Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Load cover
Reexamination Certificate
2003-10-10
2004-08-10
Patel, Kiran (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Load cover
C296S077100, C296S083000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06773052
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of golf cart canopy covers, specifically to an improved canopy cover that protects golf bags and clubs from rain.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Canopy covers in the past have been utilized to protect golf bags and clubs located in the rear bag storage compartment of golf carts from rain and damp weather conditions. It is well known in the sport that wet golf club grips can hinder the performance of the player and is undesirable.
Generally, canopy covers attach to the back of the cart's top and to the cart's frame section that supports the top. The connection to the top is typically made with an extruded channel member that accepts the top edge of the canopy. The connection to the cart's frame is made using a structural base member that serves as a mounting base for a frame supporting the canopy. The base member generally attaches directly to the frame of the cart. However, different cart makes and models have different frame structures making it necessary to change the canopy's base member's geometry to properly mate with the cart's structural frame. Likewise, different top sections make it difficult to find one extruded channel member that fits all golf cart tops.
An example of a canopy cover to protect golf bags and clubs is U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,037 to William T. Held. This canopy cover discloses a cover that includes a channel that attaches to the back of the cart's top, base members that attach to the frame of the cart supporting the top of the cart and a canopy structure that supports the flexible canopy and is pivotally attached to the base member. As can be seen in the drawings and description of this patent, the base members attached to the cart frame are specifically designed for a particular style cart with a specific frame. It can be easily understood that if the frame design was substantially different as with another cart make or model, the base members of the canopy would likely need to be changed to enable them to still attach to the frame. In fact, as detailed in the description section in this patent, the base members utilize two specific preexisting holes in the cart's frame that must be located in a specific area in order for the canopy's base members to attach. Additionally, it can be seen that the canopy assembly of this device is complicated, requiring a number of different processes to produce a relatively large number of parts and a significant amount of assembly. This results in a relatively expensive product making it burdensome for a perspective user to purchase. The canopy assembly described in this patent cannot take advantage of the ability to produce one canopy assembly for many different types of golf carts since different canopy base members would need to be designed in order to attach to a variety of frames. In addition, the relatively large number of fasteners and other components reduces the robustness and reliability of the invention described in this patent, increasing the likelihood of a loose fastener caused by normal cart usage.
Another example of a cover to protect golf bags and clubs is U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,340 to Edwin H. Nuscher. This patent discloses a cover that includes a L-shaped top extending rearwardly from the top of the golf cart. In this patent the cover is supported by L-shaped support bars that attach to the top assembly of the cart. The cover is substantially elevated above the top of the cart to allow access to the golf clubs in the golf bags. However, one can easily see that this type of cover has several key disadvantages. The substantial elevation of the cover above the cart's top would severely limit the cart's usage in heavily wooded areas where it is desirable for the cart to travel under low tree branches. The branches could collide into the described cover causing damage to both the cover and the tree. Additionally, wind could easily carry rain on an angle from the sides of the cover into the bag storage area getting the golf bags and clubs wet. The L-shaped cover would also slow the cart's mobility when traveling against the wind since the cover has a large face that is not aerodynamic allowing the wind to hinder to cart's performance. The L-shaped roof is also not aesthetically pleasing to the eye making its marketability questionable.
Another example of an enclosure to protect golf bags and clubs is U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,690 to Jerry M. Showalter. This patent discloses an enclosure that includes a roof panel, a hem portion coupled to the roof panel, a back cover coupled to the roof panel and a second back cover coupled to the roof panel. The invention described in this patent has several key disadvantages. The enclosure includes a roof panel that overlays the existing roof on the golf cart. This requires a lot of material that is relatively expensive leading to a more expensive product. The enclosure lacks a frame structure to suspend it substantially over the clubs resulting in a cover that drapes over the clubs and bag. When the cover is wet, the player must roll or fold it up to expose the golf bags underneath. This action would likely result in the user getting his or her hands wet. Additionally, the enclosure is not aesthetically pleasing since it looks sloppy.
Another example of a cover to protect golf bags and clubs is U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,325 to Charles A Hughes. This patent discloses a cover that includes four panels that are sewn together along their edges to form a large, rectangularly-shaped box that is secured to the frame of the cart that supports the roof and to the back of the roof covering the seating compartment The back panel of this cover contains a bag for storing the back panel after it has been folded up. However, this type of cover has a number of disadvantages. To access the covered clubs the player is forced to unhook two hook and loop straps and roll the wet cover up. This is far from convenient and would likely result in the player and possibly the clubs getting wet from the wet cover. The procedure is also slow requiring a significant amount of time. The player must unhook the cover, roll it up and let the cover back down while the player hits the ball. The procedure has to be repeated to return the club back into the golf bag.
Another example of a roll-up type cover to protect golf bags and dubs is U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,041 to Diane Sullivan. This patent discloses a roll-up type cover that utilizes a shock cord to attach the bottom of the cover to the cart and hooks to attach the top of the cover to the back edge of the carts top. This cover has similar disadvantages as U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,325 in that the player must bend over and unhook two shock cord hooks that extend from the bottom edge of the cover to allow the player to roll the cover up. Again, it is likely that the player will get wet during this procedure and it is time consuming. Additionally, the cover lacks a structural frame making it sloppy looking and not aesthetically pleasing.
Another example of a roll-up cover to protect golf bags and clubs is U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,018 to John Albert Simpson. This patent discloses another roll-up type cover similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,041 and shares the same disadvantages.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved canopy assembly for attachment onto a golf cart to protect golf bags and clubs located in the back of the cart from rain. The invention allows the user to quickly extend the canopy to protect clubs and bags from rainfall and just as quickly fold up the cover to allow access to the clubs. Additionally, the invention enables the user to quickly attach and detach the canopy onto the cart's golf bag support bracket on a variety of different golf cart makes and models since the invention utilizes a versatile attachment method that does not require attachment to the cart top.
Other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the subsequent description of the pre
Patel Kiran
York Michael T.
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