GB2474733A

GB2474733A - A folding golf bag trolley with simultaneously foldable front and rear wheel frames

Info

Publication number: GB2474733A
Application number: GB201008453A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gordon Liao
Original assignee: Unique Product and Design Co Ltd
Current assignee: Unique Product and Design Co Ltd
Priority date: 2010-05-21
Filing date: 2010-05-21
Publication date: 2011-04-27
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-21
Also published as: GB2474733B; GB201008453D0

Abstract

A wheeled trolley or cart for transporting a golf bag comprises an upper frame member 4, a lower frame member 1, rear wheel frames 12, front wheel frame 16, slide mechanism 2, 3, and a number of link members 51-54 connecting the frame members and the wheel frames together such that when the upper frame is folded to a storage position both the rear wheel frames and the front wheel frame are also simultaneously retracted to their non-use positions (figure 10). The slide mechanism may comprise a first part 2 which is caused to move along a grooved track 18 by means of link member 51, and a second part 3 which is subsequently slid along the track thus causing link member 54 to pivot the front wheel frame upwards. The upper frame member may be pivoted between the two configurations when a sprung catch mechanism 61 is released from its locking position.

Description

GOLF BAG CART FOLDABLE DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE TNVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a golf bag cart foldable device and more particularly to one that features a simultaneous unfolding or folding for an upper cart stand, a bottom cart stand, a front wheel and rear wheels, to facilitate the handiness in use.

Description of the Prior Art

The foldable devices of prior golf bag carts are in a general shape as in FTG. 11, where an upper cart stand 7 (that is, the handle bar) and a rear wheel frame 71 are joined together by a strut bar 72 in between. Once the upper cart stand 7 is being pulled, two rear wheels 73 are certainly linked to shift inward; however, the folding of the front wheel 74 and of the rear wheel 73 are independent to each other, which are unable to be folded simultaneously. And that means a user has to squat down to operate a front wheel folding joint 75 and to pull a front wheel 74 for a frontward (or backward) folding, for the completion of the folding of the bag cart. On the contrary, the unfolding of the cart for the use still demands a user to squat down to operate the front wheel 74 too, which is substantially inconvenient, especially for the situations that the front wheel 74 and the rear wheels 73 are stuck with dirt, weeds or/and mud as the cart has already moved in the golf course.

And the folding of the front wheel 74 at this moment would no doubt smudge the hands and the dress, which is awful and awkward to operate.

In light of the aforesaid shortcomings, the applicant of this invention pushed the inventor laboriously ahead with the improvement, and eventually the longtime endeavors gave birth to this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of this invention is to provide a golf bag cart foldable device, which features a simultaneous unfolding or folding for a upper cart stand, a bottom cart stand, a front wheel and rear wheels, to achieve particular handiness in use.

To achieve the aforementioned objective, this invention comprises: a bottom cart stand, having a plate joint at its top, where the plate joint is in pinned connection with a rear wheel frame at each of its two laterals, to connect to the rear wheels respectively, and is connected to a bag base at its bottom, where the bottom of the bag base is frirther joined to a front wheel frame, to connect to the front wheel; an upper cart stand, having a winding member at its bottom pivotally connected to the plate joint; a sliding chunk set, set up on the bottom cart stand, and available to slide along the bottom cart stand, which is made up of an active sliding chunk and a passive sliding chunk; a link set, made up of a plurality of links, connected to the upper cart stand, the bottom cart stand, the front wheel frame, the rear wheel frames and the sliding chunk set respectively, to form links between the upper cart stand with the bottom cart stand and the front wheel frame with the rear wheel frame; and a folding joint, set up on the winding member of the upper cart stand, having a buckle for the release of the folding joint first, and the upper cart stand is pulled, by means of the links between the link set with the sliding chunk set and the front wheel frame with the rear wheel frame, the simultaneous unfolding or folding of the upper cart stand, the bottom cart stand, the front wheel and the rear wheels can thus be accomplished, followed by a locking for the folding joint, to enable a mutual locking between the upper cart stand and the bottom cart stand, to facilitate the handiness in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of the unfolding according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the unfolding according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the bottom cart stand together with the sliding chunk set and the link set according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the bottom cart stand and the active sliding chunk according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the bottom cart stand and the passive sliding chunk according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is an exploded diagram of the folding joint according to the present invention; FIG. 7 is a sectional view for the locking of the folding joint according to the present invention; FIG. 8 is a sectional view for the unlocking of the folding joint according to the present invention; FIG 9 is a schematic side view of the motion for folding according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of the complete folding according to the present invention; HG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the prior art golf bag cart referred to above;

