GB2112650A

GB2112650A - Stand, e.g. for golf bags

Info

Publication number: GB2112650A
Application number: GB08224490A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Douglas Hussey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-11-19
Filing date: 1982-08-26
Publication date: 1983-07-27

Abstract

A folding stand is provided, primarily a support stand for a golf bag. The stand includes a facility 56 for de-actuating the automatic operation of the actuating rods 44, 45 which cause the stand support legs 38, 39 to move to the open position to support the golf bag. This means that after use the stand can be put in a position where the support legs will not automatically fly out when the stand is set down on the ground. This makes it easier to stow the stand with the bag upright in a locker or against the wall of a room. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements to folding stand means for unstable articles This invention relates to folding stand means attachable to an otherwise unstable artilce to afford stable support to the article when the article is set down on the ground in a generally upright position. The invention relates more particularly but not exclusively to folding stand means for golf bags. in the case of golf bags containing golf clubs the golfer is able to select and take a club and return the club to the bag without stooping or, at least, without stooping to the same extent he would have to if the bag was lyinh flat on the ground.

Folding stands means are known, a type of automatically operable folding stand means being disclosed in U.K. patent 1,160,447.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved folding stand means.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided automatically operable folding stand means for supporting an otherwise unstable article in a generally upright position comprising an article support portion and a stand portion co-operable with the article support portion to support the otherwise unstable article in said generally upright position, the stand portion being pivotably connected to the article support portion and to actuating means, the actuating means in a first closed position of the folding stand means being arranged so that on engagement with the ground the actuating means causes the stand portion to pivot with respect to the article support portion so that the folding stand means is in an open position to support the unstable article in said generally upright position, the folding stand means being provided with means to move the actuating means to a second closed position of the folding stand means in which second closed position the actuating means does not cause the stand portion to pivot with respect to the article support so that the folding stand means does not move to the open position.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided folding stand means for supporting an otherwise unstable article in a generally upright position comprising a main support member for attachment to the article, a pair of support legs pivotably mounted by their upper ends to the main support member on mutually inclined axes so that they can fold inwardly towards the main support member or spread outwardly and divergently therefrom to an open position, wherein in said open position the stand affords stable support to an article attached to the stand, said stand being rendered automatically operable by a pair of actuating rods each pivotably attached by their upper ends to a respective support leg and each longitudinally movable relative to the main support member under the weight of an unstable article attached to the stand, said stand being convertible from an 'in-use' position wherein the support legs automatically move to the open position under the action of the actuating rods moving iogitudinally relative to the main support member under the weight of an unstable article attached to the stand when the stand is set down on the ground to a 'stow' position wherein the support legs are prevented from moving to the open position.

Preferably the actuating rods are formed from flexible resilient material stressed to return the support legs from an open position to the first closed position. Preferably, also, since the bag stand is an additional item to be carried by the golfer it should be made from light weight materials, compatible, of course, with the strength required.

A particular problem with automatically operable folding stand means which would appear to have gone unnoticed and certainly not solved prior to this invention is that the mechanism which triggers the automatic operation of the support legs always comes into operation when the stand with the bag attached is set down on the ground. After use, therefore, it is difficult to stow the bag upright in the locker of a clubhouse or upright against a wall of a room or shed because the support legs always move out to the open position whenever the stand is set down on the ground A particular object of this invention is to provide folding stand means with a facility alleviating this problem.

The invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the undernoted drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a general view of a prior art bagstand.

Figure 2 is a part elevation of a construction according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is a view on 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a part view of a construction according to another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is a part view of yet another aspect of the invention.

