GB2233910A

GB2233910A - A golf club carrier

Info

Publication number: GB2233910A
Application number: GB9015780A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Michael John St
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-07-19
Filing date: 1990-07-18
Publication date: 1991-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 2010-07-18
Also published as: GB9015780D0; GB8916518D0; GB2233910B

Abstract

A golf club carrier (11) comprises a plurality of substantially rigid hollow tubular elements 13, 14 held together in parallel orientation to form a carrier body (12) either by encircling bands (17, 18, 19) or rigid spacers therebetween (17a, 19a; 61). The body (12) is supported by means of a foldable bipod (24, 25) or a wheeled trolley (50, 51, 52) in an inclined orientation with a lower end thereof resting on the ground or other support surface. The carrier 11 includes an adjustable strap to function as hand or shoulder carried. The bipod legs 24, 25 are carried by a bipod spine 21 secured to the carrier 11. The legs 24, 25 may include removable wheels and spine 21 can be telescopically extendable to provide a towing handle. <IMAGE>

Description

A GOLF CLUB CARRIER The present invention relates generally to a golf club carrier, and particularly to a carrier having novel features enabling it to be held upright for selection of golf clubs during use.

There are two known types of golf club carriers currently in service: the first is the golf bag, which comprises a tubular enclosure with a flat bottom and an open upper end provided with a shoulder strap by which the bag containing the golf clubs can be carried from place to place.

Because the flat bottom is relatively wide the bag can be rested in a vertical orientation on the ground whilst the player selects the appropriate club, and it will remain in this orientation whilst the stroke is played, awaiting return of the golf club before being carried to the next striking location. Because a set of golf clubs can be quite heavy, and because golf is played by players of all ages, those less able to bear the weight have traditionally employed a caddy to carry the golf bag for them. In order to avoid the additional expense of employing a caddy some players have adopted the use of a golf trolley which is usually in the form of a cradle having two wheels and a single handle. The cradle is shaped to receive a golf bag so that this can be carried at an inclined orientation by drawing the trolley over the ground.

One of the disadvantages of a golf trolley is the fact that it takes up a not inconsiderable amount of space in the car boot when not in use. Although it operates satisfactorily and performs the tasks required of it adequately the additional bulk and inconvenience of having the golf trolley occupying boot space when not in use is a considerable inconvenience. An inconvenience of the traditional golf bag, in addition to its weight, lies in the fact that because it has to be rested on end it may, especially in high winds, be blown or fall over making its use inconvenient.

The present invention seeks to provide a golf carrier of novel form having a lightweight construction, which is adaptable to carry any number of golf clubs within a convenient range, and which can be held by a shoulder strap, securely rested on the ground in a manner such as to resist falling over or carried' on a golf trolley if such is preferred.

Known golf club bags, being formed as a single open container, are two capacious for a golf club set comprising only two or three clubs, and become unnecessarily congested if a set of a greater number than seven or so clubs is carried. The present invention seeks to provide a structure for a golf club carrier by which it is possible to adapt the carrier to house a small number or a greater number of clubs readily without being under utilised and without being congested regardless of the number of clubs which are in the set.

According to one aspect of the present invention, therefore, a golf club carrier comprises a plurality of substantially rigid hollow elongate tubular elements held together in a parallel orientation to form a carrier body, a shoulder strap for suspending the carrier body, and means for supporting the carrier body in an inclined orientation with the lower end thereof resting on the ground or other support surface. The rigid hollow elongate tubular elements may be held together utilising an adjustable encircling band allowing the removal or addition of other such hollow elongate tubular elements to reduce or enlarge the capacity of the carrier. Each elongate tubular element is preferably of a diameter such as to be able to receive the handle and shaft of a golf club without undue slackness but with no great amount of excess space.This allows the carrier to be formed with a maximum utilisation of the available volume. Each club is, moreover, securely held so that it does not rattle within the container, and the relative positions of the clubs within the containers can be pre-ordained by the arrangement of the rigid hollow elongate tubular elements so that each club has its own alloted position. Whereas it would be possible to provide dividers within a conventional single opening golf bag this would still not provide the same security of positioning and identification for each individual golf club since the dividers within the bag would not be visible externally as are the individual elongate tubular elements of the golf club carrier of the present invention.

The present invention can be alternatively comprehended as a golf club carrier having a substantially rigid club containment member or reinforcing spine therefor, in which there are provided means for supporting the carrier in an inclined and upright orientation with its lower end resting on the ground or other support surface. Such means, as will be described in more detail below, may take the form of a bipod such that the contact with the ground of the assembly comprising golf club carrier and the bipod rests on three points.

In its broadest aspect the present invention may be comprehended as a golf club carrier, comprising a plurality of substantially rigid tubular elements held together substantially parallel to one another.

