US3515403A - Golf cart - Google Patents

Description

J1me 1970 f F. w. KIINDERMAN 3,515,403 Q GOLF CART Filed March 22, 1968 88 INVLZNTUR. 62 FREDER/CK WK/NDERMAN AT TOR/YE Y5 United States Patent 3,515,403 GOLF CART Frederick W. Kinderman, Glen Ellyn, Ill. (10753 Saratoga Circle, Sun City, Ariz. 85351) Filed Mar. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 715,2

Int. Cl. A63b 55/08 US. Cl. 280-47.19 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The golf cart comprises a U-shaped frame for carrying golf clubs mounted on a downwardly concave, elastic axle, the two being assembled to each other by a single removable bolt.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention is a golf cart.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken from the golfers side of the cart;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the cart;

FIG. 3 is a golfers side elevation of the cart showing a textile holder for the golf clubs,

FIG. 3A is a front view of the axle and wheel assemy;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the spring wheel carriage;

FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line 55 of the frame and wheel-holding member;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevation of the member of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the frame only, but modified to receive plastic tubes; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are top plan views of members 86 and 88 respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The frame for carrying the canvas holder for the clubs is a U-shaped member 10, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, consisting of a base 12 and upper and lower arms 14 and 16 with the ends of the arms preferably sealed. As shown this member is tubular, and preferably is made of aluminum. It could be made of strip stock or some other metal.

Over the frame arms 14 and 16 are slipped the upper and lower sleeves 18 and 20 of a textile band 11 which is made of flexible material such as canvas. The sleeves are formed quite easily by stitching along the line 19. To the outer surface of this band 11 is stitched along parallel lines 22, 24, etc., on each side, a canvas sheet forming golf club sleeves 26, 28, etc. Any suitable number of club sleeves may be provided. It is evident that this canvas bag can be considerably heavier and more durable, but the basic idea is to have a sleeve at the upper end and another at the lower end of a bag so that the sleeves can be readily slipped over the arms. This makes it possible to take ofi the sleeve and roll it up when desired.

The handle consists of a tube 30 having a cross grip 32 with the other end swedged flat at 34 with a through hole to receive a bolt 38. Wales extend radially from the hole. This flat swedged member may be inserted between a clamp 36 with complementary grooves radially from a central hole so that a light bolt 38 with wing nut 39 may tighten the clamp 36 on the base 12 while simultaneously locking the handle 30 to the clamp at any desired angle.

The wheel assembly 40' consists of a flat spring member 42, the opposite ends of which 44 and 46 are bent or clamped on a trunnion or short axle 50. The outer end of the trunnion is threaded at 52 so that a wheel 54 may be slipped over the trunnion 52 and held by a suitable nut 56. The fiat spring member in loaded position is bent so that treads of the wheels engaging the ground will be canted toward each other as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. The bottom of the frame, referring to FIG. 3, will be three or four inches above the bottom of the wheels 54 and 55 so that the unevenness of the ground will only be communicated to the frame and handle 32 to a limited extent.

The wheel assembly 40 is mounted on the frame by means of a bracket 60. This bracket has a base portion 62, which as viewed from the front of the cart is arcuate and complementary to the curvature of the spring band 42. Depending from the front of this base are two tangs 66 and 68, see FIGS. 5 and 6, and centrally of this base is mounted a threaded stud 70, projecting downwardly so that the stud 70 may be inserted into the hole 72 of the spring frame 42 and a wing nut 74 may be drawn tight. Rearwardly of the bracket 60 is an upturned flange 76 into which has been pressed a semicircular channel 78 to receive the round base 12 of the frame 10. There are aligned holes through the base 12 so that a clamp 80 with bolt 82 and knurled nut 84 may be used to tighten the bracket and wheel assembly to the frame. In FIGS. 7 and 8, applicant shows a slightly modified club-holding frame, wherein the canvas bag is replaced by two rigid tube holders 86 and 88. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the holder 86, and is seen to consist of a plate having two rows of circular holes. This plate is fastened by any suitable means to the upper arm 14 of the frame. The lower tube holder 88 consists of two parallel upwardly directed channels, diametered to receive tubes, with a downwardly directed channel for fitting over the lower frame mem ber 16. A plan view of this is shown in FIG. 9.

Applicant has shown as holding means, nuts and bolts for assembling the components to each other. These are inexpensive types of mounting means, and there are many others that could be used.

This cart will require very little space in, for example, an automobile trunk. Applicant contemplates that the wheel assembly will be dismounted from the frame by removing the wing nut 74, and that the wing nut 39 will be loosened so that the handle 30 may be moved to the dotted-line position 31. In the event that still further reduction in volume is desired, the wheels 54 and 55 may be removed. This reduction in volume is initially desired when the manufacturer packs the cart for shipment to the dealer.

The clamp 36 may be positioned at any desirable point on the base 12 of the frame 10. This enables the user to Obtain that balance of the cart which is most suitable for him with respect to the load in the canvas bag. The bag shows just ten club sleeves, five on each side. The standard number is fourteen, and these could be increased. Also, a pocket for holding balls, gloves and tees could be provided where desired. The base member 12 could be provided with additional holes so that the frame could be mounted higher or lower than the position shown.

Applicants idea is to provide a very light cart, which because of the spring construction of the axle transmits minimum shock to the handle. These two features are of particular importance to women. The average golf cart today weighs fifteen to twenty pounds, and a golf club perhaps a little less than a pound each. A standard 3 leather bag weighs several pounds so that one is pulling thirty to forty pounds around the golf course. The cart shown can be built to weigh several pounds less than ten, and when the clubs are inserted, one'has a load of less than half what one commonly pulls around a golf course. i i

Having thus described his invention, applicant claims:

1. A golf cart comprising an elongated strip of material having two parallel fiat surfaces, said strip being substantially rigid in planes parallel to the flat surfaces, and flexible at right angles to surfaces, an arcuate bend set in said strip normal to said surfaces and extending between points near the two ends, a wheel rotatably mounted at each'end of said strip and normal thereto, means for holding a golf bag mounted midway bet-ween the ends of the shaft and'on the-convex side of the bend, and a handle having one end mounted on the bag-holding means and extending over to theother'side of the strip.

2. A golf cart as in claim 1 wherein saidgolf bag holding means comprises a U-shaped frame mounted on said arcuate bend and having its base canted with respect to the vertical and with its arms extending away from said strip.

, -3. vThe golf cart of claim 2 together with a canvas bag comprising a strip of flexible material carrying golf club holding means on each outer side, and a transverse sleeve at each end of said strip spaced from each other by approximately the distance-between the arms of the frame so that the sleeves may he slipped over the arms and hold the bag tightly to the frame."

Reference s Cited v. UNITED STATES PATENTS BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner J. A. PEKAR, Assistant Examiner

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