DETAILED DESCRJPTION OF THE INVENTION

The structural traits and the functions of this invention are detailed described with reference to the following preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, which would help the honorable Examiner to comprehend thoroughly the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 -7, this invention comprises: a bottom cart stand 1, having a plate joint 11 at its top, where the plate joint 11 is in pinned connection with a rear wheel frame 12 at each of its two laterals, and the distal end of each rear wheel frame 12 is connected to a rear wheel 13, and having a fixing chunk 14 at its bottom that is pivotally connected to a bag base 15, where the bag base 15 is further joined fixedly to a front wheel frame 16. The distal end of the front wheel frame 16 is connected to a front wheel 17, and the bottom cart stand 1 is provided with a track groove 18 indented at each of its two laterals. The fixing chunk 14 and the bag base 15 each has a positioning face 141, 151 set up in between and both are fit to each other; a sliding chunk set, set up on the bottom cart stand 1 and available to slide along the bottom cart stand 1, being made up of an active sliding chunk 2 and a passive sliding chunk 3. The active sliding chunk 2 is set up at the top of the bottom cart stand 1 and close to the plate joint 11, has a protruded track 21 at each of its two inner sides, which correspond to the track grooves 18 of the bottom cart stand 1 respectively, and is connected to a third link 53 at its bottom by means of a fixing element 22 (for instance: a bolt). The passive sliding chunk 3 is set up at the bottom of the bottom cart stand 1, has a protruded track 31 at each of its two inner sides which correspond to the track grooves 18 respectively, and is connected to the third link 53 and a fourth link 54 at its bottom by means of a fixing element 32; an upper cart stand 4, having a winding member 41 at its bottom which is pivotally connected to the plate joint 11 of bottom cart stand 1, being pivotatty connected to an upper mount 42 at its top; a link set 5, made up of a plurality of links, is connected to the upper cart stand 4, the bottom cart stand 1, the front wheel frame 16, the rear wheel frames 12 and the sliding chunk set respectively, to form links between the upper cart stand 4 with the bottom cart stand 1 and the front wheel frame 16 with the rear wheel frames 12. The link set 5 comprises at least a first link 51, a second link 52, a third link 53 and a fourth link 54. The first link 51 is coupled to the winding member 41 at its top and to the active sliding chunk 2 at its bottom, to form a link between the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1. The second link 52 is coupled to the active sliding chunk 2 at its one end and to the rear wheel frames 12 at the other end, to form links between the upper cart stand 4 and the rear wheel frames 12. The third link 53 is set up at the bottom of the bottom cart stand 1 and is coupled to somewhere between the active sliding chunk 2 and the passive sliding chunk 3, where its front part (located at the active sliding chunk 2) is set up with an elongated indent 531 that is connected to the fixing element 22, to form an indent passive mechanism, which enables the active sliding chunk 2 not only to have a path constraint during its sliding but to drive the passive sliding chunk 3 to move, relative to the third link 53. The fourth link 54 is coupled to the passive sliding chunk 3 at its one end and to the bag base 15 (that is, the front wheel frame 16) at the other end, to form a link between the upper cart stand 4 and the front wheel 17 (the front wheel frame 16) through the links between the first link 51, the active sliding chunk 2, the third link 53 and the passive sliding chunk 3 and the fourth link 54; and a folding joint 6, set up on the winding member 41 of the upper cart stand 4, comprising: a buckle 61, in pinned connection with one lateral of the winding member 41; two movable chain wheels 62, set up in the inner side of the winding member 41; two fixed chain wheels 63, set up on top outer side of the plate joint 11, to correspond to the movable chain wheels 62 respectively; and two springs 64, where each is set up in between a fixed chain wheel 63 and the corresponding movable chain wheel 62, which generates a force to press the movable chain wheel 62 outward; once the buckle 61 is pressed upward for a tightening, the inward moving of the movable chain wheel 62 is used to clench the corresponding fixed chain wheel 63, which is by fixing the winding member 41, the angle formed by the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1 can be locked; on the contrary, once the buckle 61 is pressed downward for a releasing, the movable chain wheel 62 is pushed outward to escape from the corresponding fixed chain wheel 63, subject to the resilient force of the spring 64, which enables the winding member 41 to move and spin.

