Golf tees

Abstract

This golf tee system allows for easy adjustment of the tee height and provides precise control over the adjusted and set tee height. [Solution] The golf tee 1 is composed of a rod-shaped tee body 2 having a ball support portion 22 on the upper end of the shaft portion 21 on which a golf ball rests, and a tapered portion 23 at the lower end, and a ring-shaped gripping member 3 that is slidably attached along the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2. Multiple protrusions 24 are provided on the circumferential surface of the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 at regular intervals along the axial direction, and the gripping member 3 has a groove 32 on the inner surface of its through hole 31 that engages with the protrusions 24, so that the gripping member 3 is fixed to the tee body 2 by engaging the groove 32 with the protrusions 24.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a golf tee configured to easily adjust the height of the tee to a desired height when hitting a tee shot.

Background Art

[0002] As a golf tee capable of adjusting the height of the tee to a desired height, it consists of a tee body having a male thread formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion to be inserted into the ground, and a disc-shaped height adjustment member having a through hole with a female thread formed on the inner peripheral surface at the center. The height adjustment member is screwed onto the shaft portion of the tee body and integrally attached, and by appropriately changing the screwing depth of the height adjustment member, the height of the tee when the tee body is inserted into the ground can be adjusted. Such a configuration is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the conventional golf tee, the adjustment of the screwing depth of the height adjustment member had to be performed by rotating the height adjustment member screwed onto the shaft portion of the tee body many times. The adjustment of the screwing depth of the height adjustment member could not be performed with one touch and required time and effort for adjustment. Also, when the golf tee was inserted into the ground with the height adjustment member set to an appropriate screwing depth, it was impossible to grasp how high the tee was set from the ground. To stabilize the tee shot, it is essential to accurately grasp the selection of the club used in the tee shot and the appropriate tee height.

[0005] In view of the problems of the conventional technology, this invention aims to provide a golf tee that allows for easy adjustment of the tee height and enables accurate determination of the adjusted and set tee height. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the aforementioned problems, the golf tee of this invention consists of a rod-shaped tee body having a ball support portion on the upper end of the shaft on which a golf ball rests and a tapered portion at the lower end, and a ring-shaped gripping member that is slidably attached along the shaft of the tee body. The tee body has multiple protrusions on its circumferential surface along its shaft at regular intervals, and the knob member has grooves on its inner surface that engage with the protrusions, and is designed to be fixed to the shaft of the tee body by engaging these grooves with the protrusions of the tee body. The tee body, with the gripping member fixed to the shaft by engaging the groove with one of several protrusions selected from the shaft portion of the tee body, is inserted into the ground from the tapered end of the shaft to the bottom surface of the gripping member, thereby allowing adjustment of the protrusion height of the ball-supporting portion of the tee body from the ground.

[0007] With the golf tee configured as described above, the gripping member can be slid along the shaft of the tee body to adjust its mounting position, and then the groove of the gripping member can be engaged with a projection provided on the shaft of the tee body to fix the gripping member to the shaft. By inserting the tee body with the gripping member fixed to it into the ground from the tapered end of the shaft to the bottom surface of the gripping member, the tee can be adjusted to the desired height.

[0008] In the golf tee with the above configuration, each projection provided on the shaft of the tee body consists of a vertical projection extending in the axial direction and a horizontal projection extending circumferentially from the vertical projection. The gripping member can be fixed to the shaft by placing the groove of the gripping member against one of the multiple projections and rotating the gripping member in the circumferential direction of the shaft, and the engagement with the projection can be released by rotating the gripping member to the opposite side from the engagement position.

[0009] According to this design, the groove of the knob can be aligned with the projection on the shaft of the tee body, and the knob can be locked to the shaft with a single touch by rotating the knob in the circumferential direction of the shaft. Rotating the knob to the opposite side from the engaged position releases the engagement with the projection, allowing the knob to slide along the shaft.

[0010] In the golf tee with the above configuration, it is preferable that a thicker portion with an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through-hole of the gripping member is provided above the tapered portion of the shaft of the tee body. By providing a thicker section on the shaft, the gripping member becomes less likely to come loose from the shaft of the tee body. Even if the golf tee is subjected to impact during a tee shot, the gripping member can catch on the thicker section, preventing it from separating from the tee body.

[0011] In the golf tee with the above configuration, the knob member can be formed to have a large-diameter flange at its lower part. If a flange is formed at the bottom of the knob, the surface area of ​​the knob increases when the tee body is inserted into the ground, allowing the tee body to stand upright stably on the ground.

