GB2381362A

GB2381362A - Golf bag alarm triggered by movement of supporting legs

Info

Publication number: GB2381362A
Application number: GB0125465A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Charles Dorrington
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-10-24
Filing date: 2001-10-24
Publication date: 2003-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2021-10-24
Also published as: GB2381362B; GB0125465D0

Abstract

A golf bag 2 has retractable support legs 6,7 operated by respective arms 9,10 in response to movement of tongue 8 which engages the ground. An alarm housing 19 contains the alarm 20 triggered by switch 21. A coupling mechanism 12,24,26,27,28 couples the arms 9,10 to switch 21. Furthermore a zip closure 4 is included with the bag whose tag 5 may be coupled to switch 21, causing the alarm to be triggered if the zip closure is opened. The alarm may be audio or visual.

Description

AN ALARM SYSTEM FOR A GOLF BAG This invention relates to alarm systems for golf bags. The alarm system may be a part of the bag as supplied, or it may be retrofitted to an existing bag.

Golf is a popular sport and pastime, and this has led to growth in the numbers of golf bags, which are used primarily to transport an individual's golf clubs to and around a golf course. There are many places on a golf course where a player's golf bag may be vulnerable to theft, and there are instances where the golf clubs contained within the bag will be more susceptible to theft. For instance, when a player is searching for a lost ball in the rough and leaves his or her bag unattended on the fairway; when a player is about to tee off and has left their bag behind them out of view; or when a golf bag has been left outside the clubhouse while the owner is inside. These are just some of the many examples of when a person's golf bag or golf bag contents is open to theft.

Some conventional golf bags are equipped with a pair of extendable legs which are actuated by downward pressure on a protruding tongue section attached to the base of the golf bag to allow the golf bag to be supported on the ground in an inclined attitude. These legs automatically snap back into the side of the golf bag when the bag is lifted off the ground.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alarm for use with such a golf bag to counter the problems as described above.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided an alarm system for a golf bag with ground engaging support legs which legs are movable from a retracted position into which they are normally biased, to an extended position, to support the golf bag in a predetermined attitude, said system comprising a housing containing means for emitting an alarm, a displaceable

trigger for activating the alarm emitting means, and key means for priming and deactivating the alarm emitting means, the housing being rigidly securable to the golf bag, and a coupling mechanism providing a coupling between the trigger and the legs whereby when the alarm emitting means is primed by the key means, movement of the legs between the extended and retracted positions will displace the trigger to activate said alarm emitting means to emit an alarm.

A golf bag embodying the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a golf bag including the alarm system of the present invention resting on the ground in an inclined attitude; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the golf bag of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the golf bag resting on the ground in a vertical attitude; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the golf bag of Figure 1 without a hood; Figure 5 shows an enlarged sectional view of an elongate connection assembly of the alarm system of Figure 1; Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of a coupling mechanism of the alarm system; Figure 7 is a fragmentary side view of the connection assembly and coupling mechanism; Figure 8 is a front elevation of a mounting plate of the alarm system of Figure 1; and Figure 9 is a side elevation of the mounting plate and housing of the alarm system.

Referring to Figures I to 4, a golf bag 1 comprises a generally cylindrical main body 2 with an open mouth for receiving golf clubs and a hood 3 covering the mouth. The hood 3 includes a zip fastener 4 that is operable via a zip tag 5.

The main purpose of such a hood provided on a golf bag is to protect the enclosed golf clubs (not shown) from the elements and to imprison the golf clubs in the main body 2.

The golf bag 1 also includes a pair of extendable legs 6 and 7 that are pivotally attached to the main body 2 at their upper ends. The legs 6 and 7 terminate in ground engaging feet 42. The legs 6 and 7 are movable from a retracted position, in which they lie parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the main body 2, to an extended position in which they diverge away from the main body 2 and each other (see Figures 1 and 2) by a displacement mechanism.

The displacement mechanism consists of a pair of resilient and flexible arms 9 and 10 which are clamped together at their lower ends and then diverge upwardly away from one another. Their upper ends are pivotally connected to a respective one of the legs 6 and 7 at a location spaced from the points at which the legs 6 and 7 are pivotally connected to the main body 2.

As will be appreciated, if the lower ends of the arms 9 and 10 are forced upwardly, the arms will begin to bow outwardly to increase their angle of divergence, and start to force the legs 6 and 7 apart and away from the main body.