According to the aforementioned structural combination, the bag cart of this invention is in the unfolding state under normal conditions, as shown in FTGS. 1 & 2, the buckle 61 at the moment is in upward pulling state, which enables the relative position of the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1 to be fixed, shown in FIG. 7. And the rear wheel frames 12 are fixed in the unfolding position of the bag cart, subject to the mutual reaction of the first link 51 and the second link 52, while the front wheel frame 16 is unable to move upward to be folded, subject to the mutual reaction of the third link 53 and the fourth link 54. The bag base 15 and the fixing chunk 14 of the bottom cart stand 1 each has a positioning face 141, or 151 set up in between and both are fit to each other, shown in FTG. 3, which limits the downward angle that the bag cart 15 is relative to the bottom cart stand 1; therefore, once the bag cart 15 is fixed in the unfolding state, there is no need to immobilize any other joints.

If a folding is intended, the buckle 61 is loosened first (pull the buckle 61 down) to release the folding joint 6, shown in FIG. 8, followed by pulling the upper cart stand 4 down, and the first link 51 is driven by the winding member 41, which drives the active sliding chunk 2 to move forward (down) along the bottom cart stand 1, shown in FTG. 9. Meanwhile, the active sliding chunk 2 pulls the rear wheel frames 12 through the second link 52, to have it move forward and inward, and the rear wheels 13 follow suit to move forward and inward. As the active sliding chunk 2 slides to the end of the elongated indent 531 of the third link 53, it starts to press the third link 53 and to drive the passive sliding chunk 3 to move forward (down). At the same time, the fourth link 54 is linked to drive the bag cart and the front wheel frame 16 to move up for being folded, and the front wheel 17 is upward folded too. And the buckle 61 is then pulled up to lock the folding joint 6, which enables the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1 to be fixed, to accomplish the folding of the entire bag cart, shown in FIG. 10.

Briefly, just to loosen the buckle 61 and to pull the upper cart stand 4, the simultaneous folding for the upper cart stand 4, the bottom cart stand 1, the front wheel 17 and the rear wheels 13 can be accomplished, which substantially facilitate the handiness in use.

On the contrary, once an unfolding is desired, the buckle 61 has to be loosened first, followed by an upward lifting on the upper cart stand 4, and the simultaneous unfolding of the front wheel 17, the rear wheels 13, the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1 can be accomplished, subject to the links between the first link 51, the second link 52, the third link 53 and the fourth link 54 and the active sliding chunk 2, the passive sliding chunk 3 with the front wheel frame 16, the rear wheel frame 12. As the unfolding is in place, the buckle 61 is locked to have the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1 secured to each other, which completes the unfolding of the entire bag cart, shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, considerably to facilitate the handiness in use.

From the aforesaid description, this invention features at least the following advantages and functions, which is much creative than the prior art: 1. The upper cart stand 4, the bottom cart stand 1, the front wheel 17 and the rear wheels 13 can be unfolded or folded simultaneously, which is truly handy in use.

2. During the folding of the cart, the mutual locking of the upper cart stand 4 and the bottom cart stand 1 enables a handy carrying and storing.

3. During the unfolding, the folding joint 6 is responsible for anchoring the cart and there is no need for additional joints to be fixed, which is truly handy in use.

