Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Article held by receiver
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-28
2003-12-30
Cronin, Stephen K. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Article held by receiver
C224S269000, C224S918000, C206S315100, C221S185000, C221S309000, C221S310000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06669065
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf tee holders and particularly to golf tee holders that dispense golf tees.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Golf is an ever-growing sport. Today millions of people play golf on thousands of courses around the world. Besides fees for playing golf, millions of dollars are spent every year on equipment. The are almost countless accessories one can buy that cover almost all aspects of the game.
One of the most used accessories is a golf tee. These are typically made of wood or plastic. The have a small curved top that holds a ball and a pointed shaft that enables a golfer to set the tee in the ground. Tees vary in length from about 1¾ inches (42 mm) to 2½ inches (60 mm). Players typically keep a number of tees in their golf bags and may carry two or three in their pockets as the game is played. As tees are used, players must go to their golf bags to retrieve more tees. Often this means digging around in the bottom of a golf bag pocket. This not only takes time, but can be distracting as well.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention eliminates the need to have to search for loose tees in golf bags. It is a housing that has an open interior. The interior has two curved ends and a thin middle section, which forms a “dumb bell” shape. A plate that has a matching dumb bell is fitted into the open interior. In the preferred embodiment, two springs are mounted inside of the housing. The plate sits on the springs and “floats” in the housing, resting on the two springs. A retainer pin is placed orthogonally across the top opening of the housing. The pin retains the plate in the housing and secures any tees that are installed as well.
Tees are placed into the housing by sliding the pointed end under the retainer pin and pushing down on the plate. The curved top of the tees fits into the curved portion of the housing interior. The next tee is placed in the housing from the opposite end. In this way, tees are loaded from alternate ends of the housing until the housing is full.
To dispense a tee, a user pushes down slightly on the pointed end of the top tee. This raises the curved portion enough for the user to then pull the tee out of the housing. The springs under the plate automatically push the plate and the remaining tees upward so that the next tee is in a position to be dispensed.
In an alternative embodiment, a folding type scissors spring can be used, however this is not preferred.
The tee carrier can be carried in a pocket or on a belt, or on the side of a golf bag. In this way, a ready supply of tees is available use, being dispensed quickly and easily.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1739780 (1929-12-01), Buhrke
patent: 3800981 (1974-04-01), Zeller
patent: 3840149 (1974-10-01), Zeller
patent: 4889260 (1989-12-01), Zeller
patent: 5439135 (1995-08-01), Schrader et al.
patent: 6000589 (1999-12-01), Burdine
Bradley Christopher
Bradley Timothy
Knightlinger Thomas
Cronin Stephen K.
Tavella Michael
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