TROLLEY

Abstract: A trolley for carrying a golf bag comprises a pair of co-axial wheels (20) driven by a motor (22) and a third wheel (18) spaced longitudinally of the trolley from the driven wheels. An upper bag-support and handle (11) is pivoted at a position lying between the driven wheels.

Description: Title : "Trolley" This invention relates to a trolley which is intended for carrying a golf bag containing golf clubs. According to the present invention, there is provided a trolley comprising a frame, a pair of wheels which are spaced apart laterally of the trolley, a third wheel spaced longitudinally of the trolley from said pair of wheels, a motor and transmission means for trans¬ mitting drive from the motor to said pair of wheels, wherein the frame is adapted to support a golf bag and the wheels, motor and transmission means are mounted on the frame. An example of a trolley embodying the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:- FIGURE 1 shows a side view of the trolley; FIGURE 2 is a corresponding plan view; FIGURE 3 is a corresponding end view; FIGURE is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, showing the manner in which a wheel is releasably secured to a driven axle; and - FIGURE 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the components with the wheel released from the axle. The golf trolley in accordance with the invention, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, includes a frame indicated generally at 10 and which is formed as two sub-frames 11 and 12 which are connected together for relative pivoting movement about an axis 9 which extends transversely of the trolley and which is horizontal when the trolley ' stands on a horizontal PI surface. The upper sub-frame 11 can be moved relative to the lower sub-frame 12 between an operative position indicated by a full line in Figure 1 and a folded position indicated by a broken line in Figure 1. When the upper sub-frame is in its folded position, the trolley has a compact con iguration and can conveniently be stowed in the boot of a car. The upper sub-frame 11 is freely pivotable relative to the lower sub-frame about the axis 9. By this is meant that the upper sub-frame is not held by any releasable fastening device in any of its positions relative to the lower sub-frame. The sub-frames are pivotally connected by a bracket 16 which limits pivoting of the upper sub-frame in a direction from the folded position to the operative position and, when in the operative position, the upper sub-frame is restrained by gravity from pivoting towards its folded position. In the folded position, the upper sub-frame 11 is urged by gravity against the periphery of a wheel 18 which limits pivoting of the upper sub-frame away from the operative position. The upper sub-frame comprises a tubular member 13, one end portion of which is connected with the bracket 16. An opposite end portion of the member 13 constitutes a handle 14. At a position approximately mid-way between its ends, the member 13 carries a bifurcated support 15 which is adapted to engage the upper end of a golf bag when the upper sub-frame is in its operative position. The lower sub-frame 12 includes a pair of side members 17 which converge towards and carry, by means of an axle and bearing, the wheel 18. A pair of cross members 19a_, 19b , extend between the side members 17, and are adapted to receive the lower end of a golf bag so that, with the upper sub-frame 11 in its operative position, the golf bag can be supported securely between the members 19a, 19b_ and the bifurcated support 15. End portions of the side members 17 which are remote from the wheel 18 are rectilinear and parallel to each other. On these end portions, there is supported a transverse axle 21, on opposite end portions of which there are detachably mounted respective co-axial main wheels 20. ' An electric motor 22 is provided for driving the main wheels 20. This motor is mounted on the lower sub- frame 12 adjacent to the end thereof remote from the wheel 18. There is also mounted on the lower sub-frame transmission means 23 for transmitting drive from the motor to the axle 21. The preferred form of transmission means is a toothed belt and pulley transmission. To achieve a step-down from the relatively high speed of the motor 22, typically 4,000 r.p.m., to a suitable speed of the axle 21, two belts and associated pulleys are provided. The smaller pulleys have a diameter of approximately 18mm so that the transmission means is not unduly bulky. The lower sub-frame 12 also includes a support 24 for an electric battery (not shown) and a control unit 25 for the motor 22 is mounted on the upper sub-frame 11 adjacent to the handle 14. As can be seen from the drawing, the motor 22 is mounted near to the