US20020195360A1

US20020195360A1 - Golf bag with a stand

Info

Publication number: US20020195360A1
Application number: US09/886,421
Authority: US
Inventors: Ming-Chia Hsieh
Original assignee: Mega Force Co Ltd
Current assignee: Mega Force Co Ltd
Priority date: 2001-06-21
Filing date: 2001-06-21
Publication date: 2002-12-26

Abstract

A golf bag includes a bag body having a rigid bottom end with horizontal and inclined portions, and a stand unit with two legs pivoted to the bag body, and two push rods pivoted to the legs. A footplate is provided with a pivot connector at a middle portion thereof. The pivot connector defines a pivot hole for receiving rotatably a crossbar that interconnects lower ends of the push rods. The footplate is disposed below the inclined portion of the bottom end of the bag body, and is free of a connection with the bottom end of the bag body. The footplate is coplanar with the horizontal portion when the bag body is at an upright position. When the bag body is tilted, the legs pivot away from the bag body, and the footplate is coplanar with the inclined portion of the bottom end of the bag body.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a golf bag with a stand, more particularly to a golf bag which can stand stably at both upright and tilted positions and which can be easily assembled to result in lower assembly and manufacturing costs.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,399 discloses a golf bag with a bag body and a stand. The bag body has a rigid base formed with an indentation on its underside. A pair of legs are pivoted to the bag body at their upper ends. An outer wall surface of the bag body is provided with a holder for holding slidably a pair of push rods that have upper ends pivoted to the legs. Lower ends of the push rods are bent and extend into the indentation, and are connected to each other by a horizontal bar. When the bag body is tilted, the push rods push the legs and force the legs to pivot and extend away from the bag body so as to enable lower ends of the legs to rest on a ground surface for supporting the bag body in the tilted position. At the tilted position, the bottom of the bag body is in linear contact with the ground surface at two linear edges of the indentation. As such, the bag body cannot be well supported at the tilted position, especially when disposed on soft or uneven ground.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,567 discloses another golf bag with a base bracket mounted on bottom of a tubular bag body. The underside of the base bracket is defined with a planar portion and an inclined portion adjacent to the planar portion. A driving plate is disposed below the inclined portion, and has one end mounted pivotally to the base bracket at a juncture of the planar portion and the inclined portion, and an opposite end connected pivotally to a bent lower end of an upright push rod. When the bag body stands vertically on a ground surface, the planar portion of the base bracket is in contact with the ground surface. Meanwhile, the driving plate is disposed coplanar with the planar portion to help support the bag body at the upright position. A pair of supporting legs are pivoted to an upper end of the bag body at their upper ends. An upper end of the push rod is pivoted to the supporting legs such that when the bag body is tilted, the supporting legs are pushed by the push rod and pivot away from the bag body for supporting the bag body on a ground surface at a tilted position. At this time, the inclined portion of the base bracket is in contact with the ground surface, and the driving plate is completely retracted to be disposed under the inclined portion of the base bracket since the driving plate has a width equal to the width of the inclined portion. Accordingly, with the provision of the inclined portion on the underside of the base bracket, the bag body can be well supported at the tilted position. Moreover, the driving plate can help support the bag body at the upright position. The golf bag can thus stand stably at both upright and tilted positions.

However, mounting of the driving plate on the underside of the base bracket significantly complicates the manufacture and assembly processes of the base bracket, thereby resulting in increased manufacturing costs. Moreover, since the driving plate has a relatively large size that generally corresponds to the area of the inclined portion, a corresponding increase in the material cost results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a golf bag which can stand stably at both upright and tilted positions and which can be easily assembled to result in lower assembly and manufacturing costs.

