Telescoping Lifter-Setter Tool for Golf Ball Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Golfers at driving ranges face the challenge of repeatedly bending down to pick up and place golf balls on tees, which is painful, hazardous, and fatiguing, especially for those with disabilities or injuries, and requires significant time and effort, often leading to back, hip, or leg injuries.
Innovation Solution
A method and tool system, including lifter-setter tools like claw, push down, and shovel-up types, that allow golfers to lift and set golf balls on tees without bending, using a park and release system with Readily Dissociable Fasteners (RDFs) for easy parking of the tool, enabling golfers to stand erect while performing these tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If manual ball placement is used, then device complexity is reduced, but physical strain on the golfer increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension to the ball placement process by using a telescoping shaft that extends upward, allowing the golfer to reach balls on the ground without bending down. The shaft can be extended to lift the ball to ergonomic height and then retracted to place the ball on the tee, effectively moving the interaction from ground level to hand level.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping shaft acts as an intermediary between the golfer's hand and the golf ball. Instead of direct hand-to-ball contact requiring bending, the shaft mediates the transfer of force and motion, allowing the golfer to manipulate the ball from an upright position through the mechanical advantage of the extended shaft.
2Productivity
If automated ball setting machines are used, then productivity increases, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic telescoping shaft that can extend and retract on demand, rather than a fixed-length shaft or complex automated mechanism. This dynamic adjustment allows the tool to adapt between two functional states (ball pickup and tee placement) using simple mechanical motion, achieving versatility without complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool is designed to be self-contained and manually operated, requiring no external power source, automated mechanisms, or complex control systems. The golfer themselves operates the telescoping mechanism and performs both ball pickup and placement functions, eliminating the need for sophisticated automated ball setting machines.
3Device complexity
If fixed-length shaft is used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft transitions from a static fixed-length design to a dynamic telescoping design with multiple extendable sections. This allows the shaft to adapt its length between a retracted state for precise tee placement and an extended state for ground-level ball pickup, providing versatility while maintaining relatively simple construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft is divided into multiple telescoping segments that can extend and retract relative to each other. This segmentation allows the shaft to achieve variable length through simple nested tube structures, enabling adaptability between different operational positions without requiring complex articulated joints or mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for lifting and setting a golf ball on a golf tee without bending include a shaft holding a lifter-setter tool to lift and set a golf ball onto a golf tee plus a parking tray with means for parking a lifter-setter tool upright on the parking tray. The lifter-setter tool is parked upright on the parking tray with Readily Dissociable Fasteners (RDFs) including an upright parking pin fastened to the parking tray and hook-and-loop fasteners, touch fasteners, and mushroom head fasteners, inter alia.