to the head 31 to the lower portion. Accordingly, when the insertion unit 30 is fixed to the ground, it is possible to easily insert the insertion unit into the ground even with a small force, and it is also possible to minimize the concentration of stress that may occur between the head 31 and the pin 33, thereby stabilizing the insertion unit 30. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is preferable that the diameter of the entire pin 33 from the upper portion to the lower portion be smaller than the diameter of the through hole 15a so as to enable the pin 33 to pass through the through-hole from the upper portion to the lower portion. When the pin 33 is inserted into the ground through the through hole 15a, the head 31 of the insertion unit, the lower surface 15 of the ball placement unit, and the ground come into close contact with each other so as to ensure a constant height and stability. The pin 33 may include a transitional portion 331 and an end portion 333.

[0068] The transitional portion 331 may form the upper portion of the pin 33, and may be provided to interconnect the head 31 and the pin 33. The transitional portion 331 is formed so as to have a larger diameter than the end portion 333 formed at the lower portion of the pin 33 and preferably has a curved surface to prevent or mitigate a stress concentration phenomenon between the head 31 and the pin 33. In an embodiment, the transitional portion 331 is formed to be smaller than the thickness of the lower surface 15 of the ball placement unit, so that the transitional portion 331 does not protrude out of the lower surface 15 when the insertion unit 30 and the ball placement unit 10 are coupled to each other.

[0069] The end portion 333 forms the lower end portion of the pin and is sharply shaped like a needle so as to enable the insertion unit 30 to be easily inserted into and fixed to the ground. Since the end portion 333 is a portion that is directly inserted into the ground, it is preferable to form the end portion using a material having sufficient strength to resist damage even upon contact or collision with the ground, such as plastic or metal.

[0070] The foregoing detailed description illustrates the present disclosure. In addition, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and explain embodiments of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure may be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, it is possible to change or modify the present disclosure within the scope of the concept of the present disclosure disclosed in this specification, within the scope equivalent to the above-described content, and/or within the scope of the skill or knowledge in the art. The embodiments described above are intended to illustrate the best mode for carrying out the technical idea of the present disclosure, and various modifications are required for specific applications and uses of the present disclosure are also possible. Therefore, the detailed description of the present disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the disclosed embodiments. In addition, the appended claims should be interpreted as covering other embodiments as well.