Accordingly, the golf bag of the present invention includes a bag body and a stand unit. The bag body has a top end, a rigid bottom end, and a surrounding wall extending between the top and bottom ends. The surrounding wall has an outer wall surface formed with a push rod holder proximate to the rigid bottom end. The push rod holder is formed with a vertically extending slot unit. The rigid bottom end has an underside with a horizontal portion extending along a horizontal plane, and an inclined portion adjacent to the horizontal portion and extending upwardly and rearwardly from the horizontal portion. The horizontal portion is adapted to be in contact with a ground surface when the bag body is in an upright position. The inclined portion is adapted to be in contact with the ground surface when the bag body is in a tilted position. The stand unit includes a pivot seat, a pair of upright legs, a push member and a footplate. The pivot seat is secured to the outer wall surface of the bag body proximate to the top end. Each of the legs has an upper end pivoted to the pivot seat, and a lower end adapted to be supported on the ground surface. The push member has a pair of upright push rods that extend slidably through the vertically extending slot unit in the push rod holder on the bag body. Each of the push rods has an upper end disposed below the pivot seat and pivoted to a respective one of the upright legs, a bent lower end which extends below the inclined portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body, and an intermediate section between the upper and lower ends. The push member further has a horizontal crossbar interconnecting the lower ends of the push rods. The push rods push the legs and cause the legs to pivot away from the bag body so as to enable the lower ends of the legs to rest on the ground surface when the bag body is disposed at the tilted position. The footplate is disposed below the inclined portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body, and is free of a connection with the rigid bottom end of the bag body. The footplate has a front edge portion proximate to the horizontal portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body, a rear edge portion opposite to the front edge portion, and a middle portion between the front and rear edge portions. The footplate has a top side formed with a pivot connector that defines a pivot hole with a horizontal axis and that is disposed at the middle portion. The crossbar is received rotatably in the pivot hole and is coupled pivotally to the footplate. The footplate further has a bottom side adapted to be supported on the ground surface. The push rods have a length sufficient to enable the bottom side of the footplate to be disposed coplanar with the horizontal portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body to help support the bag body when the bag body is at the upright position, and to enable the bottom side of the footplate to be disposed coplanar with the inclined portion of the rigid bottom end of the bag body to help support the bag body when the bag body is at the tilted position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: [0009]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the golf bag of the present invention; [0010]
FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment, where a bag body is shown to be in an upright position; [0011]
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional top view showing a push rod holder formed on the bag body of the golf bag of the preferred embodiment; [0012]
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating the connection between a footplate and a push member of the golf bag of the preferred embodiment; and [0013]
FIG. 5 is a side view of the preferred embodiment, where the bag body is shown to be in a tilted position.[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of the golf bag of the present invention is shown to include a [0015] bag body 1 and a stand unit 3.
The [0016] bag body 1 includes a tubular body 11 with a cover lid 13 mounted on an upper end thereof, and a rigid base 12 mounted on a lower end thereof. The cover lid 13 defines a top end of the bag body 1. The rigid base 12 has a bottom wall 121 that defines a rigid bottom end of the bag body 1, and an annular wall 122 that extends upwardly from the bottom wall 121 and that cooperates with the tubular body 11 to define a surrounding wall of the bag body 1. The bottom wall 121 has an underside which includes a horizontal portion 123 and an inclined portion 124 adjacent to the horizontal portion 123. The inclined portion 124 extends upwardly and rearwardly from the horizontal portion 123. The horizontal portion 123 is adapted to be in contact with a ground surface 5 when the bag body 1 stands upright on the ground surface 5. The inclined portion 124 is adapted to be in contact with the ground surface 5 when the bag body 1 is tilted relative to the ground surface 5 (see FIG. 5). Both the horizontal portion 123 and the inclined portion 124 are formed with a plurality of bosses and recesses to increase friction acting on the ground surface 5. The inclined portion 124 has an indentation 125.
With further reference to FIG. 3, the [0017] annular wall 122 has an outer wall surface formed with a push rod holder 33 which includes a pair of holding members 331 that project from the annular wall 122 on a rear side of the bag body 1 adjacent to the indentation 125 of the inclined portion 124 and that are spaced-apart in a horizontal direction. Each of the holding members 331 defines a vertically extending slot 330 with open upper and lower ends, and is formed with a notch 332 on one side that confronts the other one of the holding members 331. The notch 332 is communicated with the slot 330 in the respective one of the holding members 331.
Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the [0018] stand unit 3 is disposed adjacent to the rear side of the bag body 1, and includes a horizontally extending pivot seat 32, a pair of upright legs 34 having upper ends pivoted to the pivot seat 32, a push member 35 with a clip 36, and a footplate 37 mounted on a lower end of the push member 35.
The [0019] pivot seat 32 is secured to an outer wall surface of the bag body 1 proximate to the top end of the bag body 1, and is registered with the push rod holder 33 in a vertical direction. The push member 35 includes a pair of upright push rods 352 having upper ends disposed below the pivot seat 32 and pivoted to the upright legs 34. The push rods 352 have bent lower ends which are interconnected by a horizontal crossbar 351. The clip 36 is mounted on intermediate sections of the push rods 352, and extends across the intermediate sections. The intermediate sections of the push rods 352 are extended into the slots 330 via the notches 332 (see FIG. 3) of the holding members 331 so as to be retained slidably and respectively on the holding members 331. The clip 36 serves to retain the intermediate section of the push rods 352 in a parallel relationship with each other so as to ensure smooth sliding movement of the push rods 352 through the slots 330. The bent lower ends of the push rods 352 and the crossbar 351 extend below the inclined portion 124 of the bottom wall 121 of the rigid base 12.
The [0020] footplate 37 is disposed below the inclined portion 124 of the bottom wall 121 of the rigid base 12, and is free of a connection with the bottom end of the bag body 1. With further reference to FIG. 4, the footplate 37 has a front edge portion 372 proximate to the horizontal portion 123 of the bottom end of the bag body 1, a rear edge portion 373 opposite to the front edge portion 372, and a middle portion 374 between the front and rear edge portions 372, 373. The footplate 37 further has a top side 375 mounted with a pivot connector 38 at the middle portion 374 of the footplate 37. The pivot connector 38 is formed to have a curved plate portion that cooperates with the top side 375 to define a pivot hole 383 with a horizontal axis. The pivot connector 38 has a first edge portion 381 retained in a retaining hole 376 formed in the footplate 37, and an opposite second edge portion 382 fastened to the footplate 37 by means of screws. The crossbar 351 of the push member 35 is received rotatably in the pivot hole 383 and is coupled pivotally to the footplate 37. The footplate 37 has a bottom side 371 formed with a plurality of bosses 377 that have tip portions adapted to be in contact with the ground surface 5 to increase friction of the footplate 37 acting on the ground surface 5.
As shown in FIG. 2, the [0021] push rods 352 have a length sufficient to enable the bottom side 371 of the footplate 37 to be coplanar with the horizontal portion 123 of the bottom end of the bag body 1 so as to cooperate with the horizontal portion 123 to support the bag body 1 on the ground surface 5 at the upright position in a relatively stable manner. Referring to FIG. 5, when the bag body 1 is tilted, the inclined portion 124 is moved toward the ground surface 5 and toward the footplate 37. The push rods 352 slide upwardly relative to the push rod holder 33, and push the legs 34 and cause the legs 34 to pivot away from the bag body 1 so as to enable lower ends 342 of the legs 34 to rest on the ground surface 5 to help support the bag body 1 at the tilted position. At this time, the bottom side 371 of the footplate 37 is generally coplanar with the inclined portion 124 of the bottom end of the bag body 1, is in contact with the ground surface 5, and cooperates with the inclined portion 312 to support the bag body 1. The footplate 37 is hidden and retracted in the indentation 125 at this time. Thus, the footplate 37 is always kept in contact with the ground surface 5 to provide a relatively good supporting effect during movement of the bag body 1 from the upright position to the tilted position, and vice versa.
During assembly, the [0022] crossbar 351 is received in the pivot hole 383 before the pivot connector 38 is fastened to the top side 375 of the footplate 37 (see FIG. 4). The pivot seat 32 is secured to the bag body 1 by means of fasteners. Thereafter, the intermediate sections of the push rods 352 are extended through the notches 332 and into the slots 330 in the holding members 331 of the push rod holder 33 to complete assembly of the stand unit 3 to the bag body 1. Since there is no need for mounting the footplate 37 pivotally on the bottom end of the bag body 1, the assembly process is simplified.
It has thus been shown that, with the provision of the [0023] footplate 37 below the inclined portion 124 of the bottom end of the bag body 1, the contact area between the golf bag and the ground surface 5 is increased when the bag body 1 is at either the upright or tilted position. In addition, by providing the pivot connector 38 at the middle portion 374 of the footplate 37, there is no need to connect the footplate 37 to the bottom end of the bag body 1, and the size of the footplate 37 can be reduced while maintaining a relatively good supporting effect. The golf bag of this invention can thus be produced with a lower material cost.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. [0024]