Relaxing the force at the lower ends of the arms will allow the arms to return to their former state under their own resilience and so will pull the legs 6 and 7 back into alignment with the main body.

The displacement mechanism also includes a radially extruding tongue 8 pivotally secured to the main body 2 and a rod 12 coupling the connected lower ends of the arms 9 and 10 to the tongue 8 at a location radially outwardly of its pivotal point. It will thus be seen if the main body 2 is rested on the ground in a vertically upright manner and is then tilted in the direction of the tongue 8. The

tongue 8 will pivot and displace the rod 12 upwardly and so will, as described before, cause the legs 6 and 7 to move into their extended state so that the main body can be supported from three points on the ground in an inclined attitude.

Limiting means (not shown) limit the angle that the legs 6 and 7 can make with the main body 2.

The alarm system includes a housing 19 mounted on the outer surface of the main body 2 with the aid of a mounting plate 36 engaging the rim around the mouth of the main body 2. The housing contains a loudspeaker 20, a signal generator (not shown) to drive the loudspeaker, a first alarm switch 21, a second alarm switch 2 la, each operable to activate the signal generator, and a battery to provide power. A coded key arrangement is used to enable or disable the signal generator. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the housing 19 is bolted to the mounting plate 36 using bolts 37, and mounting plate 36 is secured to the rim of main body 2 using self-tapping screws 38 or other such suitable means.

The coupling mechanism includes a pair of channel-shaped members 25 and 26 with a pair of spaced slots in each of their two side walls extending at right angles to the axis of the channel.

The channel-shaped members 25 and 26 are first positioned to accommodate a lower portion of a respective arms 9 and 10 and then moved towards each other so that side walls of the channel members make sliding contact with each other. When the slots in the channel members 25 and 26 become aligned they can be transversed by bolts 39 and 40 to bolt the channel-shaped members 25 and 26 together and to clamp the channel-shaped members to the arms 9 and 10.

A further channel-shaped member 24 has openings in its base aligned to

receive the bolts 39 and 40 so that it too can be bolted to the arms 9 and 10. The channel-shaped member 24 has aligned slots in its two side walls which extend parallel to the axis of the channel therein.

The coupling mechanism includes an elongate connection assembly (see Figure 5) which interconnects the channel-shaped member 24 with the switch 21.

The elongate connection mechanism includes a hollow internally screwthreaded tube 31. An L-shaped member 33 screw-threadedly engages the upper end of the tube 31 and the free end of the L-shaped member is rigidly secured to the switch 21. A T-shaped member 23 screw-threadedly engages the lower end of the tube 31 and the transverse part of the T-shaped member engages the two aligned slots in the channel-shaped member 24. In this way there will be a degree of lost motion when the arms 6 and 7 are displaced before that displacement is communicated to the T-shaped member and therefore to the switch 21.

The length of the elongate connection mechanism can be adjusted by rotating the tube 31 relative to one or other of the L-shaped or T-shaped members.

The tube 31 and the adjacent portions of the L-shaped and T-shaped members 33 and 34 are accommodated in a pair of sheaths 29 and 30 which are telescopically coupled together. The upper end of the upper sheath 30 is secured to the L-shaped member by a grub screw 35. The lower end of the lower sheath 29 is coupled to the arms 6 and 7 by a coupling mechanism. The coupling mechanism (see Figures 5 and 6) includes a collar 41 surrounding the sheath 29 and is secured thereto by a grub screw 42. Instead the collar and grub screw can take the form of a Jubilee clip. An elongate tail 27 extends downwardly from the collar 41 to run along the bottom of the channel in the channel-shaped member 24. The tail includes a longitudinally extending slot 27 which is engaged by the bolts 39 and 40. Slackening of the bolts allows the tail to be displaced along the

channel to adjust the position of the collar and lower end of the sheath 29 relative to the T-shaped member 34.

In operation, when the golf bag is left in the inclined attitude as shown in Figure 1, the coded key pad is operated to enable (prime) the alarm. If now an unauthorised person lifts the golf bag off the ground, the lower ends of the arms 9 and 10 will move under their own resilience downwardly to retract the legs 6 and 7. Downward movement of the arms 9 and 10 produces downward movement of the coupling mechanism. After a degree of lost motion the coupling mechanism will engage the elongate connection assembly to cause it to displace the switch 21.

Operation of the switch 21 will then trigger the alarm to cause the loudspeaker 20 to emit an audible alarm. The alarm can be disabled by the authorised user using the key pad. Instead of the key pad 14 the alarm may be enabled or disable using a regular security key operating a locked switch. In yet another modification a smart card and smart card reader can be used instead or a system such as is used in enabling and disabling car alarms.

