US20050178681A1

US20050178681A1 - Golf bag sustained with leg means

Info

Publication number: US20050178681A1
Application number: US10/777,650
Authority: US
Inventors: Ma-Li Wang
Original assignee: Grad Star Resources Ltd
Current assignee: Grad Star Resources Ltd
Priority date: 2004-02-13
Filing date: 2004-02-13
Publication date: 2005-08-18

Abstract

A golf bag sustained with a leg is provided, including a bag body for storing golf clubs; a base mounted at the bottom of the bag body and having a flat surface portion, an anchored portion, an inclined plane portion; and a support piece detachably mounted at the bottom of the base. The support piece includes a flat sheet and a pair of opposing first fastening portion and second fastening portion formed on the flat sheet. The first fastening portion is assembled with the leg, and the second fastening portion is coupled to the anchored portion, so as to support the golf bag up by means of the assembled leg and support piece.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to golf bags sustained with leg means, and more particularly, to a golf bag having a support piece to be assembled with the leg means so as to support the golf bag up at a tilt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Golf has become a popular sport with ever increasing popularity among various walks of life and age groups. Many golfers like to practice their game without a caddie, carrying their golf bags by themselves. In order to avoid the golf bag from falling over on the grass and/or reduce the inconvenience of golf club removal and replacement, the present design of a golf bag employs a support piece on the base for locating a leg means, which enables the golf bag to be positioned on a tilt and allows convenient access to the clubs.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional golf bag comprises a hood 1, a bag body 2 and a base 3. The hood 1 is positioned on the upper end of the bag body 2 and has a circular rim at the outer periphery; the base 3 is underneath the bag body 2 and forms an inclined plane portion 4 on one side at the bottom. The inclined plane portion 4 further includes a support piece 5, in the shape of a fantail from the front to the rear. A block 6 is formed upwards on the center upright of an extended flat portion in front of the support piece 5. In addition, two pivot joint blocks 7 are centrally formed on the top of the rear of the fantail with fastening portions 8 respectively formed thereon.
The support piece 5 is pivotally attached to a locking block 10 by dint of a latch 9, which pierces through two pivot joints 11 on the locking block 10 and a through hole 12 penetrating the block 6. Subsequently, the locking block 10 with the support piece 5 attached is secured in place by screws 13 piercing holes 15 on a containing space 14 on the inclined plane portion 4. By this manner, the support piece 5 is affixed to the bottom of the base 3. The leg means of a conventional golf bag comprises a support rod and a connecting rod (not shown) for sustaining the golf bag by utilizing one end of the connecting rod which fits into the clasps 8 on the support piece 5 and one end of the support rod to sustain the bag body 2 of the golf bag in the direction of slant for a golfer to replace clubs.
Nevertheless, a golf bag must be put up and lifted nearly a hundred times during a golf game, so that the support piece on the base is easily damaged due to frequent movement. In addition, the support piece, when damaged, is unable to be dismantled from the base of a golf bag for replacement even though other parts of the golf bag are still in good condition. Due to this characteristic, a golfer has to replace the golf bag from time to time.
Moreover, the conventional structure of golf bags often requires a number of components in enabling assembly of the support piece with the base of the golf bag. Hence, ignoring the fact that the assembly process is complicated for a golfer, the number of components involved results in an increase of the overall cost. Meanwhile, the combination of a number of components requires precision during manufacture, further resulting in additional cost, not to mention that material management becomes more complicated during manufacture and there is too great a consumption of materials involved for making golf bags.
The problems of requiring excessive components in the technique of assembling the base and the support piece of a golf bag lead to inconvenience and difficulties in using, assembling, and manufacturing golf bags, resulting in increased expense for users and increases of manufacturing cost and time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a golf bag sustained with leg means, having a support piece detachably mounted on a base of the golf bag.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a golf bag sustained with leg means, which can be easily assembled and whose manufacturing cost can be reduced.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a golf bag sustained with leg means, allowing the golf bag to be firmly supported by the leg means.
To achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention proposes a golf bag sustained with leg means comprising a bag body for storing golf clubs, a base attached to the bottom of the bag body, and a support piece mounted at the bottom of the base.
The base of the golf bag comprises a flat surface portion, an anchored portion, and an inclined plane portion. The support piece comprises a flat sheet and a pair of opposing first fastening portion and second fastening portion formed on the flat sheet. The first fastening portion is assembled with a support member of the leg means, and the second fastening portion is directly coupled to the anchored portion. The assembled leg means and support piece therefore support the golf bag up on a plane.
When the support member of the leg means is engaged with the first fastening portion of the support piece, the golf bag and the base can be tilted toward the direction of a leg member of the leg means, and the leg member can be extended away from the bag body, so as to support the golf bag up at a tilt. The tilted golf bag allows a use to easily remove the golf clubs from the bag body.
The support piece can be made of an elastic material to allow repeated opening and closing movements between the second fastening portion of the support piece and the anchored portion of the base. Moreover, the support piece is detachably attached to the anchored portion of the base, such that if the support piece is damaged, a new support piece instead of a whole new golf bag can be simply replaced.
The shape and size of the second fastening portion and the flat sheet of the support piece can be flexibly arranged, as long as the support piece together with the leg means provide sufficient support for the golf bag set up at a tilt.
Since the support piece is detachably and directly mounted to the base without requiring additional parts, the golf bag sustained with leg means according to the present invention can be easily and simply assembled. Also, a new support piece can easily replace the old damaged support piece without having to change or discard the whole golf bag, such that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective exploded view of a conventional golf bag;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a base and a support piece of a golf bag according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the assembled base and support piece of the golf bag according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram with a partial enlarged view showing an operational status of the golf bag sustained with leg means according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a base and a support piece of a golf bag according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an operational status of the golf bag sustained with leg means according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a base of a golf bag according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of support piece of the golf bag according to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

