Abstract:
A lightweight carrier for golf clubs adapted for substantially upright positioning on the ground when not being carried, including a hollow tubular support that duals as a golf ball holder, a handle affixed near the top of the tubular support or at some point along the tubular support, a club holder top affixed near the top of the tubular support or at some point along the tubular support, a club holder base affixed at or near the bottom of the tubular support, one or more pins extending substantially axially from the base adapted to penetrate into the ground and support the carrier in an upright position when not being carried, and a pin cover to cover the pins while the carrier is being carried.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a golf club holder and carrying device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a golf club holder and carrying device that may be maintained in an upright position on the ground. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Present day golfing typically involves the transportation of heavy golf bags carried over the shoulder, by means of electric carts, hand pulled carts, or caddies. Short cuts through various terrain that a golfer may find convenient are frequently not available because transporting a golf bag can be difficult. Moreover, it is frequently the case that a golfer wishes to play a more casual extemporaneous round, perhaps just a few holes, and therefore has no desire for carts or caddies. In such an event, the golfer may wish to use a reduced number of clubs in a lightweight bag that can be carried without onerous physical effort and through areas that would be difficult to traverse. Even the use of a lightweight bag has its drawbacks, one of which is that the bag is usually placed on the ground after a club has been selected. This often results in the club heads banging against each other or against the ground and becoming damaged or scratched. Additionally, the club heads or head covers and the bag frequently become soaked and coated by wet grass, leaves, twigs, and other flora of the course. Bending over and picking up a golf bag can also, for some people, be a bothersome task. Tri-pod golf bags have the benefit of not being placed (or thrown) on the ground, but they do not prevent club heads from banging around with each other and becoming damaged or scratched. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a golf club holder and carrying device that may be maintained in an upright position on the ground and that accessibly and conveniently holds devices normally used while playing a round of golf: clubs, balls, tees, and tools. An object of the invention is to provide a carrying device, particularly adapted to carrying golf clubs and golf equipment, wherein the device has minimum weight, is easy to handle and carry, particularly over difficult terrain, and can be readily positioned and secured to the ground in upright position by ground penetrating pins whereby the clubs, balls, tees, and tools are supported by the carrier and kept off of the ground and highly accessible. Another object of the invention is to provide a device that minimizes club heads rattling together against one another and becoming damaged or scratched. Another object of the invention is to provide such device with an easily opened locking pin cover or shielding device for said pins for safety purposes. Another object of the invention is to provide such device with a pin cover that once unlocked, may be withdrawn by dragging the leading edge of the pin cover over the ground thereby not requiring additional operation by the golfer to retract the cover. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
       A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exploded isometric view of one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2   a  illustrates an end view of one embodiment of the hollow tubular support member. 
         FIG. 2   b  illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment of the hollow tubular support member. 
         FIG. 3   a  illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment of the handle. 
         FIG. 3   b  illustrates another isometric view of the handle of  FIG. 3   a.    
         FIG. 4   a  illustrates a top view of one embodiment of the club holder upper base. 
         FIG. 4   b  illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment of the club holder upper base. 
         FIG. 5   a  illustrates a top isometric view of one embodiment of the club holder lower base. 
         FIG. 5   b  illustrates a bottom isometric view of one embodiment of the club holder lower base. 
         FIG. 6   a  illustrates a bottom isometric view of one embodiment of the pin cover. 
         FIG. 6   b  illustrates a top isometric view of one embodiment of the pin cover. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific manners in which to make and use the invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the instant invention. 
     While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be noted that modifications may be made in the details of the invention&#39;s construction and the arrangement of its components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for the purposes of exemplification. 
     Referring to the drawings in detail,  FIG. 1  illustrates an exploded isometric view of one embodiment of the invention. A hollow tubular support member  200 , with a handle  300  that attaches at or near the upper end of the hollow tubular support member  200 . A club holder upper base  400  attaches to the handle, and a club holder lower base  500  attaches at or near the lower end of the hollow tubular support member with pins that extend therefrom. A pin cover  600  attaches to the club holder lower base and covers the pins when the device is not resting in the ground. 
       FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b  illustrate one embodiment of the hollow tubular support member  200 . The hollow tubular support member includes an outer surface  201 , an inner surface  202 , an upper end  203 , and a lower end  204 . The hollow tubular support member may be made of plastic, metal, wood, or any other appropriate material capable of achieving the desired form. In the preferred embodiment, the hollow tubular support member is composed of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (hereinafter ABS). The hollow tubular support member may have a length of between 12 inches and 40 inches, and an inner diameter of between 1.00 inches and 2.00 inches. In the preferred embodiment, the hollow tubular support member has a length of 20.25 inches, an inner diameter of 1.71 inches, and an outer diameter of 1.817 inches. 
       FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  illustrate one embodiment of the handle  300 . In the preferred embodiment, the handle includes a handle grip  301 , and a handle base  302  connected by an intermediary handle support  303 . The handle may be made of plastic, metal, wood, or any other appropriate material capable of achieving the desired form. In the preferred embodiment, the handle is composed of ABS. The handle base  302  is a short hollow tube with an inner surface having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the hollow tubular support member. In the preferred embodiment, the handle base has an inner diameter of 1.815 inches, and an outer surface having an outer diameter of 2.13 inches. In the preferred embodiment, the handle base includes notched flexible fasteners  304 . The club holder upper base  400  is attached to the handle base and locked into place by sliding the club holder upper base over the notched flexible fasteners. In the preferred embodiment, the handle has a means for detachably attaching golf tools thereon. This means may be in the form of clips  305  located on the intermediary handle support, or narrow slits  306  located within the intermediary handle support. In the preferred embodiment, the handle is attached or fused to the upper end of the hollow tubular support member by the use of an adhesive or any other appropriate means. In an alternate embodiment, not shown, the handle may be attached to the hollow tubular support member by interlocking threads located on the inner surface of the handle base with corresponding threads located on the upper end of the hollow tubular support member. 
       FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  illustrate one embodiment of the club holder upper base  400 . In the preferred embodiment, the club holder upper base is comprised of a ring shaped base  401  with an inner diameter of approximately 2.130 inches. A plurality of flexible pinchers  402 , adapted to pinch and maintain the shaft of a golf club, extending radially from the ring shaped base. In the preferred embodiment, the flexible pinchers are separated by a distance of approximately 0.249 inches nearest the ring shape base and gradually widen to a distance of approximately 0.280 inches before flaring. In the preferred embodiment, the pinchers form a shaft bubble  403  of approximately 0.438 inches in diameter along the inside portion of the pinchers and between the portions of the pinchers that are separated by distances of approximately 0.249 and 0.280 inches respectively allowing the pinchers to close around and maintain the golf club shaft in a somewhat fixed position. A plurality of hollow, circular tee holders  404 , with an inner diameter of between approximately 0.16 inches and 0.19 inches, are maintained on and around the ring shaped base and flexible pinchers. The club holder upper base may be made of plastic, metal, wood, or any other appropriate material capable of achieving the desired form. In the preferred embodiment, the club holder upper base is composed of Thermal Plastic Rubber. 
       FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  illustrate one embodiment of the club holder lower base  500 . In the preferred embodiment, the club holder lower base includes a hollow central tube  501  with an inner surface  502  and an outer surface  503 . The inner surface of the club holder lower base has, at its narrowest point, an inner diameter equal to that of the inner diameter of the hollow tubular support member. The inner surface of the club holder lower base has one or more protrusions  504  located thereon used to maintain golf balls inside the hollow central tube. An opening  505  located on the side of the hollow central tube is used to manipulate golf balls held inside the hollow central tube and allow the golf balls to be forcibly removed from the tube by pushing the balls past the protrusions  504 . A plurality of hollow peripheral tubes  506 , each with an inner surface, outer surface, and closed bottom, are attached to the outer surface of the hollow central tube. The hollow peripheral tubes each have a plurality of protrusions  507  located on said inner surface, said protrusions tapering from wide to narrow in the direction away from the closed bottom thus allowing golf club grips of various diameters to be securely held in the peripheral tubes. Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 5   a , the hollow peripheral tubes  506  may each have four substantially equally-spaced protrusions  507  located on said inner surface. Furthermore, the outer surface of each of the hollow peripheral tubes  506  may be attached to the outer surface of the hollow central tube  501  at a point  512  on the outer surface of the peripheral tube located midway or approximately half way between two adjacent ones of the four protrusions  507 . The hollow peripheral tubes each have an inner diameter of between 1.0 and 2.0 inches. In the preferred embodiment, the hollow peripheral tubes each have an inner diameter of 1.307 inches. A pin cover attachment bar  508  running between two fot he hollow peripheral tubes provides a point of attachment for the pin cover  600 . A plurality of pins  509  are attached to and extend from the bottom of the club holder lower base; the pins may be molded into the club holder lower base, screwed into the club holder lower base, bolted onto the club holder lower base, or affixed to the club holder lower base by any other appropriate means. In the preferred embodiment, the pins are molded into the club holder lower base during the injection molding process at the points illustrated via the pin protrusions  510 . The club holder lower base may be made of plastic, metal, wood, or any other appropriate material capable of achieving the desired form. In the preferred embodiment, the club holder lower base is composed of ABS. The pins may be made of steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, plastic, or the like. In the preferred embodiment, the pins are common stainless nails approximately 3.25 inches in length and 0.148 inches in diameter with a nail head approximately 0.30 inches in diameter. 
       FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  illustrate one embodiment of the pin cover  600 . In the preferred embodiment, the pin cover includes a pin cover base  601  formed to cover the pins extending from the bottom of the club holder lower base and a pin cover hook  602  adapted to detachably attach to the pin cover attachment bar  508 . In the present embodiment, the pin cover locking means is at least one pin cover notch  603  adapted to snap over the tip of and rest snugly against the tip of at least one of the pins extending from the bottom of the club holder lower base. Once unlocked, the pin cover may be retracted by dragging the leading edge of the pin cover over the ground. The pin cover may be made of plastic, metal, wood, or any other appropriate material capable of achieving the desired form. In the preferred embodiment, the pin cover is composed of ABS.