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Moldable golf tee and method of making sameMoldable golf tee and method of making same description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080070724, Moldable golf tee and method of making same. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]The present invention relates generally to golf tees, and particularly to golf tees made from moldable materials. BACKGROUND [0002]Golf tees are made from a plurality of different materials. For example, golf tees are constructed of wood, plastic, and occasionally even metal such as aluminum. Tees made from wood basically consist of a unitary structure having a shaft portion and a golf ball holding upper portion. In use, the shaft is placed in the ground and the ball is placed on top of the upper portion. To this end, the shaft typically includes a pointed tip that facilitates insertion into the ground, and the upper portion typically includes a wider concave surface that facilitates retention of the ball. Such tees are commonplace. [0003]Wood tees have many benefits, including light weight and biodegradability. Wooden tees typically have a simple design which is well known. Because of the nature of wood, it is not practical to use any design that varies substantially from the traditional design. Thus, it is difficult to employ enhanced design features in wooden tees. [0004]Plastic tees, by contrast, are formed from molding machines, which allows for more variation in physical configuration. In the past, inventors have taken advantage of the flexibility of plastic manufacturing process to incorporate design features into tee configurations. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,170, U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,732, U.S. Pat. No. 6,849,008, U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,583, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,581 all disclose tees in which at least a portion is formed from plastic, thereby facilitating advanced design elements not present in traditional wood tees. [0005]Despite the advances in golf tee design, simple wooden tees remain the most popular. Moreover, the only plastic tees that have gained any substantial acceptance are relatively simple and incorporate little or no advanced components. [0006]At least one probable reason for lack of advancement of some tee designs is that these designs result in a very unconventional tee appearance that can be intimidating or at least displeasing to many golfers. Another reason for the lack of advancement of some tee designs is that they include several parts that must be assembled, thereby greatly increasing the cost of the tee. [0007]There is a need therefore, for a golf tee that addresses one or more of the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above. SUMMARY [0008]Disclosed embodiments of the invention address at least some of the above issues by providing a golf tee having a shaft formed of a first moldable material and an upper portion formed of a second moldable material. In some embodiments, the golf tee is formed by overmolding one of the structures onto the other. In other embodiments, the molded pieces of different materials allow for one or more advanced features to be readily incorporated into the design. [0009]A first embodiment of the invention is a golf tee having a shaft and an upper portion. The shaft is constructed or formed from a first moldable material The upper portion is formed from a second moldable material, and is moldably affixed to the shaft. [0010]A second embodiment of the invention is a method of manufacturing a golf tee that includes a step of molding a shaft using a first moldable material. The method also includes molding an upper portion of the tee using a second moldable material. The upper portion has a ball receiving structure. A portion of one of the shaft and the upper portion is used as a part of a mold for the molding of the other of the shaft and the upper portion. [0011]The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0012]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an exemplary golf tee according to embodiments of the invention; [0013]FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the golf tee of FIG. 1; [0014]FIG. 3 shows a side plan view of the golf tee of FIG. 1; [0015]FIG. 4 shows a side cutaway of the tee of FIG. 1; [0016]FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the a cavity side of a mold suitable for carrying out an exemplary method according to the invention; and [0017]FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the a core side which cooperates with the cavity side of FIG. 5 to form the mold suitable for carrying out an exemplary method according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0018]FIGS. 1-4 show different views of an exemplary embodiment of a golf tee 10 according to at least some embodiments of the present invention. The golf tee 10 is given by way of example only. It will be appreciated that there are many variations of golf tees that fall within the ordinary plain meaning of the terms used in the claims. Unless otherwise specified, the words used in the specification are intended to have a generic meaning and are not meant to be limited to the embodiments described herein. Moreover, different embodiments of the invention may have different advantages. Advantages described herein should never be construed to cover each and every embodiment of the claimed invention. [0019]FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a golf tee 10 that incorporates features of the invention. The golf tee 10 includes a shaft 12 and an upper portion 14. The shaft 12 is a generally rigid, elongated member that is configured for placement into the ground. In this embodiment, the shaft 12 is first unitary structure of a first moldable material, which may suitably be a material primarily composed of nylon, polypropylene, polycarbonate and ABS. The shaft 12 is preferably slightly tapered along its length, preferably ending at a first end at a pointed tip 16. The purpose of the taper of the shaft in this embodiment is two-fold. Firstly, the taper allows the shaft to be more readily extracted from a mold (see FIGS. 5-8, discussed below). Secondly, the taper defines the pointed tip 16. It is advantageous in some embodiments to have a gradual taper for most of the length of the shaft 12 and an increased taper near the pointed tip 16. However, it will be appreciated that many advantages of the invention may be obtained regardless of whether any taper is provided. Continue reading about Moldable golf tee and method of making same... Full patent description for Moldable golf tee and method of making same Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Moldable golf tee and method of making same patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Moldable golf tee and method of making same or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Golf tee setter and method of manufacture Next Patent Application: Composite bat having a single, hollow primary tube structure Industry Class: Games using tangible projectile ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Moldable golf tee and method of making same patent info. 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