Land vehicles – Wheeled – Tiltable vehicles – stabilized by attendant or article
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-12
2004-01-06
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Tiltable vehicles, stabilized by attendant or article
C280SDIG006, C280S047131
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672600
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a golf bag, comprising a bottom part, a cylinder part with stabilizing longitudinal webs, a head part, a support device with a toggle lever mechanism or another mechanism and a clamping system for folding out and folding in support legs and with a pull-out grip as well as with a belt system, which combines in itself all components for stable standing, for rolling, for sloped support for carrying on the shoulder or on the back and for transport in the lying or upright position without additional actions on the part of the golfer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many different embodiments of golf bags with various advantages have been known. For example, golf bags have been known which are to be carried on the shoulder with a belt and tilt over easily or are labile on standing when put down on the ground. Attempts are made to overcome this shortcoming by means of stabilizing parts in the body of the golf bag, as a result of which the bags have a considerable weight.
A double belt system for golf bags, which makes it possible to pickup the golf bag like a backpack over the back, has also been known from EP 0461243 B1. However, the belt system is suitable only for carrying the golf bag and does not make it possible in itself either to roll the bag over the golf course or to put it down in a suitable position.
There are also golf bags that have a support device which is released by means of a lever mechanism at the head part. The support legs arranged outside on the golf bag must be folded out and folded in and transported on the shoulder each time there is a change in place. These golf bags cannot be rolled, either.
A support device has also been known from DE 43 27 289 C2 in which the support legs are folded in automatically by taking up the belts and they are folded out again on relieving the belts during a change in place. The folding in and out of the support legs is triggered in this support device by a folding mechanism arranged on the bottom part of the golf bag. When the golf bag is put down, the folding mechanism is pressed onto the bottom of the bag, as a result of which the support legs fold out. When the golf bag is picked up, the folding mechanism is released from the bottom and the support legs are again in contact with the golf bag. This technique is delicate and leads to increased weight of the golf bag due to the necessary structure. With both of these support devices, the golf bags must be carried on the shoulder, which may be difficult especially for elderly golfers.
To eliminate this problem, various chassis or carts have been developed, on which the golf bags can be transported. These off-road vehicles are heavy and bulky. For transportation in the automobile, they require complicated packaging operations and a considerable amount of space beside the golf bag, e.g., in the trunk of an automobile.
A golf bag with an off-road chassis integrated with the golf bag and with a pull-out grip has also been known from WO 97/29809. The design requires much time for assembly and taking apart, considerable skill and has a heavy weight, which is again problematic during loading and unloading in and from an automobile.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to develop a golf bag which combines in itself all the properties for stable standing, rolling, sloped support, carrying on the shoulder or on the back and for transportation in the lying or upright position as needed without additional actions on the part of the golfer, is easy to handle, can be transported in a compact form and eliminates the above-described drawbacks of the state of the art.
According to the invention, a golf bag is provided with a cylinder part, which is in turn detachably connected to a rollable bottom part, on the one hand, and to a head part, on the other hand. This construction makes possible easy assembly and easy disassembly due to a screw connection. Due to the parts of the golf bag being screwed together, the golf bag becomes able to be repaired, which saves time in the case of the replacement of individual worn or defective parts of the golf bag and above all saves costs.
The dimensionally stable bottom part of the golf bag has off-road wheels and occasionally additionally a support foot, which guarantee the easy rolling of the golf bag in case of change of place and its putting down vertically in a stable manner entirely without additional actions together with the pull-out grip arranged at the head part of the golf bag. Furthermore, a support device arranged at the head part makes it possible to put down the golf bag in a sloped position, where the releasing of the support device by the belt system arranged on the cylinder part of the golf bag or by another release mechanism makes it possible to eliminate the need for additional actions for folding in the support legs. Thus, the golf bag according to the present invention makes it possible to put down the golf bag in a vertical position, to roll it in case of a change of place, to put it down in a sloped position, and to carry it on the shoulder or on the back or to transport it in a lying or upright position as needed, without the user having to perform any essential manual actions to release the individual components, which in turn guarantees the easy handling of the golf bag.
The bottom part of the golf bag according to the present may comprise a low-weight, wear-resistant and dimensionally stable one-piece container. This leads to a low weight of the golf bag despite all the techniques available in the area of golf bags and despite the versatile use of the golf bag. The shaping of the bottom part with a base designed in a stepped manner to the longitudinal axis of the golf bag and with wheel cases integrated into the jacket surface creates the conditions for the wheels being essentially covered and protected by the wheel cases and for the tiltability of the bottom part being guaranteed. Even though the wheels project beyond the jacket surface in the case of a jacket surface made in one piece cylindrically without wheel cases, the bottom part of the golf bag can thus be manufactured in an even more inexpensive design. The base of the bottom part may also be beveled in order to make it possible to arrange beside the wheels other support devices, even prior-art ones, with a tilting bottom and support legs, in which the support legs can be released by the tilting bottom.
Furthermore, the fixing points arranged on the inner base of the bottom part guarantee the fastening of lightweight longitudinal webs and their guiding within the cylinder part to connect the bottom part to the head part of the golf bag, and the mounting openings arranged on the jacket surface of the bottom part support the detachable screw connection of the bottom part to the cylinder part.
An arrangement of low-wear off-road wheels with low liability to malfunction is of great advantage. If necessary, the wheels may be fastened to the bottom part by means of a continuous, non-co-rotating axle or floating axles such that their wheel axles extend next to the bottom part in the case of a cylindrical bottom part or are essentially covered and protected by the wheel cases in the case of integrated wheel cases. This offers the advantage that one cannot be caught by the wheels either during rolling or carrying on the shoulder or on the back because they are integrated within the jacket surface of the entire golf bag nearly seamlessly and form a flat unit with the golf bag. Moreover, the eccentric arrangement of the wheel axles relative to the base of the bottom part makes it possible to tilt the golf bag during rolling and to put it down vertically in a stable manner with a three-point bearing despite the tiltability with the base bent in a stepped manner along with the support foot made in one piece with the outer base. Besides the wheels, a beveled base makes possible the arrangement of other, even prior-art support devices with tilting bottom and support legs in which the sup
Engelhardt Barbara
Engelhardt Michael
Johnson Brian L.
McGlew and Tuttle , P.C.
Phan Hau
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