[0012] Furthermore, in the golf tee with the above configuration, it is preferable that a plurality of numbers corresponding to the positions of the plurality of protrusions are printed on the front surface of the shaft portion of the tee body, and that each of the numbers indicates the height of the ball support portion of the tee body protruding from the ground when the knob member is engaged with one of the plurality of protrusions and the tee body is inserted into the ground. According to this, when a gripping member is engaged with one of the multiple protrusions provided on the shaft of the tee body and fixed to the shaft, it is possible to accurately determine the height of the tee from the ground while it is stuck into the ground.

[0013] In the golf tee with the above configuration, it is preferable that the tee body is integrally molded using thermoplastic elastomer for the ball support portion and polypropylene or other resin for the shaft portion, and the gripping member is molded using thermoplastic polyurethane or the like. By molding using the above materials, a structure can be created that can withstand the strong impact of a tee shot. The ball support section and the shaft section can be integrally molded, for example, by a rotary secondary molding method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the golf tee of this invention, the height of the tee can be adjusted with a single touch, and the adjusted and set tee height can be accurately determined. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of the external appearance of a golf tee according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a front view of the tee body of a golf tee. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a right side view of a golf tee. [Figure 4] This is an end view along the line IV-IV in Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is a front view of the knob component of a golf tee. [Figure 6] Figure 5 is a bottom view of the knob component. [Figure 7] This is a cross-sectional view along the line VI-VI in Figure 6. [Figure 8]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the process of adjusting the height of the golf tee by sliding the grip member along the tee body. (A) shows the state where the grip member is adjusted to a height of 50 mm from the ground, and (B) shows the state where it is adjusted to 35 mm. [Figure 9] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the state where the tee body with the grip member fixed is inserted into the ground.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Note that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0017] FIGS. 1 to 9 show a golf tee according to an embodiment of the present invention. The golf tee 1 of this embodiment includes a ball support portion 22 on which a golf ball B is placed at the upper end of a shaft portion 21, a tee body 2 having a tapered portion 23 at the lower end, and a ring-shaped grip member 3 slidably attached along the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2. This golf tee 1 can adjust the height of the golf ball B supported by the ball support portion 21 of the tee body 2 from the ground to a desired height by inserting the tee body 2 into the ground G from the tapered portion 23 to the bottom surface of the grip member 3 with the attachment position of the grip member 3 changed along the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 (see FIG. 9).

[0018] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the tee body 2 is formed in a rod shape with a ball support portion 22 at the upper end of a shaft portion 21 having a substantially circular cross-section and a tapered portion 23 at the lower end. The ball support portion 22 at the upper end of the shaft portion 21 projects a plurality of arm portions 22b for supporting the golf ball B radially upward from the periphery of a bottom portion 22a that is circular in plan view and projects outward intersecting the shaft portion 21, and is formed so that the golf ball B can be supported at the upper ends of each arm portion 22b. Five pairs of projections 24, 24 are provided on the left and right sides of the shaft portion 21 at regular intervals (5 mm intervals) along the axial direction. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, each projection 24 consists of a vertical projection 24a extending in the axial direction of the shaft portion 21 and a horizontal projection 24b extending circumferentially from the vertical projection 24a. Furthermore, a vertically extending line 25a and the numbers "35", "40", "45", and "50" 25b are printed on the front of the shaft portion 21, which is located between the left and right protrusions 24, 24. As will be described later, the printing position of each number 24b corresponds to the position where the five sets of protrusions 24, 24 are formed. Furthermore, a thick-walled portion 26 is formed on the circumferential surface above the tapered portion 23 at the lower end of the shaft portion 21, with an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through-hole 31 of the gripping member 3, which will be described later.

[0019] As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the knob member 3 is formed in a ring shape with a through hole 31 in the center through which the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 is inserted, and its lower part 3b is a flange portion with a larger diameter than the upper part 3a. In addition, a projection 33 is formed on the front surface of the knob member 3, extending from the upper part 3a to the lower part 3b. Furthermore, grooves 32, 32 are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 31, with a size that allows the vertical projection 24a and the horizontal projection 24b, which form the protrusion 24 provided on the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2, to pass through.

[0020] The tee body 2 is integrally molded using polypropylene for its shaft portion 21 and thermoplastic elastomer for its ball support portion 22, and the gripping member 3 is molded using thermoplastic polyurethane.

[0021] In this configuration, the golf tee 1 is attached to the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 by inserting the tapered portion 23 at the lower end of the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 into the through hole 31 of the gripping member 3, and then sliding the gripping member 3 upwards on the shaft portion 21 while pushing it over the thick portion 26.

[0022] The knob member 3 attached to the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 can be moved up and down along the shaft portion 21 to change its position. Figure 8(A) shows the state in which the knob member 3 is positioned on the shaft portion 21 so that the height of the golf tee is 50 mm from the ground G when the golf tee 1 is inserted into the ground G, and Figure 8(B) shows the state in which the knob member 3 is positioned on the shaft portion 21 so that the height of the tee is 35 mm from the ground G.