Claims

I claim:

1. A golf bag comprising:

a bag body having a top end, a rigid bottom end, and a surrounding wall extending between said top and bottom ends, said surrounding wall having an outer wall surface formed with a push rod holder proximate to said rigid bottom end, said push rod holder being formed with a vertically extending slot unit, said rigid bottom end having an underside with a horizontal portion extending along a horizontal plane, and an inclined portion adjacent to said horizontal portion and extending upwardly and rearwardly from said horizontal portion, said horizontal portion being adapted to be in contact with a ground surface when said bag body is in an upright position, said inclined portion being adapted to be in contact with the ground surface when said bag body is in a tilted position; and

a stand unit including

a pivot seat secured to said outer wall surface of said bag body proximate to said top end,

a pair of upright legs, each of which has an upper end pivoted to said pivot seat, and a lower end adapted to be supported on the ground surface,

a push member having a pair of upright push rods that extend slidably through said vertically extending slot unit in said push rod holder, each of said push rods having an upper end disposed below said pivot seat and pivoted to a respective one of said upright legs, a bent lower end which extends below said inclined portion of said rigid bottom end of said bag body, and an intermediate section between said upper and lower ends, said push member further having a horizontal crossbar interconnecting said lower ends of said push rods, said push rods pushing said legs and causing said legs to pivot away from said bag body so as to enable said lower ends of said legs to rest on the ground surface when said bag body is disposed at the tilted position, and

a footplate disposed below said inclined portion of said rigid bottom end of said bag body, and free of a connection with said rigid bottom end of said bag body, said footplate having a front edge portion proximate to said horizontal portion of said rigid bottom end of said bag body, a rear edge portion opposite to said front edge portion, and a middle portion between said front and rear edge portions, said footplate having a top side formed with a pivot connector that defines a pivot hole with a horizontal axis and that is disposed at said middle portion, said crossbar being received rotatably in said pivot hole and being coupled pivotally to said footplate, said footplate further having a bottom side adapted to be supported on the ground surface, said push rods having a length sufficient to enable said bottom side of said footplate to be disposed coplanar with said horizontal portion of said rigid bottom end of said bag body to help support said bag body when said bag body is at the upright position, and to enable said bottom side of said footplate to be disposed coplanar with said inclined portion of said rigid bottom end of said bag body to help support said bag body when said bag body is at the tilted position.

2. The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stand unit further includes a clip mounted on and extending across said intermediate sections of said push rods for retaining said intermediate sections of said push rods in a parallel relationship with each other so as to ensure smooth sliding movement of said push rods through said vertically extending slot unit in said push rod holder.

3. The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said push rod holder includes a pair of holding members that are spaced apart in a horizontal direction, said vertically extending slot unit including a pair of vertically extending slots, each of which is formed through a respective one of said holding members, each of said push rods extending slidably through said vertically extending slot in a respective one of said holding members, each of said holding members having one side confronting the other one of said holding members and formed with a notch that is communicated with said slot, said intermediate section of each of said push rods being extended into said slot via said notch in the respective one of said holding members.

4. The golf bag as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bag body includes a tubular body with a lower end, and a rigid base secured to said lower end of said tubular body, said rigid base having a bottom wall that defines said rigid bottom end and an annular wall that extends upwardly from said bottom wall and that is connected to said tubular body, said holding members of said push rod holder being formed on said annular wall of said rigid base.

5. The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bag body includes a tubular body with a lower end, and a rigid base secured to said lower end of said tubular body, said rigid base having a bottom wall that defines said rigid bottom end and an annular wall that extends upwardly from said bottom wall and that is connected to said tubular body, said push rod holder being formed on said annular wall of said rigid base.

6. The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said underside of said rigid bottom end of said bag body is formed with a plurality of bosses and recesses to result in increased friction acting on the ground surface.

7. The golf bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom side of said footplate is formed with a plurality of bosses that have tip portions adapted to contact the ground surface.