US3674072A

US3674072A - Sectional golf bag

Info

Publication number: US3674072A
Application number: US42817A
Authority: US
Inventors: Yoshitaka Shuto
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-06-02
Filing date: 1970-06-02
Publication date: 1972-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-04

Abstract

In a sectional golf bag which can be manually assembled without sewing machines, a top collar unit and a bottom unit with a respective tri-angular grooved cavity communicating integrally with a respective annular groove formed in and along each of the opposed peripheral walls of both units, and a body unit with an upper and lower flange means having a configuration corresponding to each of the triangular grooved cavities, respectively, such that they can be received forcibly into and engaged with each of the triangular grooved cavities for coupling the top collar unit, the bottom unit and the body unit together. The body unit can be held cylindrical by means of a pair of fastener elements along the vertical edges.

Description

United StatesPatent Shuto [451 Julyv4, 1972 [54] SECTIONAL GOLF BAG [22] Filed: June 2,1970

[2l] AppLNo.: 42,817

[52] U.S. CI. ..l50/l.5 R

[5l] lnt. Cl. A63b 55/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..l50/l.5 R, 1.5 B, 1.5 C; 220/67, 73

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,269 2/1928 Hotze ..l50/l.5 R 2,094,186 9/1937 Patrick ISO/1.5 R

Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Assistant Examiner-Stephen P. Garbe Attorney-Emest G. Montague [57] ABSTRACT In a sectional golf bag which can be manually assembled without sewing machines, a top collar unit and a bottom unit y with a respective tri-angular grooved cavity communicating integrally with a respective annular groove formed in and along each of the opposed peripheral lwalls of both units, and a body unit with an upper and lower flange means having a configuration corresponding to each of the triangular grooved cavities, respectively, such that they can be received forcibly into and engaged with each of the triangular grooved cavities for coupling the top collar unit, the bottom unit and the body unit together. The body unit can be held cylindrical by means of a pair of fastener elements along the vertical edges.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PTNTEDJUL 'A 4 |972 SHEET 2 [1F 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY This invention relates to a sectional golfbag characterized in that a top collar unit, a body unit and a bottom unit that are made separately in different processes simultaneously, wherein the top collar unit and the bottom unit are fonned of a suitable elastic material, preferably of a syntheticr rubber material, and the body unit is made of suitable sheet material such as textile fabrics, synthetic resins and/or leathers; adjacent the upper edge as well as the lower edge of the body unit are disposed an upper marginal mumber and a lower marginal member, respectively, both of which marginal members are formed of a suitable elastic material, preferably of synthetic rubber material, so as to be forced snappingly into the grooves provided within the top collar unit and the bottom unit, respectively, after the body unit having been cylindrically formed by way of not sewing together but using fastener elements arranged along each of the opposite longitudinal side edges of the body unit.

Most of conventional golf bags have been generally completed by way of sewing a top collar portion and a bottom portion onto a body portion by use of plurality of different types special sewing machines which are very expensive or by way of manual stitching works by those skilled in the work, which has caused inevitable increases in manufacturing costs and inefficiency in manufacturing. Furthermore, in transportation of finished golf bags, resulting from well-known cylindrical shape thereof incapable of folding flat, space utility efficiency in transportation means has been extremely low, causing increase in transportation cost.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel sectional type golf bag which can be very easily assembled even by unskilled persons or amateur part-timers without using sewing machines.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel golf bag which will permit manufacture at a very low cost.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel golf bag which will enable easy assembly at any place merely with conventional simple and small hand-operated tools such as Screwdrivers.

It is the still further object of this invention to reduce a transportation cost of golf bags considerably.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description made .with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and from the appended claims.

ln the drawings: v

FIG. l is a perspective view showing one preferred embodiment of the golf bag according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the golf bag shown in FIG. 1, with parts enlarged for better disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of a top collar unit of the golf bag illustrated in FIG. l and 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along line lV-IV of FIG. 3 and looking in the direction indicated, showing an annular groove provided within the top collar unit in detail.

FIG. 5 is an expanded front elevation illustrating the body unit to be cylindrically formed, with parts broken away for better disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the body unit shown in FIG 5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the bottom unit shown in FIG. 1 and 2.

FIG. 8 is a vertical section as indicated by the arrows VIII- VIII of FIG. 7, showing an annular groove provided within the bottom unit in detail.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view showing the upper marginal member of the body unit engaged with the groove of the top collar unit, with golf club separating means inserted therethrough.