The assembly of rigid tubular elements may, as referred to above, be held together by an encircling band, or there may alternatively be provided rigid holders for the tubular elements, such holders having individual sockets or apertures for receiving respective rigid tubular elements. In this way the rigid tubular elements may be held slightly spaced from one another rather than in direct contact as would be the case with an embodiment in which the assembly of tubular elements is held together by an encircling band in the absence of any specific provision for separation (which, of course, may be made by means of appropriate collars or other spacing devices inter-engaged with the tubular elements.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the said elongate substantially rigid tubular elements of the golf club carrier each having a closed end and an open end, and are orientated with all their closed ends together at the same end of the carrier, the assembly of closed ends defining an end face of the carrier itself. The elongate tubular elements are not necessarily all of the same length and, in a preferred embodiment, there may be two sets of such rigid tubular elongate elements, a first set being of greater length than the second set, and the elements being orientated with their closed ends aligned to form the said end face, in which case the open ends of the second set are offset from those of the first to form two separate sets of openings.The preferred embodiment of the invention is assembled with eight tubular elements in two sets of four, each set of four being aligned to define a generally planar assembly, the two planar assemblies of four tubular elements being held face to face to form an effectively rectangular four by two array of elements.

As mentioned above the said support means for the carrier body is preferably a bipod, and in the preferred embodiment the bipod is collapsible to a folded position in which the legs thereof lie alongside the body of the carrier.

For convenience the bipod is preferably provided with an actuating push rod member for automatic displacement of the legs of the bipod from a folded position lying alongside the body of the carrier to an open or erected position inclined from the body of the carrier. This push rod member may be mounted slidably within a guide such that the push rod is resiliently flexed upon displacement of the bipod between its folded position and its erected position.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a golf club carrier formed as an embodiment of the present invention in its erected position resting on a support surface (not shown); Figure 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 1 in a collapsed position ready for transportation by means of a shoulder strap; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 4 is a plan view of a separator or spacer coupling forming part of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a golf club carrier generally indicated 11 comprising a carrier body 12 formed from a plurality of rigid elongate tubular members in two sets 13 and 14. The tubular members 13 are longer than the tubular members 14 so that their open ends 15 project upwardly beyond the open ends 16 of the tubular members 14. The two sets of tubular members 13, 14 are held together by encircling bands 17, 18 and 19. The band 17 encircles the tubular elements 13, 14 close to the open ends 16 of the elements 14, and carries a mount 20 for a bipod spine 21 the upper end of which is secured by a strap 22 to the tubular elements 13 close to the open ends 15 thereof.The bipod spine 21 carries a bipod pivot member 23 in which are pivoted two bipod legs 24, 25 each having a respective knee 26, 27 at which is pivotally connected a respective end 28, 29 of a generally U-shape push rod member 30 the bight portion of which is slidably guided within a push rod guide 31 secured by a strap 32 to the encircling band 19 around the closed ends of the tubular elongate members 13, 14.

A shoulder strap 33 is secured by attachment harnesses 34, 35 to the encircling bands 17, 19 respectively so that the whole assembly can be raised from the ground and supported by the strap 33 passing over a user's shoulder.

When suspended from the strap 33 there is no force on the bipod and consequently, partly by virtue of the weight of the bipod legs 24, 25 and partly due to the fact that the U-shape push rod member 30 is resiliently flexed within the guide 31 when the bipod legs 24, 25 are extended in the position illustrated in Figure 1, the bipod is folded with the legs 24, 25 lying alongside the tubular elements 13 as illustrated in Figure 2. It will be appreciated from a comparison of Figure 2 and Figure 1 that the distance between the feet 36, 37 of the bipod legs 24, 25 is greater when the legs are extended than when they are collapsed. This arises from the configuration of the pivot housing 23 which is generally V-shape such that the pivot axis of the leg 24 is inclined at an angle, within the transverse plane of the carrier body, from the pivot axis about which the leg 25 is turnable.The bight portion 38 of the push rod member 30 projects beyond the lower ends of the tubular elements 13, 14 of the assembly when the bipod is collapsed so that when the assembly is lowered onto the ground it is this bight portion 38 which contacts the ground first and, upon release of the weight of the assembly this is effectively displaced, with respect to the guide 31, by the weight of the assembly itself exerting a longitudinal force along the limbs 28, 29 of the push rod member 30 which, acting on the kneeds 26, 27 of the bipod legs 24, 25 which are slightly cranked so that a turning moment is exerted about the pivot mounting 23, causes the bipod legs 24, 25 to be displaced, by the weight of the assembly, to the extended position illustrated in Figure 1, from which position they automatically collapse when the assembly is raised from the ground.

Because the assembly is held by encircling bands it is possible readily to remove or add tubular members to reduce or increase the capacity of the golf club carrier.

