BACKGROUND OP THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a golf tee, and more particularly a golf tee with a shank portion made of a braided plastic fabric tube.

DESCRIPTION OF BACKGROUND ART

Conventional golf tees for use on a driving range generally include a base portion 1, a cylindrical shank portion 2 and a beveled edge 3 disposed at a top portion of the cylindrical shank portion 2 , as shown in Figure 1. The conventional golf tee as shown Figure 1 is generally made of a flexible rubber material. A disadvantage of the golf tee for use on a golf driving range as just described is that the golf tees have a useful life of approximately two weeks before they must be replaced.

Another conventional golf tee for use on a golf course is a well-known wooden or plastic golf tee which is inserted into the ground. A problem with these well- known golf tees is that they are easily broken and they are also easily lost. The broken tees contribute to a considerable amount of debris which is left on the golf course, and because the golf tees are hard to see when lying in the grass, golfers generally do not take care to find their lost or broken tees.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved golf tee which includes a shank portion made of a braided tube. It is an object of the present invention to provide a driving range golf tee which is highly durable and therefore provides a lifetime which exceeds that of conventional driving range golf tees.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf tee for use on a golf course which is highly durable and which is easy to find after the golf tee is used.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a golf tee which is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to mass produce, durable in use, and refined in appearance.

These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by a golf tee including a shank portion made of a braided tube, and a base portion connected to said shank portion. The shank portion is made of a plastic fabric which is braided into the form of a tube.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the base portion is formed of a flat plate having a hole therein, and the braided tube is folded inward so as to form a double layer braided tube which defines a shank portion, wherein two end portions of the braided tube are brought together and disposed in the hole of the flat plate and melted or glued to affix the two ends in the hole. According to a second embodiment, the braided tube is folded radially inward at one end thereof to form a double layer braided tube which defines the shank portion, and the braided tube is folded radially outward twice at a second end to form a triple layer braided tube which defines the base portion.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed

description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a section view of a prior art golf tee for use in a golf driving range;

Figure 2 is a side view of a driving range golf tee according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2B is a sectional view of the driving range golf tee as shown in Figure 2A which illustrates the double layer braided tube of the shank, portion of the golf tee;

Figure 3 is a side view of a golf tee according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4A illustrates a braided tube according to the present invention;

Figure 4B is an expanded view of one of the plastic fabric strips shown in Figure 4A; and

Figure 5 illustrates the folding of the braided tube to form a double layer braided tube which defines the shank portion, and the triple layer braided tube which defines the base portion of the golf tee according to the second preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring in detail -to the drawings and with particular reference to Figures 2A and 2B, a driving range golf tee 10 according to the first preferred 5 embodiment is shown. In Figure 2A, a base portion 20 is provided. The base portion 20 can be various shapes, including circular, square, triangular, rectangular or any other multi-sided shape. A shank portion 30 is connected at a lower end 31 to the base portion 20. The

10. shank portion 30 supports a ball 5. The shank portion 30 is made of a braided tube 40 such as shown in Figure 4A. As illustrated in Figure 2B, the braided tube 40 is folded inward at a location 37 to form a double layer braided tube, including an inner shank portion 32 and an

15 outer shank portion 33, which defines the shank portion 30. The two end portions 35,36 of the braided tube 40 are brought together and disposed in a hole 21 of the base portion 20. The ends 35,36 of the braided tube 40 can then be melted or glued in order to affix the two

20 ends in the hole 21 of the base portion 20.

The golf tee 10 as shown in Figure 2A can be made at various heights and can be made of various colors.

The golf tee 10 has an increased durability and longer useful life than the driving range golf tee of

25 the prior art.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and with particular reference to Figures 3 and 5, a golf tee 10' according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The golf tee 10' includes

30 a shank portion 130 which supports a ball 5. The golf tee 10' also includes a base portion 120. The entire golf tee 10' is made of a single braided tube 40 such as shown in Figure 4A. The braided tube 40 is folded radially inward at a first location 137 to form a double

35 layer braided tube, including inner layer 132 and outer layer 133, which forms the shank portion 130. The braided tube 40 is also folded at a second location 122

and folded again at a third location 124 so as to define an inner layer 125, an intermediate layer 121 and an outer layer 123. The folded area at the third location 124 defines the base upon which the golf tee 10' is laid on the ground. The folded area at the first location 137 defines the location on which the golf ball 5 is placed.

A braided tube according to the present invention is shown in Figure 4A. The braided tube is formed of a plurality of plastic fabric strips 41 which are braide _d as shown in Figure 4A. Each of the plastic fabric strips 41 include a plurality of plastic strands 41a,41b,41c, as shown in Figure 4B.

The golf tee 10' can be made in various colors. The golf tee 10' is extremely durable and is easy to find after it is used.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.