FIG. l is a sectional view similar to FIG. 8, showing the lower marginal member of the body unit partly engaged with the groove of the bottom unit, with a fixing screw inserted therethrough.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a sectional golf bag in accordance with this invention comprises three units; a top collar unit, a body unit, and a bottom unit, generally designated by

reference numerals

10, 20, and 50, respectively. These three units may be made in different processes simultaneously. y

As is illustrated in FIG. 3, an annular ring shaped or oval ring shaped top collar unit, 10 which is formed of a suitable elastic materiaLpreferably of synthetic rubber, can be made l in conventional forming process, so that it is provided with an annular groove l1 along the underside peripheral wall of the top collar unit. Adjacent the inner depth of the groove 11, there is provided a triangularly grooved cavity l2 which is communicated with the groove 11 and receives a flange portion 3l of which description will be given hereinafter. Preferably, in formingthe top collar unit 10, a reinforcing steel ring material 13 shown in section in FIG. 4 and 9 maybe filled in.

As shown particularly inFIG. 5 and 6, the body unit 20 is made of a suitable sheet material such as textile fabrics, synthetic resins, leathers and/or the like. Adjacent the upper edge as well as the lower edge of the body unit 20, there are disposed an upper marginal member and a lower marginal member generally designated by

reference numerals

30 and 40 respectively, and along the opposite longitudinal edges of same there are arranged a pair of fastener elements 21a and 2lb respectively. It will be easily understood that other attachmerits, that is, for instance, a clothing pocket 22, utility pocket 23, a ball pocket 24, an umbrella sheath (not shown in the drawings), a carrying handle 25, a shoulder strap (not shown in the drawings), and reinforcing

members

26, 27a, 27b, 28a, 28b, 29a, and 29b may be provided. In making the body' unit 20, upper marginal member 30, lower marginal member 40, and a pair of fastener elements 21a, 2lb, as well as other attachments as described above, must be arranged on the body unit 20 by sewing on or in the suitable conventional manner prior to the stage of fonning bodythe unit cylindrically.

The upper marginal member 30 and lower marginal member 40 have a flange portion 31 or 4l, respectively. The marginal member 30 is formed so that it can be partly received in the annular groove l1 of top collar unit l0 vand have its flange portion 31 engaged within the triangularly grooved cavity 12 of same as particularly shown in FIG. 9, whereby the top collar unit 10 and the body unit 20 can be kept coupled together with each other. More preferably, the top collar unit l0 and the body unit 20 may be engaged with each other more fixedly in the manner shown in FIG. 2 and 9 by use of golf club separating means consisting of threaded plugs 14, socket tubes 15a, 15b, hollow tubes 16a, l6b and washers 17. The socket tubes 15a and 15b may be served as fixing members as well as axle members about which the hollow tubes 16a and 16h are allowed to rotate freely and will thereby facilitate inserting and removing golf clubs more smoothly.

The lower marginal member 40, which is formed in similar manner to that of fomng the above described upper marginal member 30, is provided with similar flange portion 41 which can be received into the annular groove 5l of the bottom unit 50 and forced snappingly into the similar triangularly groovy cavity 52 of same asis particularly shown in FIG. l0, whereby the body unit 20 and the bottom unit S0 can be kept coupled with each other.

In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of screw bolts 53 and stationary nuts 54 are provided for the purpose of keeping the coupling position of the body unit 20 and the bottom unit 50 more fixedly.

In this connection, it should be desirable that the screw nuts 54 are arranged in or embedded in the inner peripheral wall of the bottom unit in the manner as shown in FIG. 10 in the forming process of the latter so that the screwing work can be accomplished easily and accessively from outside merely by use of a screwdriver.

However, it has been proved by experience that provision of screws 53 and nuts 54 as fixing members are not always required, because the body unit 20 and the bottom unit 50 can be kept coupled with each other to the sufficient extent without the

fixingl members

53 and 54.

The bottom unit 50 may be formed of the same material as the top collar unit 10, as well as the

marginal members

30 and 40, and is provided with the annular groove 5l and the triangular grooved cavity 52 which are formed similar to those of the top collar unit 10. lt may of course be provided with integral stud members 56 and suitably shaped partition walls 55, for instance cross-shaped ones as shown in FIG. 7, as well as drain holes 57 as shown in FIG. 8.

lt will be easily understood that the top collar unit and the bottom unit may be provided with flange portions, respectively, in place of each annular groove and triangular grooved cavity and that the body unit, with grooves and triangularly grooved cavities for receiving the flange portions, at the upper edge as well as at the lower one.

Furthermore, the flange portion as well` as the triangularly grooved cavity for receiving same may be formed so as to face inwardly, though facing outwardly in the illustrated embodiment.

As apparent from the aforementioned description, sewing work for providing the body unit with desired attachments such as 25, 26, 27a, 27b, 28a and 28b can be done by means of only one kind of sewing machine, since all the sewing work are e'ected on flat sheet material. lt is of course that cauling works can be effected easily and efficiently for the same reason.

In the operation of assembling the three units l0, 20 and 50 into a finished golf bag, as a first step, a golf bag carrying han dle 25 is screwed onto the body unit 20 and then the latter is formed cylindrically by means of a pair of fastener elements 21a, 2lb which are disposed along the opposite longitudinal edges thereof. As a second step, the top collar unit and bottom unit 50 are coupled with the body unit 20 by forcing the flange portions 31 and 4l of the body unit snappingly into the triangularly grooved cavities l2 and 52 respectively. As a third step, golf club separating means 14, a, 15b, 16a, 16b and 17 may be mounted, and if desired, fixing

members

53 and 54 may be employed.

