US20070215500A1

US20070215500A1 - Lightweight golf bag

Info

Publication number: US20070215500A1
Application number: US11/376,256
Authority: US
Inventors: Man-Young Jung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-03-15
Filing date: 2006-03-15
Publication date: 2007-09-20

Abstract

A golf club carrier mainly comprises an extrusion molded cylindrical frame with multiple integral sub-cylinders each longitudinally extending in parallel to accommodate at least the length of a golf club shaft. The sub-cylinders are latitudinally arranged in a circle into which a cylindrical container for holding accessories is inserted through a press fit. The container has a closed bottom, an open top and a hand-held lid removably attached to the open top for closing the same. The height of the container is much less than that of the main frame to allow an easy access to the contents in the container. At the end opposite from the container lid the main frame is reinforced for supporting the same on the ground.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sports bag. More particularly, the present invention relates to an abbreviated golf bag for carrying a full set of golf clubs with less weight and extra convenience.
B. Description of the Prior Art
To keep golf a healthy sport with no compromise in the desired precision, golfers had better carry their own set of all fourteen regularly allowed clubs rather than getting an assistance of carts or paid carriers.
Apart from full-sized golf bags which are heavily clad with layers and meant to be carried on hand-pulled or motorized carts in the golf course, choices of lighter golf bags have been offered using lesser and/or lighter materials especially suited to female golfers.
Extra restrictions by golf facilities against using golf carts to help carry golf clubs in a bag have made male as well as female golfers today look for a lightest golf bag, although there are already introduced many lighter versions of conventional heavy golf bags available to buy or reference.
Prior arts show a variety of golf bags. U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,024 to Clayton describes a Golf Club Bag that can be made with two pieces of planar flexible material stitched together and then a plurality of elongate tubes are inserted in a row between the material pieces for receiving the club shafts, respectively. The assembled bag may be changed in form between a “bundled” position where the clubs are arranged in a circle and an unfolded flat arrangement.
Kjose U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,391 shows a reversible equipment carrier that is converted into a golf bag with multiple tubular sleeves for holding individual club shafts. Again, each of the sleeves are inserted into the corresponding number of separate compartments of the main structure of the bag calling for multiple manufacturing steps for making each of the sleeves in position.
While the above examples of improvements resulted in lighter bags, there are found substantial improvements to make in the area of golf bag in lightness and convenience in the actual use in the field.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an ultra light golf club carrier with an extra convenience means of hand rest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A golf club carrier comprises: (a) cylindrical accessory container having a closed bottom, an open top and a hand-held lid removably attached to the open top for closing the same; (b) an extrusion molded cylindrical main frame with multiple integral sub-cylinders each longitudinally extending in parallel to accommodate at least the length of a golf club shaft, the sub-cylinders being latitudinally arranged in a circle for enclosing the container tightly from its open top and extending past the closed bottom to provide a plurality of circumferential tubular compartments; and (c) a shoulder strap attached externally to the main frame for holding the carrier during its transportation, whereby a number of golf clubs are received in the sub-cylinders and carried by a hand-shoulder coordination of a golf player holding the hand-held lid and wearing the shoulder strap.
According to one embodiment of the present invention the lid of the container has a rigid hand held area generally extending longitudinally of the cylindrical container. In another embodiment, the lid of the container has a rigid hand held area generally extending latitudinally of the cylindrical container.
The golf club carrier of the present invention further comprises an outer skin that covers the main frame leaving at least the top entrances of the compartments for the golf shafts.
Because of the one-piece structure of the main frame the overall lightness of the carrier of the present invention is easily controlled at manufacturing in a matter of choosing a lighter plastic material for extrusion molding. Therefore, the club carrier made according to the present invention allows a golf player to carry the permitted fourteen clubs throughout the golf play with less labor of transporting a golf bag itself.
To improve the texture over the plastic main frame an outer skin of fabric may be layered on the frame. The skin may be also made of one or more resin coatings.
The shoulder strap is attached at its two opposite ends to the main frame through the outer skin with localized reinforcements. In another embodiment, the shoulder strap is attached directly to the main frame and extends in a spiral path along the length of the main frame.