In Fig. 1 a prior art bagstand for a golf bag is shown generally at 10. This comprises a first elongate main tubular support member 11 to which is to be attached a golf bag (not shown). To facilitate this an adjustable clip member 1 2 is provided adjacent the top of the main support 11 and a foot rest or foot 1 3 on which to rest a golf bag is provided attached to the bottom of the main support 11. Suitable openings 1 4 are provided in the foot rest 1 3 so that a belt may be threaded therethrough and strapped around the bag.A bent cross bar 15, attached to the main support 11, as by welding, carries at its extremities respective leg support members 16, 1 7 pivotably attached to the cross bar 1 5 on mutually inclined axes so that they can move inwardly towards the main support 11 or outwardly and divergently therefrom to an open position in which open position the support legs afford stable support to the golf bag. Each leg member in turn carries a respective actuating rod 18, 1 9 pivotably attached at its upper end to a respective leg support member 16, 1 7. The actuating rods are joined to each other by a cross link 20 forming a base 21 and this base extends some distance past the bottom of a golf bag when it is attached to the stand.When the bag is set down on the ground the base 21 contacts the ground first and under the weight of the golf bag is moved upwardly relative to the main support 11. By this action the leg members 16, 1 7 pivot outwardly away from the main support 11, that is away from this first closed position of the stand, to an open position wherein the support legs and the main support 11 and the foot rest thereof form a stable three point support for the golf bag. As soon as the bag is lifted the support legs 16, 1 7 return to their inwardly folded position. In one type of bagstand the actuating rods are formed from flexible resilient material and are stressed so that they will exert a returning force on the leg members.

A problem with this design occurs when it is desired to stow the bag attached to the stand and it clubs after use upright in a locker or upright against the wall of a room or shed.

As soon as the bag is set down the base contacts the ground and the legs pivot outwardly to the open position. According to the present invention this problem can be alleviated by providing a facility whereby the base 21 carried by the actuating rods can be moved from an 'in-use' position, that is where the base will contact the ground to move the stand to the open pOsition, to a 'stow' position, that is, where the base will no contact the ground and hence the actuating rods will not move the leg members outwards to the open position. In this position, then, that is a second closed position the assembly can be conveniently stowed upright in a locker or upright against the wall of a room or shed.

A construction according to a first embodiment of the invention which provides the above mentioned facility is shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3. However, before this is described in detail, it should be noted that apart from the details about to be described this embodiment of the invention can be generally in accordance with the bagstand shown generally at 10 in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 2 the cross bar 15, instead of being attached to the tubular main support member 11, as shown in Fig. 1, is attached, for example by welding to a circular tubular member 22. The cross bar 1 5 still carries the support legs 16, 1 7 hingedly attached as previously described and the actuating rods 18, 1 9 hingedly attached to the support legs 16, 1 7 respectively. The member 22 is a close sliding fit on the main tubular support member 11 and has a longitudinal slot 23 formed in it as best seen in Fig. 2. The slot is a clearance fit for the screwed body 24 of wing nut member 25.The body 24 of the wing nut member 25 passes through the slot 23 and holes 26 and 27 formed in the tubular support member 11 and is then screwed into a first screwed member or nut 28 attached to the tubular member 22, for example, by welding, as best seen in Fig. 3.

A second screwed member or nut 29 is welded to the tubular member 22 in a second position adjacent to and in register with the lower part of the slot 23 and also in register with a second clearance hole 32 in the tubular member 22. A washer member 30 bears across the slot 23 and under the head 31 of the wing nut member 25. The position shown in Fig. 3 corresponds to the 'in-use' position previously described. In order to move the actuating rods, and hence the base, to the 'stow' position the wing nut member 25 is unscrewed from nut 28 and removed to clear hole 26 whereupon the tubular member 22 can be moved upwardly until the lower region of slot 23 is in register with the second nut 2 and clearance hole 32. The screwed body 24 is then tightened into nut 29 thus securing the actuating rods in the 'stow' position.The distance between the first and second nuts 28, 29 is chosen such that the tubular member 22, cross bar 1 5 carrying the leg members 16, 1 7 and actuating rods 18, 19, will be moved upwardly a distance sufficient to ensure no actuation of the support legs so that the stand will not be moved to the open position when the bag is set down on the ground. This corresponds to a second closed position of the bagstand.

In Fig. 4 the reference numeral 33 indicates a type of bagstand different from that shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 4 the reference 34 represents a portion of a main elongate tubular support member similar to support member 11 of Fig. 1. At the bottom of the support member there is attached a foot or foot rest 35 with guide arms 36 and openings 37 by means of which a strap can be passed around a golf bag resting on the foot rest 35.