To sum up, the disclosed concrete structure of the exemplified embodiment of the present invention is not only unknown to the prior art, but surely can accomplish the expected objective and function, which is construed as absolutely novel and creative, and a patent application for the invention is then filed according to the patent law.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is: 1. A golf bag cart foldable device, comprising: 1.) a bottom cart stand, having a plate joint at its top, where the plate joint is in pinned connection with a rear wheel frame at each of its two laterals to connect to rear wheels, and being connected to a bag base at its bottom, where the bottom of the bag base is joined to a front wheel frame to connect to a front wheel; 2.) an upper cart stand, having a winding member at its bottom to pivotally connect to the plate joint; 3.) a sliding chunk set, set up on the bottom cart stand and available to slide along the bottom cart stand, being made up of an active sliding chunk and a passive sliding chunk; 4.) a link set, made up of a plurality of links, connecting to the upper cart stand, the bottom cart stand, the front wheel frame, the rear wheel frames and the sliding chunk set respectively, to form links between the upper cart stand with the bottom cart stand and the front wheel frame with the rear wheel frame; and 5.) a folding joint, set up on the winding member of the upper cart stand, having a buckle for the release of the folding joint first, and the upper cart stand being pulled, by means of the links between the link set with the sliding chunk set and the front wheel frame with the rear wheel frame, the simultaneous unfolding or folding of the upper cart stand, the bottom cart stand, the front wheel and the rear wheels can thus be accomplished, followed by a locking for the folding joint, to enable a mutual locking between the upper cart stand and the bottom cart stand, to facilitate the handiness in use.
2. A golf bag cart foldable device as in claim 1, wherein the bottom cart stand may have a fixing chunk at its bottom, to pivotally connect to the bag base, where the fixing chunk and the bag base each has a positioning face set up in between and both being fit to each other.
3. A golf bag cart foldable device as in claim 1, wherein the active sliding chunk and the passive sliding chunk of the sliding chunk set and the bottom cart stand are set up with protruded tracks and track grooves respectively, which are fit to each other, and each being fixed by a fixing element.
4. A golf bag cart foldable device as in claim 1, wherein the link set comprises: 1.) a first link, coupled to the winding member of the upper cart stand at its top and to the active sliding chunk at its bottom; 2.) a second link, coupled to the active sliding chunk at its one end and to the rear wheel frames at the other end; 3.) a third link, set up at the bottom of the bottom cart stand and coupled to somewhere between the active sliding chunk and the passive sliding chunk, where its front part is set up with an elongated indent; and 4.) a fourth link, coupled to the passive sliding chunk at its one end and to the bag base at the other end.
5. A golf bag cart foldable device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.Amendments to the Claims have been filed as followsCLAIMSWhat is claimed is: 1. A foldable golf bag cart comprising: 1.) a bottom cart stand, having a joint at its top, where the joint is in pinned connection with a rear wheel frame at each of its two sides to connect to rear wheels, and is connected to a bag base at its bottom, and the bottom of the bag base is joined to a front wheel frame to connect to a front wheel; 2.) an upper cart stand, having a winding member at its bottom to pivotally connect to the joint; 3.) a sliding adjustment structure, set up on the bottom cart stand and capable of sliding along the bottom cart stand, being made up of a primary sliding formation and a secondary sliding formation; 4.) a link set, made up of a plurality of links, connecting to the upper cart stand, the bottom cart stand, the front wheel frame, the rear wheel frames and the sliding adjustment structure respectively, to form links between the upper cart stand and the bottom cart stand and between the front wheel frame and the rear wheel frame; and 5.) a joint located on the winding member of the upper cart stand and having an operating handle, and the upper cart stand being moved, by means of the link set in such manner that unfolding or folding of the upper cart stand, the bottom cart stand, the front wheel and the rear wheels can be accomplished.2. A foldable golf bag cart as in claim 1, wherein the bottom cart stand has a fixing formation at its bottom, to pivotally connect to the bag base and the fixing formation and the bag base have complementary positioning faces.3. A foldable golf bag cart as in claim 1, wherein the primary sliding formation and the secondary sliding formation of the sliding adjustment structure and the bottom cart stand are formed with elongated tracks.4. A foldable golf bag cart as in claim 1, wherein the link set comprises: 1.) a first link, coupled to the winding member of the upper cart stand at its top and to the primary sliding formation at its bottom; 2.) a second link, coupled to the primary sliding formation at its one end and to the rear wheel frames at its other end; 3.) a third link located at the bottom of the bottom cart stand and coupled to the primary and secondary sliding formations; and 4.) a fourth link, coupled to the secondary sliding formation at its one end and to the bag base at its other end.5. A foldable golf bag cart substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.