The golf club carrier of the present invention further comprises a stand and multiple pointed protrusions at the bottom end of the main frame cooperating with the stand for propping the carrier. The stand has at least one pole connected at its top end pivotally to an upper area of the main frame and may be swiveled between a propping position away from the main frame and a rest position in a lower area of the main frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf club carrier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 a cross sectional view of the golf club carrier taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 a perspective view of a top end cap shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a side view of an accessory container with the hand rest covering the top opening of the container.
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the golf club carrier taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the golf club carrier taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 a perspective view of a bottom member of the golf club carrier of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the golf club carrier according to a second embodiment wherein a different shape of the hand rest is attached.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the golf club carrier according to a thirds embodiment showing a shoulder strap is attached to the carrier sleeve along a spiral path.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention showing an optional stand to maintain the carrier at rest on the ground.
Similar reference numbers denote corresponding features throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 together, a golf club carrier 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is generally comprised of an elongated cylindrical main frame 11 having a center tubular wall 12 and fourteen sub-cylinders 14 arranged in parallel to each other about the tubular wall 12.
The tubular wall 12 and sub-cylinders 14 of main frame 11 may be formed through extrusion molding plastic into an ultra light single piece structure having the cross section of FIG. 2, which is then cross cut into an appropriate length to receive a set of fourteen regulation-approved golf clubs 15 to carry. Fourteen round outer walls 16 are connected with each other in a circle and their junctions are extended to the center tubular wall 12 forming the same number of partitions 17 defining the sub-cylinders 14. The center tubular wall 12 forms an inner cylinder that can be configured with a floor to hold articles. Although a plastic sheet can be laid across the opening of the inner cylinder to form a floor to support articles, a fabric sack is preferred to maintain a lower weight.
An outer skin 18 of fabric is bonded to the main frame 11 for providing a good texture to the touch and aesthetic value of the golf club carrier 10. Outer skin 18 may also be formed by resin coatings. Skin 18 may be so thin that no significant weight is added to the carrier 10.
At the top of the main frame 11, a cylindrical container 19 snuggly plugs the inner space of the tubular wall 12 partially and is capped by a dome-shaped lid 20, which is threaded into the container 19. The container 19 has a shoulder 21 that rests on a top surface of the tubular wall 12. From atop the lid 20 is protruding a vertical hand rest 22 centrally thereof. The hand rest 22 is textured to provide a good grip for a hand to carry out a comfortable transportation of the golf clubs in the carrier 10 without swinging and clanking of the golf clubs 15 against each other. The hand rest 22 also works as a handle to turn the lid 20 in closing or opening the container 19.
A shoulder strap 23 is attached through hooks 24 at its opposite ends to the main frame 11 providing a comfortable carrying means in cooperation with the hand rest 22. To provide eyelets for the hooks 24, two reinforcement straps 25 are attached to the outer surface of the skin 18 with folds 26 formed in a longitudinal projection line. The straps 25 may be directly on the main frame 11 if the outer skin 18 is of resin coatings, which then cover the straps 25. Each of the folds 26 has a through hole reinforced with a grommet where one of the hooks 24 penetrates. The straps 25 may be replaced by cable loops disposed inside of the tubular wall 12 of the main frame 11.
The strap 23 has pronounced soft ridges 27 on its underside to provide a positive grip on the shoulder of a bag carrier. Thus, with a number of golf clubs received in the sub-cylinders 14 the carrier 10 may be transported by a hand-shoulder coordination of a golf player holding the hand rest 22 and wearing the shoulder strap 23.
Top ends of outer walls of the main frame 11 where golf clubs 15 mostly bear against are reinforced by a cap 28 to resist wear and tear. The cap 28 may be a separate member as shown in FIG. 3. The top end cap 28 has annular outer walls 29 that gradually upwardly conform to the connected outer walls 16 of the main frame 11. End cap 28 also has similarly rounded inner walls 30 with an even space from the outer walls 29 and fourteen slits 31 at the corresponding locations to the partitions 17 of the main frame 11. Thus, the top end cap 28 may be brought into a wrapping contact with the outer walls of the main frame 11 and bonded permanently thereto for reinforcement.
