# US 7,607,998 B1 · Gold tee and method of making

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- Number: US 7,607,998 B1
- Document ID: US7607998B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 12/118,927
- Filed: 2008-05-12
- Granted: 2009-10-27
- Earliest claimed: 2008-05-12
- Inventors: Inbong Park
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7607998B1

## CPC

- A63B 57/10: Golf tees
- A63B 57/13: foldable or separable
- A63B 57/15: height-adjustable
- A63B 57/0032: {Tee-gauges; Tee-repairing devices}
- A63B 57/203: {Tee holders (to be fitted on golf bags or caddies A63B55/408)}
- A63B 2210/00: Space saving
- A63B 2210/58: slideably retracted in a housing when not in use
- A63B: APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT (apparatus for passive exercising, massage A61H)

## Abstract

A golf tee for supporting a golf ball has a generally conical, essentially hollow body in which a conoidal wall extends in an axial direction along a prescribed axial length between a ball support at an upper end of the body and a basal tip at a lower end of the body. The wall includes overlapping conoid layers of synthetic polymeric material, preferably located along a common spiral, with adjacent layers in sliding engagement with one-another, all of the layers having upper and lower edges at corresponding upper and lower ends of the body. Each layer is unsecured to an adjacent layer between corresponding upper and lower edges of the layers such that upon being struck by a blow transverse to the axial direction relative movement between adjacent layers will enable a resilient transverse deflection of the wall while essentially maintaining the prescribed axial length between the ball support and the basal tip. A method for making the golf tee includes winding a blank in the form of a semi-sector-like sheet of synthetic polymeric material into a spiral configuration to establish the generally conical, essentially hollow body.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A golf tee for supporting a golf ball in place at an elevated position above a ground plane, the golf tee comprising:
a generally conical, essentially hollow body having a basal tip and a ball support spaced in an axial direction from the basal tip to establish a prescribed axial length between the ball support and the basal tip, the body including a conoidal wall having a spiral configuration including overlapping conoid layers of synthetic polymeric material extending axially from the basal tip to the ball support, each layer having a first edge at the ball support and a second edge at the basal tip, each layer being unsecured to an adjacent layer between corresponding first and second edges such that upon being struck by a blow transverse to the axial direction relative movement between adjacent layers will enable a resilient transverse deflection of the wall while essentially maintaining the prescribed axial length between the ball support and the basal tip.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The golf tee of claim 1 wherein the conoidal wall comprises a single sheet wound into the spiral configuration.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The golf tee of claim 2 wherein the synthetic polymeric material is heat-formed so as to maintain the sheet in the spiral configuration.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The golf tee of claim 2 wherein the spiral configuration of the conoidal wall comprises at least two overlapping layers.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The golf tee of claim 4 wherein adjacent overlapping layers are in sliding engagement with one-another.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The golf tee of claim 4 wherein each first edge comprises an axially upper edge and each second edge comprises an axially lower edge, and the overlapping layers are joined at the lower edges to establish an essentially pointed configuration at the basal tip.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The golf tee of claim 6 wherein the ball support comprises a ball support member having a cup-shaped seat, and the ball support member is affixed to the upper edges.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The golf tee of claim 7 wherein the synthetic polymeric material comprises a sheet of polyethylene.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The golf tee of claim 8 wherein the sheet has a thickness of about 0.020 to 0.040 inch.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The golf tee of claim 1 wherein the synthetic polymeric material comprises a sheet of polyethylene.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The golf tee of claim 10 wherein the sheet has a thickness of about 0.020 to 0.040 inch.