Leg members 38 and 39 are hingedly attached at their upper extremities to brackets 40, 41 by means of rivets 42, 43. The brackets 40, 41 are attached to main tubular support 34 by welding and the leg members 38, 39 can pivot outwardly and divergently from the support 34 or inwardly towards it.

Actuating rods 44, 45 which in this case are substantially rigid are hingedly attached at their upper ends to the leg members 38, 39 by having their ends penetrate through flattened portions on the support legs 38, 39 and maintained in position by lock washers 46, 47. Actuating rods 44, 45 extend downwardly to a cross link member 48 and are hingedly attached within hubs 49, 50 formed on member 48. A tubular member 51 is arranged to be a sliding fit within the main tubular support member 34 and upward movement thereof compresses a spring member 52 against a stop 53 attached the tubular support 34. An L-shaped connecting link 54 is attached to the sliding member 51.In accordance with this embodiment of the invention the connecting link 54 is arranged to be a sliding fit within the cross link member 48 and is arranged to be held in a first position, shown in Fig. 4, by means of a locking device 55 which comprises a screwed pin (not shown) attached to a wing nut member 56 which co-operates with a screwed aperture in the cross link 48. This pin is arranged to bear against a depression formed on the vertical portion 57 of the link 54. A similar depression 58 some distance down from the first depression is shown in Fig. 4. A base pad or ground contacting member 59 is formed on the bottom of the member 51. In operation and with the golf bag attached to the stand the arrangement is as follows.

When the assembly is set down on the ground the pad 59 contacts the ground thus moving member 51 upwardly within the tubular support 34 and compresses the spring 52 as its moves. Because the link 54 is held fast within the cross link 48 this upward motion is imparted to the actuating rods 44, 45 which in turn acts upon the support legs 38, 39 causing them to pivot and move outwardly away from the support 34 to an open position in which they form a stable support for the golf bag. After use when it is desired to stow the assembled bag and stand upright the wing nut 56 can be loosened whereupon if the bag is set down on the ground the link 54 will merely move through the cross link 48 without actuating the rods 44 and 45. The link can be locked in this 'stow' position by turning the wing nut 56 so the screwed pin will enter the depression 58.It will be clear that in operation the legs will be returned from the open position to the closed position by the action of the spring 52.

A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the area at the bottom end of the bagstand and shows only the foot or foot rest 1 3 and only a portion of a main tubular support member 11 to which the foot 1 3 is attached. The actuating rods 1 8 and 1 9 are shown operating within a guide member 74 attached to the foot 1 3. The leg members 1 6 and 1 7 have been omitted for ease of illustration. According to this embodiment of the invention there is provided an extension generally indicated at 60 which effectively forms an extension of the base 21 as will be explained.The extension 60 includes an extension rod 61 which has a ground contacting plate 62 attached to its lower end. The extension rod 61 is movable within a block 63 attached to a cross piece 64. The cross piece 64 carries at each side upstanding flange members 65 and 66 through which protrude the inwardly turned ends 67, 68 of the actuating rods 18 and 19. The ends 67, 68 are held captive in this position by split pins 69, 70 or other well known devices. The cross piece 64 thus forms, in this case, an effective base 21 of the actuating rods and the rod 61 forms an extension of the actuating rods.The rod 61 can move between two positions determined by the depressions 71 (not shown) and 72 formed in the member 61 and can be held locked in this position by means of a screwed member or lock pin 73 co-operating with a screwed hole 75 in the block 63 and entering either the depression 71 or 72 as desired. In a first position with the lock pin 73 in the depression 72 the ground contacting member is held clear of the lower ends of the leg members 1 7 and 1 8. Thus when a golf bag attached to the bagstand is set upon the ground there will be no actuation of the rods 1 8 and 1 9 and hence the leg members will not fly outwardly to support the bag.By unlocking the member 73 and allowing the member 61 to move downwardly relative to the cross bar 64 until the locking member 73 engages the depression 71 (the position illustrated in Fig. 2) the ground contacting member is thus moved until it projects beyond the bottom of the golf bag and leg members 1 6 and 1 7. Hence in this second position, the 'in-use' position, when a golf bag is set down on the ground the ground contacting member forms an effective base and first contacts the ground hence triggering the actuating rods 1 8 and 1 9 which in turn operate on the leg members 1 6 and 1 7 making them fly outwardly to form the support for the bag. In this embodiment the member 61 can conveniently be made to move vertically within the tubular support member 11.