First Preferred Embodiment

FIGS. 2 to 4 show a golf bag sustained with leg means according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. This golf bag comprises a bag body 18 for storing golf clubs (not shown), a base 20 mounted at the bottom of the bag body 18, and a support piece 21 detachably mounted at the bottom of the base 20.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the base 20 comprises a flat surface portion 201, an anchored portion 202 and an inclined plane portion 203. The anchored portion 202 is substantially a parallelogram-shaped opening. The inclined plane portion 203 is formed with a first recess portion 203 a and a second recess portion 203 b.
The support piece 21 comprises a flat sheet 211, a first fastening portion 212 and a second fastening portion 213. The flat sheet 211 is formed with one or more hollow portions 211 a. The first fastening portion 212 is located at one end of the flat sheet 211 and can be assembled with a support member 221 of the leg means 22. The second fastening portion 213 is located at the opposite end of the flat sheet 211 and can be directly coupled to the anchored portion 202 of the base 20 without requiring any additional parts. In this preferred embodiment, the second fastening portion 213 is an arched protuberance.
When the second fastening portion 213 of the support piece 21 is coupled to the anchored portion 202 of the base 20, as shown in FIG. 4, the first fastening portion 212 of the support piece 21 is assembled with the support member 221 of the leg means 22, allowing a leg member 223 of the leg means 22 to be extended away from the bag body 18 to sustain the golf bag up at a tilt.
The flat sheet 211 of the support piece 21 is engaged with the first recess portion 203 a of the inclined plane portion 203, and the second fastening portion 213 of the support piece 21 is engaged with the second recess portion 203 b of the inclined plane portion 203. As a result, when the golf bag is supported up at a tilt, the flat sheet 211 and the second fastening portion 213 are accommodated and held in position by the inclined plane portion 203, so as to allow firm and balanced contact between the support piece 21 and a plane where the golf bag is situated, such that the golf bag can be secured in the tilt position, and a user can remove the golf clubs (not shown) easily from the bag body 18.
The support piece 21 can be made of an elastic material to allow repeated opening and closing movements between the second fastening portion 213 of the support piece 21 and the anchored portion 202 of the base 20. Moreover, the second fastening portion 213 is detachably attached to the anchored portion 202. If the support piece 21 is damaged, a new support piece instead of a whole new golf bag can be simply replaced.
Since the support piece 21 is detachably and directly mounted to the base 20 without requiring additional parts, the golf bag sustained with leg means according to the present invention can be easily and simply assembled. Also, a new support piece can easily replace the old damaged support piece without having to change or discard the whole golf bag, such that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Second Preferred Embodiment