[0023] As described above, the position of the knob member 3 is changed along the shaft portion 21, and the knob member 3 is positioned so that the number 25b indicating the height of the tee is aligned above the knob member 3. Then, the knob member 3 is rotated 45 degrees in the circumferential direction of the shaft portion 21 (to the right when viewed from the front). The grooves 32, 32 formed on the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 31 of the knob member 3 engage with the lateral projections 24b, 24b of the two protrusions 24, 24 provided on the left and right sides of the shaft portion 21, thereby fixing the knob member 3 to the shaft portion 21.

[0024] When the knob member 3 is slidable along the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2, the line 25a printed on the front of the shaft portion 21 and the protruding groove 33 on the front of the knob member 3 are aligned in a straight line. However, when the knob member 3 is engaged with the protrusion 24, as shown in Figures 1 and 9, the protruding groove 33 is misaligned with the line 25a. Therefore, by checking whether the line 25a and the protruding groove 33 are aligned, it is possible to determine whether the knob member 3 is fixed to the shaft portion 21 or not. If the knob member 3 engaged with the protrusion 24 is rotated to the opposite side, the engagement with the protrusion 24 is released, and the knob member 3 becomes slidable along the shaft portion 21 again.

[0025] As described above, if the golf tee 1, which has a gripping member 3 fixed to the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2, is inserted into the ground G from the tapered portion 23 of the shaft portion 21 of the tee body 2 to the bottom surface of the gripping member 3, as shown in Figure 9, the golf tee 1 will protrude above the ground G and stand upright, allowing the golf ball B to be placed and supported on the hole support portion 22. At this time, as shown in the figure, the number "50" 24b is visible above the knob member 3. This "50" indicates the height of the ball support part 22 protruding from the ground G, and by looking at this number, it is possible to accurately determine the height of the adjusted tee.

[0026] Adjusting the height of the golf tee 1 in this configuration can be done with a simple operation: change the position of the knob member 3 along the shaft 21 as described above, position the knob member 3 so that the numbers 25b, 35, 40, 45, and 50 indicating the tee height are aligned above the knob member 3, and then rotate the knob member 3 to engage it with the projection 24 of the shaft 21. Furthermore, in this form of golf tee 1, the tee body 2 and the gripping member 3 are made of materials with good impact resistance, so they are less likely to break even when subjected to the impact of a tee shot. Also, since the shaft portion 21 is provided with a thick portion 26, the gripping member 3 is less likely to separate from the tee body 2, and it can be used repeatedly for tee shots. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1 Golf Tee 2 Tee body 21 Shaft 22 Hole holding section 23 Tapered section 24 protrusions, 24a Longitudinal process 24b Transverse process 25a line 25b numbers 26 Thick part 3. Knob Member 3a upper part 3b bottom 31 Through hole 32 grooves B Golf Ball G ground

Claims

1. It consists of a rod-shaped tee body having a ball support portion at the upper end of the shaft on which a golf ball rests, and a tapered portion at the lower end, and a ring-shaped knob member that is slidably attached along the shaft of the tee body. The tee body has a plurality of protrusions provided on its circumferential surface along its shaft at regular intervals along the axial direction, and the knob member has a groove on the inner surface of its through hole that engages with the protrusions, and is provided to be fixed to the shaft of the tee body by engaging the groove with the protrusions of the tee body. A golf tee configured to allow adjustment of the height at which the ball support portion of the tee body protrudes from the ground by inserting the tee body, in which the gripping member is fixed to the shaft by engaging the groove with one of the multiple protrusions provided on the shaft of the tee body, from the tapered end of the shaft to the bottom surface of the gripping member.

2. The golf tee according to claim 1, wherein each projection provided on the shaft of the tee body consists of a longitudinal projection extending in the axial direction and a transverse projection extending circumferentially from the longitudinal projection, and the gripping member is fixed to the shaft by aligning the groove of the gripping member with one of the plurality of projections and rotating the gripping member in the circumferential direction of the shaft, and the engagement with the projection is released by rotating the gripping member to the opposite side from the engagement position.

3. The golf tee according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a thick-walled portion is provided above the tapered portion of the shaft of the tee body, having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through-hole of the knob member.

4. The golf tee according to claim 3, wherein the knob member has a large-diameter flange at its lower part.

5. The golf tee according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of numbers corresponding to the positions of the plurality of protrusions are printed on the front surface of the shaft portion of the tee body, and each of the numbers indicates the height of the ball support portion of the tee body protruding from the ground when the knob member is engaged with one of the plurality of protrusions and the tee body is driven into the ground.

6. The golf tee according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tee body is integrally molded using thermoplastic elastomer for the ball support portion and thermoplastic polyurethane resin for the shaft portion, and the gripping member is molded using thermoplastic polyurethane.

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