Preferably these are added or removed in pairs to retain the symmetry of the assembly and it is considered that a maximum of fourteen tubular members 13 or 14 may be carried at once.

The legs 24, 25 of the bipod have been shown as circular section members although they may be square section if preferred and further may be provided with removable wheels to facilitate transport rather than carriage.

The bipod spine 21 may be extendable (for example by means of an inner telescopic member) to provide a handle by means of which the assembly can be towed on such wheels.

The shoulder strap 33 is designed such that it can be shortened, by means of a buckle 40, to form a tight handle making it possible to carry the whole carrier assembly horizontally in one hand using the strap as a hand grip.

Although not shown in the drawings, the open upper ends 15, 16 of the tubular elements 13, 14 may be provided with inwardly directed bristles or brushes acting to clean and drive the club handle and shaft upon insertion and removable. Additional accessories for golfing purposes may also be provided in a sock (not shown) fitted over the foot of the carrier assembly. The lower closed ends of the tubular members 13, 14 may nevertheless be provided with openings to allow for drainage of any water which may happen to enter through the open upper ends in inclement weather.

One or other of the encircling bands 17, 18 may be provided with a plurality of recesses or sockets to accept golfing accessories such as tees or ball pockets.

Although an embodiment has been described in which the tubular elements 13, 14 are in direct contact with one another, they may in fact be slightly spaced, by use of spacers held in place by the bands 17, 18 or by alternative coupling means or spacers such that the heads of golf clubs inserted into the tubes are suitably spaced.

A typical such spacer is shown in Figure 4, identified with the reference numeral 61. The spacer 61 comprises a set of three substantially linear juxtaposed interfitting spacer elements 61a, 61b, 61c. It will be appreciated that more or fewer such elements may be employed to increase or reduce the capacity of the carrier. An additional tube or other container for a plurality of golf balls may also be provided. This may be detachable if desired.

Figure 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention in which the tubes 14 are secured in their relative orientations by upper and lower spacers 17a, 19a and the bipod legs 24, 25 are removably attached to an axle 50 at each end of which is a respective wheel 51, 52. This embodiment can be moved from place to place in the manner of a conventional golf caddy trolley. Should it be desired to carry the golf club carrier as in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, this can easily be achieved by detaching the bipod legs 24, 25 from the axle 50 and supporting the carrier by the shoulder strap 40.

Also illustrated in Figure 3 is a flexible container 55 for auxiliary equipment, golf balls, clothing etc.

One means by which the axle 50 can be removably attached to the legs 24, 25 is illustrated in the form of a loop 57 through which the axle 50 can be threaded after having removed one of the wheels, which latter can be secured in position by a screw clamp operated by a butterfly screw 60.

Claims

1. A golf club carrier comprising a plurality of substantially rigid hollow elongate tubular elements held together in a parallel orientation to form a carrier body, and means for supporting the carrier body in an inclined orientation with a lower end thereof resting on the ground or other support surface.

2. A golf club carrier having a substantially rigid club containment member or reinforcing spine therefor, in which there are provided means for supporting the carrier in an inclined and upright orientation with its lower end resting on the ground or other support surface.

3. A golf club carrier comprising a plurality of substantially rigid tubular elements held together substantially parallel to one another.

4. A golf club carrier as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said elongate substantially rigid tubular elements each have a substantially closed end and an open end, and are orientated with their substantially closed ends together at the same end of the carrier.

5. A golf club carrier as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which there are two sets of said substantially rigid tubular elongate elements, a first set being of greater length than the second set, and the elements being orientated with their substantially closed ends aligned and the open ends of the second set offset from those of the first.

6. A golf club carrier as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said support means comprises a bipod.

7. A golf club carrier as claimed in Claim 6, in which the said bipod is collapsible to a folded position in which the legs thereof lie alongside the body of the carrier.

8. A golf club carrier as claimed in Claim 7, in which the bipod is provided with an actuating push rod member for automatic displacement of the legs of the bipod from the folded position lying alongside the body of the carrier to an open or erected position inclined from the body of the carrier.

9. A golf club carrier as claimed in Claim 8, in which the said push rod member is mounted slidably within a guide such that the push rod is resiliently flexed upon displacement of the bipod between its folded position and its erected position.

10. A golf club carrier as claimed in any of Claims 4 to 9, in which there are provided wiper means at or adjacent the said substantially open ends thereof.

11. A golf club carrier as claimed in Claim 10, in which the said wiper means comprise radially inwardly directed bristles or brushes.

12. A golf club carrier as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said means for supporting the carrier body comprise a wheeled trolley connected to the assembly comprising the said plurality of tubular elements.

13. A golf club carrier as claimed in Claim 12, in which the said wheeled trolley is detachably connected to the said assembly comprising the said plurality of tubular elements.

14. A golf club carrier substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.