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the golf bag sustained with leg means according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. This golf bag comprises a bag body 18 for placing golf clubs (not shown), a base 30 on the bottom of the bag body 18, and a support piece 31 detachably mounted at the bottom of the base 30.
The golf bag of this second preferred embodiment is substantially the same in structure as that of the above first preferred embodiment, but differs in that the anchored portion 302 of the base 30 and the second fastening portion 313 of the support piece 31 are saw-shaped structures corresponding to each other. Further, the support piece 31 has a first flat sheet 311 a and a second flat sheet 311 b extending from a side of the first flat sheet 311 a, and the second fastening portion 313 is located at the side of the first flat sheet 311 a connected with the second flat sheet 311 b.
The saw-shaped second fastening portion 313 comprises saws 313 a and hollow portions 313 b, and can be engaged with the saw-shaped anchored portion 302. The second fastening portion 313 further comprises protruding positioning points 313 c that help securely position the support piece 31 in the anchored portion 302 of the base 30. The protruding positioning points 313 c also provide phased strength of engagement between the second fastening portion 313 and the anchored portion 302. The first flat sheet 311 a and the second flat sheet 311 b can provide a larger support area.
The saws 313 a and the protruding positioning points 313 c are spaced at intervals and formed on all sides of second fastening portion 313 that are engaged with the anchored portion 302. The shapes and interval distances of the saw-shaped structure 313 a and the protruding positioning points 313 c can be flexibly arranged and are not limited to those shown in the drawings of this embodiment, as long as sufficient engagement between the second fastening portion 313 and the anchored portion 302 should be achieved.
Moreover, the protruding positioning points 313 c may also be formed on inner sides of the anchored portion 302 to similarly provide phased strength of engagement between the anchored portion 302 and the second fastening portion 313 of the support piece 31.
When the golf bag is set up at a tilt, the first fastening portion 312 of the first flat sheet 311 a can be assembled with the support member 321 of the leg means 32, allowing the first flat sheet 311 a and the second flat sheet 311 b to be in contact with a plane where the golf bag is situated. The first flat sheet 311 a and the second flat sheet 311 b thus have larger contact area with the plane as compared to the single flat sheet 211 of the above first preferred embodiment. As a result, the base 30 and the whole golf bag can be more stably supported at a tilt on the first flat sheet 311 a and the second flat sheet 311 b by means of the leg means 32.
When the second fastening portion 313 of the support piece 31 is coupled to the anchored portion 302 of the base 30, the saws 313 a are engaged with saws 302 a of the anchored portion 302, and the hollow portions 313 b provide a buffer effect to facilitate the assembly of the second fastening portion 313 and the anchored portion 302. Also by this mechanism the second fastening portion 313 can be easily disassembled from the anchored portion 302. As a result, this support sheet 313 can be freely replaced when necessary and its assembly/disassembly is easily implemented without using additional parts, such that the manufacturing cost and time can be reduced.
The size and shape of the first fastening portion 312 of the first flat sheet 311 a can be flexibly arranged and are not limited those shown in the drawings of this embodiment. It also should be understood that, the hollow portions are optionally formed in the flat sheets of the first and second preferred embodiments, and the hollow portions are flexibly sized and shaped.

