Special receptacle or package – For a sport implement – exercise device – or game – For a golf club
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-10
2004-03-09
Mai, Tri M. (Department: 3727)
Special receptacle or package
For a sport implement, exercise device, or game
For a golf club
C206S315600, C211S070200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06702111
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-387391, filed on Dec. 20, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf iron head protector for protecting a golf iron head, and more specifically, for protecting the face (the surface for hitting a ball) thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, when a golf player plays holes, he or she carries a golf bag holding a set of golf clubs consisting of fourteen clubs on a cart. When moving around with the golf bag placed on the cart during a game (in this case, the golf bag is placed on the cart at a slant or horizontally in many cases), a number of club heads often come into contact with each other, thereby damaging their faces of the heads, which should be handled with care.
In such a case, the heads of golf clubs other than golf irons (e.g. woods) are protected to some extent by head covers (golf clubs other than golf irons are normally covered with head covers because they are equipped with head covers at the time of purchase in most cases, and because they are used less often during a game).
However, the heads of a set of nine or ten golf irons are not normally covered by head covers, and thus they often become seriously damaged upon contact with each other while being carried on the cart (it is normal for golf irons not to be protected by head covers because they are not equipped with head covers at the time of purchase in most cases, and because they are used many times during a game).
Conventionally, several devices for protecting the heads of the golf clubs in the golf bag from being damaged by contact with each other have been proposed. For example, the following proposals has been made.
(1) In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5-337224, a golf bag including a cylinder for creating a cylindrical section in the golf bag, and partitions for dividing the space between the cylinder and the inner wall of the golf bag into several sections is proposed. However, according to that proposal, the shafts of the golf clubs are separated from each other by the cylinder and the partitions, but the heads of the golf clubs remain “free to move about and make contact with each other” above the partitions. Therefore, when they are being carried on the cart (the golf clubs are placed on the cart at a slant or horizontally in many cases while being carried on the cart), the heads of the respective golf clubs come into contact with each other, and hence become damaged by each other. As a consequence, the proposal in that publication cannot prevent the heads of the golf clubs from coming into contact with each other at all though it can prevent the shafts of the golf clubs from coming into contact with each other.
(2) In Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-173, a golf bag including a bundle of a total of fourteen pipes for inserting the shafts of the golf clubs is proposed. However, according to the proposal in that publication, although the respective club shafts are separated from each other, the heads of the clubs remain free to move about and make contact with each other above the pipes. Therefore, when they are being carried in the golf bag placed on the cart (the golf clubs are placed on the cart at a slant or horizontally in many cases while being carried on the cart), the heads of the respective golf clubs come into contact, and hence become damaged by each other. As a consequence, the proposal in that publication cannot prevent the heads of the golf clubs from coming into contact with each other at all although it can prevent the shafts of the golf clubs from coming into contact with each other.
(3) Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-128423 proposes a golf bag including five small club mouths provided at the upper opening of the golf bag for inserting the shafts of the respective golf irons, U-shaped head shields provided above the respective club mouths for placing the head of the respective golf irons therein, a club mouth for inserting a shaft of a putter, and a large-sized central mouth for inserting a plurality of shafts of the other clubs, wherein the “five U-shaped head shields” that correspond to the lengths of the respective golf irons are formed continuously from the “five club mouths” so that the five golf irons may be disposed from the longest one in sequence.
However, in the proposal in that publication, although the U-shaped head shields are provided above the club mouths for inserting the respective golf iron shafts, the heads of the respective golf irons remain free to swing and move about in the respective U-shaped head shields. Furthermore, since each U-shaped head shield is opened (has an opening) upward, when the golf bag is carried while being placed at a slant or horizontally in the cart, the heads of the respective golf irons are often displaced upward from the U-shaped head shields due to vibrations of the cart, which may cause the heads of the respective golf irons to become free to move about and make contact with each other above the respective U-shaped head shields.
Therefore, with the proposal in that publication, when the golf bag is carried while being placed at a slant or horizontally on the cart, the heads of the respective golf irons move upward from the U-shaped head shields and are consequently brought into contact with each other, thereby becoming damaged. Therefore, the proposal in that publication cannot prevent the faces of the golf iron heads from being brought into contact with each other and hence becoming damaged when the golf bag is carried while placed at a slant or horizontally on the cart.
In addition, the proposal in that publication only forms a plurality of club mouths as described above at the upper opening of the golf bag, while the lower portions of the shafts of the golf clubs (the portions located downward of the club mouths of the golf bag) remain free to move about and contact with each other. Therefore, according to the proposal in that publication, when carrying the golf bag on the cart (especially when the golf bag is placed at a slant or horizontally on the cart), there is a possibility that the lower portions of the shafts of the golf clubs may ride on top of one another or come into contact with each other, resulting in the shafts becoming bent.
Furthermore, in the proposal in that publication providing the mouths and the U-shaped head shields, when pulling out the club from the bag, the shaft or the grip of the each club may disadvantageously catch on the peripheral wall (partition wall) of the club mouth, and thus the golf clubs including the golf irons cannot be taken out from the club mouths easily.
In addition, according to the proposal in that publication, the five U-shaped head shields that match the lengths of the respective golf irons are formed continuously from the five club mouths so that the five golf irons may be disposed from the longest one in sequence (See claim 1 and reference numeral
8
in
FIG. 1
in the publication). However, according to the proposal in that publication, since only five U-shaped head shields are disposed continuously so as to match the lengths of the respective clubs as described above, it is extremely difficult for the user to easily recognize a whole set of nine or ten golf irons in order of length at a glance and to know whether or not all of them are present, or which one of the iron clubs out of the whole set is absent.
(4) In Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 58-80273, a club case including a storage pipe through which the shaft of a single golf club can be inserted, and a U-shaped head storage for supporting the head thereof are proposed. However, in the proposal in that publication, the club case is formed of a storage pipe for storing a single club, and a plurality of club cases are stored in the golf bag separately from each other. Therefore, when the user t
Mai Tri M.
Snider Ronald R.
Snider & Associates
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