Alternatively, the cap 28 may be a thick coating of a resin material, which is readily available in various forms suitable for spraying or dipping for localized reinforcement of the main frame 11 at its top end.
FIG. 4 shows the container 19 with the lid 20 on as discussed above. In turn, FIG. 5 is to show the inside of the container 19 in the fully assembled carrier 10 in a cross section. The container 19 has partitions 32 to provide three divided compartments 33 for conveniently organizing golf accessories like balls, a glove and tees to carry. Surrounding the container 19 is the main frame 11 and the both sides of the outer walls 16 of the main frame 11 are covered by the end cap 28 with the fabric skin 18 covered under the outer walls 29 of the end cap 28. As previously mentioned above, the container 19 having partitions made from single piece of plastic exclusion can receive a number of bags, in this case three. The container can be in the form of a rigid container or a flexible fabric bag, or a flexible non fabric bag.
The screw-on connection of continuous threads between the container 19 and lid 20 is the preferred fastening mechanism although modified threads of snap tabs-notches or tabs-hooks may be used to engage and disengage the lid 20 to and from the container 19 with quick partial turns of the lid 20 against the container 19.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a bottom member 34 shaped like a hollow disc 35 having an outer annular wall 36 erected upright from the disc base 35 and an inner annular wall 37 which extends in parallel with the outer wall 36. The inner wall 37 may be higher relative to the outer wall 36 providing an enough bonding surface with the center wall 12. The bottom member 34 may be formed of an elastic material for supporting the fully loaded carrier 10 with a good absorbency of shocks when it is put down to the ground. Alternatively, the bottom member 34 may be replaced by a thick coating of a resin material as with the cap 28.
The U-shaped bottom member 34 in transverse cross section (not shown) is press fitted to the main frame 11 with the skin 18 at three sides including the bottom end and parts of the inner 12 and outer 16 walls of the frame 11. The skin 18 may have an extended bottom end that coextend with the bottom and inner wall 37 of the member 34. The main frame 11 and bottom member 34 may be fastened together by mechanical means such as bolts and nuts or through a chemical bond.
FIG. 8 illustrates the identical golf club carrier 10 with a modified container lid 40 having a horizontal hand rest 42.
FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein a golf club carrier 100 has an integral shoulder strap 123 attached by tacks 124 or bolts and nuts to a main frame 111 though an outer skin 118 at its two opposite ends 125. The strap 123 extends in a spiral path along the length of the carrier 100 to better hold the carrier 100 when it is lifted by the strap 123 in operation.
The strap 123 may be adjustable in length by a well-known means including an adjustable fasteners used in conventional luggage and a garment buckle mechanism.
In FIG. 10, a golf club carrier 200 of another embodiment of the present invention is propped on an optional stand 201 attached to a main frame 211 to keep the carrier 200 at a convenient posture for the golfer to draw clubs 215 out of the carrier. The stand 201 comprises a hollow pole 202 connected at its top end to a connector 203 that is pivotally attached to an upper reinforcement strap 225 at its fold 226 diametrically opposite to another fold 227 where a shoulder strap 223 is attached. A bottom end of the pole 202 is fitted with a heel cap 204 and may be swiveled toward the main frame 211 into a clip 205 for clipping the pole 202 resiliently until the golfer pulls out the stand 202 under the carrier for propping the same as in the drawing. The clip 205 may be attached by a tack (not shown) to a lower reinforcement strap 225 a used to hook a lower end of the shoulder strap 223.
Fitted to the lower end of the carrier 200 is a bottom member 234 having two or more balancing toes 235 protruding at a wide angle to prevent the carrier 200 from rolling from side to side. Toes 235 may be formed integrally with the bottom member 234 or they may be separate attachments to the member 234. Alternatively, the bottom member 234 may have flat sidewalls like a square, pentagon or hexagon rather than a circle as illustrated. Thus, the multiple toes 235 help to maintain the carrier 200 an upright posture on the ground. Optionally, a three-point support of the carrier 200 may be established by two toes 235 and the heel cap 204 for an easier access to the golf clubs.
Though single pole 202 is illustrated in FIG. 10, a double pole stand may be employed instead with appropriate modifications to the connector 203 and clip 205 to hold two poles for providing a four-point support for the carrier 200.
Even with the various optional convenience attachments described above, the inherent structural oneness of the main frame 11/111/211 keeps the golf club carrier of the present invention made lighter as more improved materials become available for extrusion molding.
Therefore, while the presently preferred form of the golf club carrier with hand rest has been shown and described, and several modifications thereof discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that various additional changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.

