AU2014101096A4 - Golf buggy - Google Patents

Abstract

A golf buggy comprising a base frame supporting rear wheels in a spaced apart configuration at a rear end and 5 spaced front wheels at a front end and a handle assembly pivotably secured to the base frame, the handle assembly and base frame being adapted to provide support for a golf bag, each front wheel being steerable about a vertical axis and lockable in a straight ahead position, whereby in 10 a storage mode the handle assembly pivots down over the base frame and the front and rear wheels are removable. 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 ~ic\ lk/

Description

- 1 GOLF BUGGY This invention relates to a golf buggy and in particular a motorised golf buggy. 5 A golf buggy is a wheeled vehicle that supports a golf bag containing a set of golf clubs. The golf buggy can be pushed or pulled by the golfer and may incorporate an electrically powered drive. In some cases a golf buggy can 10 be steered remotely by varying the drive to each rear wheel. Golf buggies are usually collapsible so that they can be transported in a storage mode in a vehicle. When the golf buggy is erect it is required to support the golf bag and clubs in a stable manner so the buggy is unlikely 15 to tip over in windy conditions. The buggy needs a capacity to be steered manually or effectively through the use of a remote controller. It is consideration of these requirements that has brought 20 about the present invention. The present invention provides a golf buggy including a base frame supporting rear wheels in a spaced apart configuration at a rear end and spaced front wheels at a 25 front end, and a handle assembly pivotably secured to the base frame, the handle assembly and base frame being adapted to provide support for a golf bag, each front wheel being steerable about a vertical axis and lockable in a straight ahead position, whereby in a storage mode 30 the handle assembly folds down over the base frame and the front and rear wheels are removable. The handle assembly may fold about its midspan. In a preferred embodiment each rear wheel is driven by an 35 electric motor and a controller controls the speed of each wheel to steer the buggy. Alternatively, the rear wheels are driven by one electric motor. 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 - 2 In a preferred embodiment each front wheel is a swivel castor that releasably clips to the base frame. The wheel may be freely rotatable about a support, the support being 5 rotatable about a vertical axis to provide 360o steering. Preferably the support includes a lock to hold the wheel in the straight ahead position. In a preferred embodiment the span of the rear wheels is 10 less than 600mm and the buggy has a wheel base of less than 700mm. The buggy in the storage mode with the wheels attached stands to a height of less than 340mm. The bag is preferably supported with an angle of inclination greater than 45o to the horizontal. 15 The freely rotatable spaced front wheels provides the steering capacity of the buggy whilst increasing the overall stability of the buggy. The buggy has also been designed so that when in the storage mode the footprint 20 and height of the folded buggy is kept to a minimum. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a golf buggy comprising a wheeled base frame secured to a handle assembly, the handle assembly defining 25 an upwardly facing panel adapted to support a solar cell, the solar cell being coupled to an electrical lead for electrical accessories so that, in use, the solar cell can be used to charge the electrical accessories. 30 An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a golf buggy 35 supporting a golf bag with clubs, Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the buggy with the 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 -3 golf bag removed, Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the buggy, 5 Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the buggy, Figure 5 is a plan view of the buggy in a folded configuration, 10 Figure 6 is a side view of the folded buggy, Figure 7 is a perspective view of a front wheel, Figure 8 is an exploded view illustrating the means of 15 locating the front wheel to the buggy, and Figures 9A and 9B are plan views of the front wheel illustrating a steering lock. 20 The golf buggy 10 illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises a base frame 11 which is pivotably secured to a handle assembly 12. The base frame 11 comprises a pair of spaced parallel outriggers 13, 14 that are joined at the front of the buggy by a cross member 15. The outriggers 25 13, 14 support a plastics tray 20 at the rear of the buggy which in turn supports a pair of axle assemblies 21, 22 that in turn support removable rear wheels 25, 26. The base frame 11 extends as shown in Figures 1 and 2 in a substantially horizontal configuration and the handle 30 assembly 12 when in the erect configuration as shown in Figure 2 extends upwardly and rearwardly to the base frame 11. The handle assembly 12 comprises a pair of spaced supports 35 17, 18 that extend upwardly to a closed end loop 19 that defines the handle. The closed loop 19 is covered by a plastics grip 19A enabling the user to push the buggy by 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 holding onto the grip. The end loop 19 also supports a planar face plate 24 that carries instrumentation of a controller and provides support for a scorecard and pencil etc. 5 As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 5 the planar face plate 24 at the top of the handle assembly includes a recess 35 covered by a Perspex flap 36 to locate a solar or photovoltaic cell 37. The solar cell 37 is coupled to a 10 lead that extends into a recess under the planar face plate 24 to allow a mobile phone or remote controller to be recharged by the solar cell. It is understood that appropriate USB or plug and socket arrangements are provided to ensure power can be supplied to a wide variety 15 of accessories. As shown in Figure 2 the planar face plate 24 is forwardly and upwardly facing at approximately 450 to the vertical to ensure exposure of the solar cell 37 to the sky. 20 The supports 17, 18 of the handle assembly defined by tubes pivotably secured together about a point approximately midway along the length of the handle assembly 12 by a moulded plastics linkage 23. The linkage 23 also supports a pair of downwardly extending struts 27, 25 28 that extend downwardly from the midspan of the handle assembly 12 to join the tray 20 that forms part of the base frame 11. The struts 27, 28 provide additional support for the handle assembly 12. 