The sectional golf bag in accordance with this invention, thus, can be assembled without any sewing machine at all but with at most two kinds of Screwdrivers only. Consequently, efficiency in assembling golf bags can be extremely promoted by almost 400 percent increase even by those unskilled in the art with lessequipped facilities, eliminating the bottle neck of producing golf bags with high eiciency at a very low cost.

lf desired, said golfclub separating means may be integrally built-in at the stage of forming the top collar unit, for the purpose of simplifying the assembling operation. However, in this case, the fixing function of the golf club separating means cannot, of course, be attended.

ln transportation, as being capable of easy assembly, the golf bag in accordance with this invention may be transported or exported in parts and be assembled at the destination by local part-timers, permitting so-called knock-down system in other phrases, whereby labor cost as well as transportation cost can be reduced remarkably.

lt will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction and manners shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A sectional golf bag, comprising a top collar unit having an annular grooved means formed along the underside peripheral wall thereof,

a rst triangular grooved cavity means integrally communicating with said annular grooved means,

a bottom unit having an annular grooved means formed along the upperside peripheral wall thereof,

a second triangular grooved cavity means integrally cornmunicating with said annular groove means of said bottom unit,

' a body unit having an upper marginal portion and a lower marginal portion at opposite horizontal edges thereof, respectively,

an upper flange means integrally formed with said upper marginal portion for being received forcibly into and envgaged with said lst triangular grooved cavity means of said top collar unit for coupling saidtop collar unit and said body unit together,

a lower flange means integrally formed with said lower marginal portion for being received forcibly into and engaged with said second triangular grooved cavity means for coupling said bottom unit and said body unit together, and

a pair of fastener element means provided along opposite vertical edges of said body unit, respectively, for joining both of said vertical edges together and holding said body unit means in substantially cylindrical form.

2. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said first triangular grooved cavity means is formed as a substantially right-angled triangle,

said upper flange means has a configuration complementary to said first triangular grooved cavity means,

said second triangular grooved cavity means is formed as a substantially right-angled triangle, and

said lower flange means has a configuration complementary to said second tri-angular grooved cavity means.

3. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said top collar unit is provided with at least one golf club separating means including a pair of threaded plug means, a hollow tube means, and a socket tube means inserted in said hollow tube means and serving as an axle means for rotatably supporting said hollow tube means, and

said socket tube means has two inner threaded portions at its both ends for receiving said pair of threaded plug means, respectively.

4. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said top collar unit and said bottom unit are formed of synthetic rubber material, and

said upper and lower marginal portions are formed of synthetic rubber material.

5. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said top collar unit has a reinforcing steel ring means disposed therein.

6. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bottom unit has at least a pair of reinforcing fixing means including a screw bolt, and a stationary nut thereon embedded in the innerwall of said bottom unit.

Claims

1. A sectional golf bag, comprising a top collar unit having an annular grooved means formed along the underside peripheral wall thereof, a first triangular grooved cavity means integrally communicating with said annular grooved means, a bottom unit having an annular grooved means formed along the upperside peripheral wall thereof, a second triangular grooved cavity means integrally communicating with said annular groove means of said bottom unit, a body unit having an upper marginal portion and a lower marginal portion at opposite horizontal edges thereof, respectively, an upper flange means integrally formed with said upper marginal portion for being received forcibly into and engaged with said first triangular grooved cavity means of said top collar unit for coupling said top collar unit and said body unit together, a lower flange means integrally formed with said lower marginal portion for being received forcibly into and engaged with said second triangular grooved cavity means for coupling said bottom unit and said body unit together, and a pair of fastener element means provided along opposite vertical edges of said body unit, respectively, for joining both of said vertical edges together and holding said body unit means in substantially cylindrical form.

2. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first triangular grooved cavity means is formed as a substantially right-angled triangle, said upper flange means has a configuration complementary to said first triangular grooved cavity means, said second triangular grooved cavity means is formed as a substantially right-angled triangle, and said lower flange means has a configuration complementary to said second tri-angular grooved cavity means.

3. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said top collar unit is provided with at least one golf club separating means including a pair of threaded plug means, a hollow tube means, and a socket tube means inserted in said hollow tube means and serving as an axle means for rotatably supporting said hollow tube means, and said socket tube means has two inner threaded portions at its both ends for receiving said pair of threaded plug means, respectively.

4. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said top collar unit and said bottom unit are formed of synthetic rubber material, and said upper and lower marginal portions are formed of synthetic rubber material.

5. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said top collar unit has a reinforcing steel ring means disposed therein.

6. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bottom unit has at least a pair of reinforcing fixing means including a screw bolt, and a stationary nut thereon embedded in the inner wall of said bottom unit.