Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Foot rests
Reexamination Certificate
2003-04-15
2004-07-13
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Foot rests
C296S071000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06761390
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a footrest for use in connection with a golf cart. The golf cart footrest has particular utility in connection with protecting the trim, paint, and dashboard of a golf cart.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Golfers seem to like to rest their feet on the dashboard or other finished surfaces inside golf carts. The cleats from the golfer's shoes can do considerable damage to the carts dashboard, trim, and other painted surfaces. It would be desirable to have a footrest in the golf cart, conveniently positioned for the golfer to rest his/her feet, thereby protecting the golf cart's interior.
The use of footrests in vehicles is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,018 to Mikulski discloses an off-road vehicle footrest for use with vehicles that have an open doorway or removable door. The footrest mounts to the vehicle's unused door hinges and has a sloped surface with angularly spaced abutment surfaces for resting the driver's unused foot or a passenger's feet. However, the footrest of the Mikulski '018 patent is different in structure from that of the present invention and does not disclose convenient footrest bars that extend across the width of a vehicle, such as a golf cart, just above the dashboard for propping up and resting the feet without damaging the cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,193 to Kolleas discloses an adjustable footrest for mounting on either side of a vehicle. The sloped footrest can be inserted in one of several slots, attached to side panels below the dashboard of a vehicle, for adjusting the height of the footrest. However, the footrest disclosed in the Kolleas '193 patent is different in structure from that of the present invention and does not disclose convenient footrest bars that extend across the width of a vehicle, such as a golf cart, just above the dashboard for propping up and resting the feet without damaging the cart.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,088 to Murrell discloses a footrest that can be mounted in the floorboard of a vehicle for the driver to rest his/her foot that is not on the accelerator. The footrest is slightly wider than a foot and has two sloped surfaces for supporting the bottom of the shoe and the heel. However, the footrest disclosed in the Murrell '088 patent is different in structure from that of the present invention and does not disclose convenient footrest bars that extend across the width of a vehicle, such as a golf cart, just above the dashboard for propping up and resting the feet without damaging the cart.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,466 to Kanazawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,118 to Martz, U.S. Pat. No. 2,341,080 to Burkholder, and D451,292 to Cheris et al. discloses apparatus that may be of general interest and pertinent to the construction and design of the present invention. The Kanazawa '466 patent discloses a structure of a vehicle body that includes a footrest support plate located between the dashboard and floorboard. The Martz '118 patent discloses individual footrests that are mounted on each bottom side of the firewall in a vehicle for resting the feet on long trips. The Burkholder '080 patent discloses a footrest that has at least two platforms at different heights primarily for the use by short legged people to support their feet and lets while sitting in a seat. Finally, the Cheris '292 patent discloses the design of a footrest that has a sloping plane with horizontal strips located every few inches in the vertical direction for supporting the feet of a seated person. However, these patents as with the above patents all disclose apparatus that is different in structure from that of the present invention and none disclose convenient footrest bars that extend across the width of a vehicle, such as a golf cart, just above the dashboard for propping up and resting the feet without damaging the cart.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a golf cart footrest that allows a golfer to prop his feet up inside a golf cart, in order to rest his/her feet and legs while riding in the cart, without damaging the cart.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved golf cart footrest that can be used for resting a golfers feet and legs while riding in a golf cart. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the golf cart footrest according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of propping up and resting the feet and legs without damaging the cart.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of vehicle footrest now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved golf cart footrest, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved golf cart footrest which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and other novel features that result in a vehicle footrest that is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
Golfers like to rest there feet on the dashboard of a golf cart. However, over time the cleats on their shoes can damage the expensive interior of the golf cart, such as dashboard, painted surfaces, and trim. The golf cart footrest of the present invention mounts just above the dashboard and provides a convenient and comfortable place to rest the golfer's feet while riding in a cart. The footrest can be provide on new golf carts or sold as an aftermarket accessory for existing golf carts.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises horizontal footrest bars mounted between two steel endplates, which are attached to steel golf cart mounting brackets. The mounting brackets can be mounted through existing holes in the canopy frame of a golf cart or appropriate holes can be drilled in the golf cart's side panels to position the footrest just above the dashboard. There are a series of perforated holes in the endplates that can be aligned with attaching holes in the mounting brackets in order to adjust the height of the footrest or to better align with existing mounting holes in the golf cart. Optionally, the footrest assembly could be mounted to the top of the dashboard. Typically, the golf cart footrest will have two horizontal bars, approximately 41-inches long, which are separated vertically by about 8-inches.
To install the golf cart footrest would simply require an individual to bolt the mounting brackets with attached endplates to existing holes in a golf cart's frontal canopy frame. If necessary holes do not exist, then appropriate holes can be drilled in the golf cart's frame or side panels. The horizontal footrest bars are then bolted between the two endplates.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood th
Osborne Betty L.
Osborne Matt H.
Dayoan D. Glenn
Engle Patricia L.
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