Instead of or in addition the alarm may emit a visual alarm.

As shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 2 the second alarm switch 21 is coupled to the zip tag 5 of the hood. The coupling may take the form of a pull pin 13 coupled to the zip tag 5 which when pulled out of the housing sets off the alarm.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a small pressure sensitive device is located in the foot of either or both extendable legs 6 and 7 or in the tongue 8. The pressure sensitive device 42 would send a trigger signal to the alarm (by wire orwirelessly) if and when the leg (s) or tongue broke contact with the surface upon which it stood.

In a modification a small transceiver 43 is provided in the housing 19 to send and receive signals to and from a short range pager device (not shown) that is carried by the user. In alarm conditions the user is alerted to the situation by a paged signal that would cause the pager to sound or vibrate.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An alarm system for a golf bag with ground engaging support legs which legs are movable from a retracted position into which they are normally biased, to an extended position, to support the golf bag in a predetermined attitude, said system comprising a housing containing means for emitting an alarm, a displaceable trigger for activating the alarm emitting means, and key means for priming and deactivating the alarm emitting means, the housing being rigidly securable to the golf bag, and a coupling mechanism providing a coupling between the trigger and the legs whereby when the alarm emitting means is primed by the key means, movement of the legs between the extended and retracted positions will displace the trigger to activate said alarm emitting means to emit an alarm.
2. A system according to Claim 1, wherein the trigger is arranged only to activate the alarm in response to displacement of the legs from the extended position to their retracted position.
3. A system according to Claim 1, wherein said legs are pivotally secured to said golf bag for pivotal movement towards and away from the outer surface of said golf bag by a displacement mechanism, said displacement mechanism comprising a pair of resilient flexible arms clamped together at one end and having their opposite ends pivotally connected to respective ones of said legs at locations spaced from the pivotal connections of said legs to said bag, a ground engaging tongue pivotally connected to the base of the golf bag and pivotally movable in response to tilting of the bag when the base rests on the ground, and a rigid connection extending between the clamped ends of the arms and a point on the tongue remote from its pivotal axis with the base, the coupling mechanism providing a coupling between the trigger and arms at a location adjacent the clamped ends.

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4. A system according to Claim 3, wherein said coupling mechanism comprises a pair of channel-shaped brackets inversely nested together to surround the adjacent portions of both arms and clamped to said arms in that position, a slotted guide rigid with said clamped channel-shaped brackets and an adjustable elongate connection assembly rigid at one end with said trigger and at said other end engaging said slot, said slot providing a degree of lost motion between said connection assembly and said arms before said trigger is actuated.
5. A system according to Claim 4, wherein said adjustable elongate connection assembly comprises an elongate tubular member screw-threadedly engaged at one end by a displacement member which slidably engages said slot, and at the other end by a connector making engagement with said trigger.
6. A system according to Claim 5, wherein said slotted guide comprises a channel-shaped member defining a pair of parallel spaced slots, and wherein said displacement member comprises a T-shaped member in which the transverse portion of the T-shaped member engages both slots.
7. A system according to Claim 5 or 6, wherein said elongate connection assembly includes a telescopic outer sheath housing said tubular member, said sheath being rigidly connected at one end to said trigger and being rigidly connected at said other end to said coupling mechanism.
8. A system according to Claim 7, wherein the means connecting the sheath to said coupling mechanism comprises a collar surrounding said sheath and being rigidly connected thereto, and a tail extending from said collar, said tail having a slot engaged by a bolt secured to said coupling mechanism whereby to allow adjustment of the longitudinal position of the end of the sheath adjacent to the coupling mechanism.

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9. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said housing supports a second trigger for activating the alarm emitting means and wherein said golf bag includes a zipped closure with a zip tag for closing the open end of the golf bag, and the system includes means for coupling the zip tag to the second trigger when the zipped closure is zipped closed whereby any attempt to open the zipped closure using the zip tag when the alarm is primed will cause the second trigger to actuate the alarm.
10. A systems according to any preceding claim, including radio transmission means for transmitting a radio signal to a receiver when the alarm emitting means is actuated.
11. A system according to any preceding claim, including means for sensing a reduction in the ground engaging pressure on the bag while the legs remain in their extended position to actuate said alarm emitting means.
12. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said key means comprises a key pad.