US2759666A - Score indicating attachment for caddy carts - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 21, 1956 R. D. WYCKOFF SCORE INDICATING ATTACHMENT FOR CADDY CARTS Filed Oct. 3, 1952 Rbben 0. nyckoff I N V EN TOR.

United States Patent SCORE INDICA'HNG TT CHMENT FOR ,CADDY CAR-TS Robert D. Wyckoff, Bethesda, Ma.

Application October 3, 1952, Serial No. 312,886 2Claims. (Cl. 235-1) This inventin comprises novel and useful improvements in an attachment for caddy carts and more specifically pertains to a score keeping device whereby a. golfer will be enabled to at all times maintain 'a record of his relative standing by holes or points in a plurality of golf matches.

A further object of the invention is to provide an indicating'device in conformity with the preceding object which shall be extremely compact in its construction, and yet easily operated to visually indicate the relative standing of the golfer in a plurality of matches.

Yet, another object of the invention is to provide the attachment in conformity with'the foregoing objects which shall be of inexpensive and lightweight construction, yet one highly serviceable for the purposes intended, and

which maybe readily attached to the handle of a caddy cart or maybe mounted upon a golf bag as desired.

An additionalspecific object of the invention is to provide an indicating device for recording the standing by holes in a plurality of matches, and which shall further function to support and retain a ,g'olfers score card and to support and retain a pencil or other article for marking the same.

A further important object of the invention is to provide an attachment wherein a single element shall serve the multiple functions of .providing a resilient retainer for a score card, providing a further resilient retainer for a score .cardpencil, and forproviding a clo'sure for an indicator housing.

A still further important specific object of the invention is to provide an indicating device for a score keeping attachment in accordance with the above mentioned objeots in which the manual actuating means for the individual score indicators shall be disposed in -a compact and advantageous manner .to thereby render the device more acceptable in'i-ts use.

These together with other objects and advantages which Will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the handle of a caddy cart showing the manner in which the score keeping attachment of this invention is removably secured thereto;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the score keeping attachment, parts being broken away to show the internal construction of the same, and the position of a score card and pencil being indicated by dotted lines therein; and,

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional View, taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of Figure 2 and showing certain structural details of the device.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the attachment forming the subject matter of this invention consists of a housing 10 of any suitable material, the same having a top Wall 12 together with side and end walls 14 and being providedwith an open bottom. A member of resilient sheet material is provided which, among other functions, constitutes a closure for the open bottom of the housing 10. This member thus includes a fiat central portion 16 adapted to be disposed beneath and constitute a closure for the open bottom of the housing 10, which member is further provided at opposite ends with a pair of extension or projecting vportions. At one end, .the extending portion is provided with a bracket member 18 constituting a resilient clip for retaining a pencil or the like to the sheet material member, as shown at dotted lines at 20 in Figure 1. At its other end, the projecting portion 22 constitutes a resilient clip or clamp by means of which a score card or the like '24, as shown in Figure 2, may be clamped to a base panel 26 upon which the housing and the closure member are mounted. The base 26 may be of plastic or any other suitable material, and in some instances a portion of a caddy card, a golf bag or the like may be substituted for the panel 26. By means of fastening bolts or the like 28, the housing 10 is secured 'to the closure portion 16 and the latter together with the integral clip portions 18 and '22 are secured to the base panel member 26.

It will be observed that the corners of the housing 10 may be rounded in order to provide a more attractive appearance for the same and to prevent the forming of sharp corners which might constitute a source of injury to persons using the device.

As suggested in Figure '1, the device may be readily applied to the handle portion 30 of a caddy .cart .or the like by means of fasteners such as clamps 32 attached to the panel 26 or to the closure member portion 16 and is removably securedto the handle30.

Attention is now directed to Figures 2 and 3 for a consideration of a satisfactory construction of the recording or indicating portion of the attachment.

As shown in these figures the top wall 12 of the housing 10 is provided with one or more slots 34. When more than one such slot is provided, the same may be conveniently disposed in parallel relation. A plurality of screw threaded rods 36 are disposed :within the housing 10, these rods being journaled in opposite end walls :14 of the same and each rod 36 being provided at one end of the same with a knurled finger grip knob 38 whereby the rod maybe rotated.