30 A golf bag (B) as shown in Figure 1 is arranged to rest reclined rearwardly with the base of the bag resting on the cross member 15 at the front of the base frame 11. A strap assembly 30 is secured to the handle 12 below the closed loop 19 and includes an extendible strap 31 that 35 can extend around the bag to hold the top of the bag to the buggy. A similar strap arrangement 32 is provided between the outriggers 13, 14 of the base frame 11 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 - 5 adjacent the front cross member 15 to secure the lower end of the bag onto the buggy. The plastics tray 20 that extends across the rear of the base frame 11 also supports a pair of electric motors 40, 41 which are arranged to 5 drive the axles 21, 22 of the respective wheels 25, 26. In another embodiment there may be provided only one electric motor to drive both rear wheels. The tray 20 includes a recess 29 adapted to support a rechargeable battery (not shown). A controller mounted at the top of the handle 10 controls the speed of the wheels. A hand held remote controller (not shown) varies the speed of each wheel to effect steering. Each wheel 25, 26 is provided with a central hub 43 and a 15 release mechanism that allows the wheel to be either detached from the axle 21, 22 or positioned in a neutral mode on which the wheel can rotate freely on the axle 21, 22. This feature is provided in case the drive from the electric motor ceases and there is a need to manually push 20 or pull the buggy 10. As shown in Figure 3 and 5 the forward ends of the outriggers 13, 14 are joined to the cross member 15 by plastics corner blocks 45, 46. Each corner block 45, 46 25 supports a swivel castor front wheel 50, 51 so that the front wheels 50, 51 are spaced apart at either end of the cross member 15. The spacing of the front wheels 50, 51 is narrower than the spacing of the rear wheels 25, 26. 30 A front wheel assembly is illustrated with particular reference to Figures 7 to 9. Each front wheel 50, 51 is adapted to freely rotate about an axle located between the arms 53, 54 of a forked support 52 that is secured to the underside of the corner block 45, 46 by a projecting shaft 35 55 that locates in a socket in the corner block 45. The location of the shaft 55 in the socket allows the wheel to pivot through 360o, i.e. the front wheels 50, 51 are 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 - 6 freely rotatable about a vertical steering axis. The axis of rotation of the wheel trails behind the axis of steering to provide negative castor to ensure that the wheels follow the line of direction of the buggy 10. The 5 wheels 50, 51 can be disconnected from the base frame 11 by releasing a latch 60 on the connector block 45 and simply pulling the shaft 55 clear of the socket. As shown in Figures 9A and 9B the underside of each corner 10 block 45, 46 is a collar assembly 60 that can be arcuately moved from a first position shown in Figure 9A in which the front wheel is locked to the block in a straight ahead fashion to a second position shown in Figure 9B in which the front wheel is freely rotatable. The collar assembly 15 60 locks the shaft 55 to the connector 45 and prevents the steering rotation of the wheel to reduce the likelihood of flutter when the wheel oscillates side to side. When the buggy is being driven there is often a need to 20 ensure it travels in a straight line and thus the front wheels 50, 51 can be locked in the straight ahead position. For steering using a remote controller the front wheels can be unlocked to rotate through 360o. Manual steering can be effected by gripping the handle with the 25 front wheels locked or unlocked. The fact that the front wheels are spaced apart on the front cross axle considerably improves the stability of the buggy and allows the buggy to reduce its effective 30 wheel base by supporting a bag and a set of clubs in a more upright configuration than is usually the case. The spaced front wheels provide the additional stability and prevent the buggy from blowing over in high winds. The angle of inclination of the golf bag is set at 51o to the 35 horizontal. It provides adequate support for the golf bag without introducing instability to the buggy. This feature reduces the effective wheel span of the assembly to render 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014 - 7 the assembly considerably more manoeuvrable in tight spaces. A rear jockey wheel 70 is attached to the underside of the tray 20 and this wheel extends rearwardly of the buggy at a height above the ground of approximately 5 40mm. In the event of the buggy 10 going up a steep slope and dipping backwards the rear jockey wheel 70 prevents the buggy from falling backwards and improves the overall stability. As shown in Figure 1 in normal usage the jockey wheel 70 is clear of the ground surface. 10 To fold the buggy 10 for storage the bag B is first removed from the buggy and then the handle assembly 12 is folded at the mid span and then the base of the handle is folded down onto the base frame as shown in Figures 5 to 15 7. To render the size of the folded assembly even less the rear wheels 26, 26 can then be removed and stored alongside the folded frame assembly as shown in Figures 5 to 7. In the folded and stored configuration the length of the folded assembly is, in the preferred embodiment shown 20 at less than 700mm preferably 670mm, the height 3 is less than 400mm preferably 380mm and the width that is when the wheels are removed is less than 600 preferably 562mm. This makes the buggy very compact and simple to transport in small vehicles. 25 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as 30 "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014