Third Preferred Embodiment

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the golf bag according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. The leg means for sustaining the golf bag is the same as those in the first and second preferred embodiments and thus is not illustrated in the drawings here.
The golf bag in this third preferred embodiment is substantially the same in structure as that of the above first preferred embodiment, with the only difference in that the anchored portion 402 of the base 40 is formed with symmetric openings 403 and 404. The second fastening portion 413 of the support piece 41 is a cylindrical structure shaped correspondingly to the openings 403 and 404 of the anchored portion 402. The support piece 41 further comprises a flat sheet 411 with an elastic portion 412.
The elastic portion 412 provides a larger elastic area for the second fastening portion 413, allowing the second fastening portion 413 to be elastically coupled to the anchored portion 402. With the provision of the elastic portion 412, the second fastening portion 413 can be made longer or larger in size to ensure tight engagement between the support piece 41 and the base 40.
The elastic portion 412 in this embodiment is placed in the center of the flat sheet 411 and near the second fastening portion 413. It should be understood that the location and size of the elastic portion 412 are flexibly arranged, or even the flat sheet 411 can be entirely made of an elastic material forming the elastic portion 412.
In addition, the shape and structure of the second fastening portion of the support piece and of the corresponding anchored portion of the base can be flexibly arranged and are not limited to those shown in the drawings of this embodiment. For example, the second fastening portion may be an arched pyramid body having an inclined angle that can be smoothly inserted into the anchored portion of the base; or the second fastening portion may be formed with a hooked elastic sheet that can be hooked to sides of the anchored portion when the second fastening portion is coupled to the anchored portion such that the support piece and the base are securely assembled together.
Besides, the anchored portion of the base in the above embodiments is shown located between the flat surface portion and the inclined plane portion. It should be understood that the location of the anchored portion can be flexibly arranged, for example at any position on the flat surface portion or the inclined plane portion, as long as the anchored portion together with the leg means provide sufficient support for the golf bag set up at a tilt.
Therefore, the golf bag sustained with leg means according to the present invention allows the support piece to be easily detachably mounted to the base without using additional parts, making the assembly easy to be performed unlike the prior art requiring a number of components to be mounted on the base, and thus reducing the manufacturing cost and simplifying the assembly processes.
The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

Claims

1. A golf bag sustained with leg means, comprising,

a bag body;

a base mounted at the bottom of the bag body and having a flat surface portion;

an anchored portion, and an inclined plane portion; and

a support piece detachably mounted at the bottom of the base, wherein the inclined plane portion includes a first recess portion to receive said support piece, the support piece comprising a sheet and a pair of opposing first fastening portion and second fastening portion formed on the sheet, wherein the first fastening portion is assembled with the leg means, and the second fastening portion is coupled to the anchored portion,

so as to support the golf bag up by means of the assembled leg means and support piece.

2. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the anchored portion comprises an opening, wherein said opening has a parallelogram shape.

3. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim I, wherein the anchored portion comprises symmetrical openings.

4. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the anchored portion and the second fastening portion of the support piece are saw-shaped structures corresponding to each other.

5. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the anchored portion is formed with a plurality of protruding positioning points for phased strength of engagement.

6. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the inclined plane portion is formed with a second recess portion.

7. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 6, wherein the first recess portion and the second recess portion are respectively allowed to accommodate the sheet and the first fastening portion of the support piece.

8. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the sheet further comprises an elastic portion for allowing the second fastening portion to be elastically coupled to the anchored portion.

9. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the support piece further comprises another sheet extending from a side of the sheet on which the first and second fastening portions are formed.

10. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the support piece further comprises a plurality of protruding positioning points for phased strength of engagement.

11. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the sheet is formed with hollow portions.

12. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the second fastening portion is an arched protuberance.

13. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the second fastening portion is formed with hollow portions.

14. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the second fastening portion is formed with a plurality of protruding positioning points for phased strength of engagement.

15. A golf bag sustained with leg means of claim 1, wherein the support piece is made of an elastic material.

16. A golf bag comprising:

leg means for supporting said golf bag;

a base having a flat surface portion, an anchored portion, and an inclined plane portion; and

a support piece attached to the base detachably coupled to the leg means, wherein the support piece is accommodated by a first recess portion in said inclined plane portion and includes

a sheet;

a first fastening portion formed on said sheet, the first fastening portion to assemble with said leg means, and

a second fastening portion formed on said sheet opposite of said fastening portion, said second fastening portion to couple with said anchored portion.