Since the bagstand is an additional item to be carried by the golfer it will be appreciated that the weight of the bagstand should be kept to a minimum and therefore where possible should be made from light weight gauge materials. Plastics materials could be used strength permitting. Moreover circular tubular material or rectangular tubular material can be employed.

From the above it will be clear a bagstand can be provided with means allowing selective operation in either an 'in-use' position or in a 'stow' position and including means for locking the bagstand in the 'in-use' pOsition.

Claims

1. Automatically operable folding stand means for supporting an otherwise unstable article in a generally upright position comprising an article support portion and a stand portion co-operable with the article support portion to support the otherwise unstable article in said generally upright position, the stand portion being pivotably connected to the article support portion and to actuating means, the actuating means in a first closed position of the folding stand means being arranged so that on engagement with the ground the actuating means causes the stand portion to pivot with respect to the article support portion so that the folding stand means is in an open position to support the unstable article in said generally upright position, the folding stand means being provided with means to move the actuating means to a second closed position of the folding stand means in which second closed position the actuating means does not cause the stand portion to pivot with respect to the article support portion so that the folding stand means does not move to the open position.

2. Folding stand means according to claim 1 wherein the article support portion comprises a first main support member for attachment to the article and said stand portion comprises a pair of support legs pivotably mounted by their upper ends to the first main support member on mutually inclined axes so that they can fold inwardly toward the first main support member or spread outwardly and divergently therefrom to said open position and wherein the actuating means comprises a pair of actuating rods each pivotably mounted at its upper end to a respective one of the support legs and extending downwardly to a base.

3. Folding stand means according to claim 2 wherein the means to move the actuating means to the second closed position comprises a second tubular support member slidably mounted on the first main support member and movable between two positions, one of these positions corresponding to the first closed position of the folding stand means and the other of these two positions corresponding to the second closed position of the folding stand means, the second tubular member having attached thereto said pair of support legs.

4. Folding stand means according to claim 2 wherein the means to move the actuating means to the second closed position comprises a base extension member, the base extension member being movable relative to the base between two positions, one of these positions corresponding to the first closed position of the folding stand means, the other of these two positions corresponding to the second closed position of the folding stand means.

5. Folding stand means according to claim 4 wherein the base is common to both actuating rods and carries a support member for the base extension member, the base extension member being movable within its support between said two positions.

6. Folding stand means according to claim 5 including means to lock the base extension member in either of the two positions.

7. Folding stand means according to calim 6 wherein the locking means comprises a screwed member co-operable with a screwed portion of the base extension member support.

8. Folding stand means according to calim 3 wherein the second tubular member has an elongate slot formed therein, the upper and lower ends of said slot corresponding to said first and second closed position respectively.

9. Folding stand means according to claim 8 including means to lock the second tubular member in either of the two positions.

10. Folding stand means according to claim 9 wherein the locking means comprises a screwed member co-operating with ascrewed member attached to the second tubular member.

11. Folding stand means according to claim 5 wherein the base is pivotable relative to the actuating rods.

1 2. Folding stand means according to claim 4 wherein the first main support member is tubular and wherein the base extension member is movable within the tubular first main support member.

1 3. Folding stand means for supporting an otherwise unstable in a generally upright position comprising a main support member for attachment to the article, a pair of support legspivotably mounted by their upper ends to the main support member on mutually inclined axes so that they can fold inwardly towards the main support member or spread outwardly and divergently therefrom to an open position, wherein in said open position the stand affords stable support to an article attached to the stand, said stand being rendered automatically operable by a pair of actuating rods each pivotably attached by their upper ends to a respective support leg and each longitudinally movable relative to the main support member under the weight of an unstable article attached to the stand, said stand being convertible from an 'in-use' position wherein the support legs automatically move to the open position under the action of the actuating rods moving longitudinally relative to the main support under the weight of an unstable article attached to the stand when the stand is set down on the ground to a 'stow' position wherein the support legs are prevented from moving to the open position.

14. Folding stand means according to any preceding claim wherein the folding stand means comprises a support stand for a golf bag.

1 5. Folding stand means substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.