Claims (6)

1. A golf buggy comprising a base frame supporting rear wheels in a spaced apart configuration at a rear end and 5 spaced front wheels at a front end and a handle assembly pivotably secured to the base frame, the handle assembly and base frame being adapted to provide support for a golf bag, each front wheel being steerable about a vertical axis and lockable in a straight ahead position, whereby in 10 a storage mode the handle assembly pivots down over the base frame and the front and rear wheels are removable.

2. The golf buggy according to claim 1 wherein each rear wheel is driven by an electric motor and a controller 15 controls the speed of each wheel to steer the buggy, or the buggy is steered manually through the handle assembly.

3. The golf buggy according to either claim 1 or 2 wherein each front wheel is freely rotatable within a 20 forked support, the support having a mounting shaft rotatable about a vertical axis to provide 360o steering.

4. The golf buggy according to claim 3 wherein each wheel includes a lock to hold the wheel in the straight 25 ahead position.

5. The golf buggy according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the span of the rear wheels is less than 600mm and the buggy has a wheel base of less than 700mm, 30 and in storage mode with the rear wheels detached, the buggy extends to a height of less than 340mm.

6. A golf buggy comprising a wheeled base frame secured to a handle assembly, the handle assembly defining an 35 upwardly facing panel adapted to support a solar cell, the solar cell being coupled to an electrical lead for electrical accessories so that, in use, the solar cell can be used to charge the electrical accessories. 5749364_1 (GHMatters) P94645.AU.1 SUSANP 09/09/2014