CALL OUT LIST OF ELEMENTS

10: Golf Club Carrier 34: Bottom Member
11: Main Frame 35: Hollow Disc
12: Tubular Wall 36: Outer Wall
14: Sub-cylinders 37: Inner Wall
15: Golf Clubs 40: Container Lid
16: Connected Outer Walls 42: Hand Rest
17: Partition 100: Golf Club Carrier
18: Outer Skin 111: Main Frame
19: Container 118: OuterSkin
20: Container Lid 123: Shoulder Strap
21: Shoulder 124: Tack
22: Hand Rest 125: Strap End
23: Shoulder Strap 200: Golf Club Carrier
24: Hooks 201: Stand
25: Reinforcement Strap 202: Pole
26: Fold 203: Connector
27: Ridges 204: Heel Cap
28: Cap 205: Clip
29: Outer Walls 211: Main Frame
30: Inner Walls 225,225 a: Reinforcement Strap
31: Slit 226,227: Fold
32: Container Partition 234: Bottom Member
33: Compartments 235: Toes

Claims

1. A golf club carrier comprising:

a. a cylindrical accessory container having a closed bottom, an open top and a hand-held lid removably attached to said open top for closing the same;

b. an extrusion molded main frame with multiple integral sub-cylinders each longitudinally extending in parallel to accommodate at least the length of a golf club shaft, said sub-cylinders being latitudinally arranged in a circle for enclosing said container tightly from its open top and extending past said closed bottom to provide a plurality of circumferential tubular compartments; and

c. a shoulder strap attached externally to said main frame for holding said carrier during its transportation, whereby a number of golf clubs are received in said sub-cylinders and carried by a hand-shoulder coordination of a golf player holding said hand-held lid and wearing said shoulder strap.

2. The golf club carrier of claim 1, wherein said lid of said container has a rigid hand held area generally extending longitudinally of said cylindrical container.

3. The golf club carrier of claim 1, wherein said lid of said container has a rigid hand held area generally extending latitudinally of said cylindrical container.

4. The golf club carrier of claim 1, further comprising an outer skin which covers said main frame leaving at least the top entrances of said compartments for the golf shafts.

5. The golf club carrier of claim 4, wherein said outer skin is made of fabric.

6. The golf club carrier of claim 4, wherein said outer skin is made of one or more resin coatings.

7. The golf club carry handle of claim 1, wherein the number of said tubular compartments is fourteen.

8. The golf club carrier of claim 1, wherein said shoulder strap is attached at its two opposite ends to said main frame through said outer skin with localized reinforcements.

9. The golf club carrier of claim 1, wherein said shoulder strap is attached directly to said main frame and extends in a spiral path along the length of said main frame.

10. The golf club carrier of claim 1, wherein said main frame is reinforced at its top and bottom ends by additional walls.

11. The golf club carrier of claim 10, wherein said additional walls are thick resin coatings.

12. The golf club carrier of claim 10, wherein said additional walls are separate members that substantially conform to the top and bottom ends of said main frame and attached thereto respectively to resist wear and support said main frame on the ground.

13. The golf club carrier of claim 12 further comprising a stand and multiple pointed protrusions at the bottom end of said main frame cooperating with said stand for propping said carrier, said stand having at least one pole connected at its top end pivotally to an upper area of said main frame and being swiveled between a propping position away from said main frame and a rest position in a lower area of said main frame.

14. The golf club carrier of claim 1 further comprising a stand and multiple pointed protrusions at the bottom end of said main frame cooperating with said stand for propping said carrier, said stand having at least one pole connected at its top end pivotally to an upper area of said main frame and being swiveled between a propping position away from said main frame and a rest position in a lower area of said main frame.

15. A golf club holder comprising:

a. a plastic frame made by extrusion forming multiple integrally connected sub-cylinders each longitudinally extending in parallel to accommodate at least the length of a standard golf club shaft, said sub-cylinders are circularly arranged to form an inner cylinder with an opening, wherein the plastic frame has a closed bottom, and an open top;

b. a handle connected to the inner cylinder of the plastic frame.

16. The golf club holder of claim 15 wherein the handle forms a lid removably attached to the opening of the inner cylinder, allowing access to the inner cylinder wherein the inner cylinder is formed to hold articles.

17. The golf club holder of claim 15 wherein the handle forms a lid removably attached to the opening of the inner cylinder, allowing access to the inner cylinder wherein the inner cylinder retains a fabric bag to hold articles.

18. The golf club holder of claim 15 wherein the handle forms a lid removably attached to the opening of the inner cylinder, allowing access to the inner cylinder wherein the inner cylinder retains a rigid container to hold articles.