An arrangement consisting of four slots with vfour screw threaded rods disposed in the housing adjacent thereto andparallel therewith has been found to be highly satisfactory. These rods are rotatably mounted in the endwalls 12 but are prevented from axial movement thereto as by collars or the like 40 secured to the rods and abutting against the end walls. Each of the rods is provided with a carriage or follower 42 in the form of an internally threaded block which is screw threadedly engaged upon the rod and therefore travels axially of the rod during rotation of the latter As shown in Figure 3 this block may have its top and bottom surfaces in sliding engagement with the top wall 12 and with the closure plate 16 to prevent rotation of the follower and to provide a sliding bearing for the same. Each such follower is provided with a stem 44 which extends through the slot 34 and the extending end of the stem is provided with a finger constituting a pointer 46 and which travels upon the top surface of the wall 12 along the side of the slot. Suitable indicia 48 are provided upon the top wall 12 adjacent each of these slots to cooperate with the pointer extending through the corresponding slot. This indicia as shown in Figure 2, starts with the zero in the middle and then progresses by consecutive numbers to its opposite extremities. At the left hand side there appears the label up as indicated by 50, and at the right hand side the designation down is shown as at 52. By this means a golfer may set the pointer of a given rod and slot to indicate the number of holes or points by which he is ahead or behind an opponent. This means a golfer may maintain a current record of his standing with regard to other golfers of a foursome and thus may record his relative standing in a number of matches in which he may be competing at the same time. As will be observed, each recorder is operatable independently of the others.

In order to render the device more compact, it is preferred to provide the manual knobs 38 of adjacent rods 36 on opposite ends of those rods as clearly shown in Figure 2. This enables the use of larger knobs in a more compact space thereby contributing to the convenience of the device.

It is, of course, evident that in place of the slots, transparent openings in the wall of the housing could be provided and the indicia and pointers could be disposed on the interior of the housing in some instances, thus providing a more waterproof construction.

The device can be very simply and economically manufactured, and yet will be very compact, efiicient and durable in its use. It particularly provides a compact and highly satisfactory means for enabling the golfer to at all times maintain initial record as to his hole by hole or point standing with other golfers, as for example, the other members of a foursome. The device can be readily attached to a caddy cart where it will serve to hold the score cards and the score card pencil in convenient position for inspection and use. It may also be readily attached to a golf bag or the like by a suitable and obvious change in the fastening members 32. It particularly lends itself to ease of fabrication by the use of inexpensive and readily available materials and by the joint functions obtained from the single sheet metal member which functions as a closure and as a resilient retainer for score cards and for a pencil.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the portion 22 is joined to the central portion of the closure plate 16 by a substantially perpendicular portion 54 which has a flat abutting engagement with an end wall 14 of the hous ing 10. This disposition enables the housing to serve as an abutment or stop for the resilient portion 22, re-

inforcing and stiffening the same as the clamp is flexed upwardly to receive a score card. Also this surface 54 serves to assist in properly positioning the plate 16 relative to the open end of the housing 10 for receiving the fasteners 28.

The fiat abutment of the member 16 upon the base 26, adjacent the clip 18 will also serve to stiffen the closure member at this junction with their clips.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A score keeping attachment for a caddy cart comprising a flat, plate-like base, means secured to said base and depending therebeneath for clamping the base to the handle of a caddy cart, a score indicator including a housing open at its bottom, a sheet of resilient material having a flat central portion and upturned end portions and resting upon said base over the entire area of said central portion, said housing resting upon said sheet with its open bottom closed by said central portion and with a side of the housing abutting against one of said upturned end portions, means securing the housing, sheet and base to gether, said last mentioned upturned end portion having an extremity resiliently engaging said base for yieldingly clamping a score card therebetween.

2. A score keeping attachment for a. caddy cart comprising a fiat, plate-like base, means secured to said base and depending therebeneath for clamping the base to the handle of a caddy cart, a score indicator including a housing open at its bottom, a sheet of resilient material having a flat central portion and upturned end portions and resting upon said base over the entire area of said central portion, said housing resting upon said sheet with its open bottom closed by said central portion and with a side of the housing abutting against one of said upturned end portions, means securing the housing, sheet and base together, said last mentioned upturned end portion having an extremity resiliently engaging said base for yieldingly clamping a score card therebetween, the other upturned end portion being disposed in spaced relation to a side of the housing whereby a pencil may be resiliently clamped therebetween.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 455,161 Brown June 30, 1891 685,405 Lamb Oct. 29, 1901 748,005 Powers Dec. 29, 1903 753,457 Weissbrod Mar. 1, 1904 972,043 Webster Oct. 4, 1910 1,052,752 Revett et al. Feb. 11, 1913 1,335,596 Morrison Mar. 30, 1920 1,468,143 Elridge Sept. 18, 1923 1,811,778 Bowen June 23, 1931 1,909,362 Keith May 16, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,179 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1907

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