axle 21 so that the motor does- not extend further from the axle than do the main wheels 20. It will also be noted that the pivot axis 9 intersects both of the wheels 20, being spaced from the axle 21 by a distance not exceeding the radius of the wheels 20. Accordingly, the trolley can be folded to a conveniently compact configuration merely by folding the upper sub- frame 11 down onto the wheel 18. The trolley is then in a sufficiently compact configuration to be placed in a car boot. The relatively heavy components of the trolley and the battery are situated near to the axle 21 so that the trolley can be handled conveniently in its folded • configuration. The upper sub-frame 11 can be of relatively light-weight construction: it is required to possess sufficient strength to enable directional control to be exercised over the trolley by means of the handle 14, to support the control unit 25 and to support one end of a bag of golf clubs; however the upper sub- frame is not required to support the motor, the battery or the driven wheels. It will be seen that the arrangement of the trolley is such as to provide a centre of gravity of the trolley, including a battery, and either with or without a bag of golf clubs, which lies between the axle 21 and the wheel 18 so that the trolley will rest on the ground in a stable manner and does not require to be supported by means of the handle 14. Thus, once the motor has been set by means of the control unit 25 to operate at the required speed, a user can release the trolley to be driven unaided over the ground. Since none of the wheels 18 and 20 is a steerable wheel, the trolley will continue along a rectilinear path until the direction of travel is varied by the user. To vary the direction of travel, the user merely exerts a downward load on the handle 14 which is sufficient to lift the wheel 18 clear of the ground. The trolley can then easily be turned to face in a different direction. The main wheels 20 are detachably secured to the driven axle 21 by means of respective quick-release couplings. Thus, the wheels can readily be removed to reduce the overall width of the trolley, if this is required for storage or transport of the trolley. The preferred coupling is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, where it can be seen that the driven axle 21 is mounted on the lower sub-frame 12 near to each of the main wheels by a respective bush 26. A collar 27" is secured to an adjacent portion of the axle 21 by means of a pin (not shown) so as to rotate with the axle. The collar 27 serves firstly to anchor a spring clip 28 to the axle and serves secondly as a spacer. The spring clip 28 includes a pair of resilient "^ ' .- arms with hooked end portions seen most clearly seen in Figure 5. Each main wheel 20 includes a hollow hub within which there is provided a bearing bush 29 to receive an end of the axle 21. The hub also supports a hollow carrier member 30 which is secured by means of pins 31 so as to be non-rotatable relative to the ' hub. The carrier member 30 carries internally a uni¬ directional roller bearing 32 which is adapted to receive the axle 21, and is so designed as to allow the axle to rotate freely relative to the wheel 20 in one direction, whilst gripping the axle 21 in response to rotation in the opposite direction, so as to transmit drive from the axle 21 to the wheel 20 in that direction only. A suitable roller bearing is supplied by the Torrington Company Limited of Coventry, England. The carrier member 30 is formed with an undercut annular recess 33 which is adapted to receive the hooked end portions of the arms of the spring clip 28. As can be seen from Figure 4, the axle 21 is inserted through the bearing 32 and into the bush 29 of the wheel 20. Inward movement of the axle 21 relative to the wheel 20 is arrested by engagement of the collar 27 with the bearing 32, and withdrawal of the wheel 20 from the axle 21 is prevented by engagement of the hooked end portions of the arms of the spring clip 28 within the undercut recess of the carrier member 30. The uni-directional bearing 32 is arranged to transmit drive from the axle 21 in the direction required to advance the trolley in the forward direction under the power of the motor 22. However, the uni-directional bearing 32 serves as a free-wheel mechanism whereby the trolley may be pushed manually in the forward direction without the use of the motor 22. Additionally, the uni¬ directional bearing serves as a- brake to prevent rearward movement of the trolley. It will be seen that the bearing 32 lies at the inner end of the recess 33 and not . adjacent to the free end of the carrier member 30. This reduces the risk of foreign matter entering the bearing. When the trolley is required to be collapsed for the purpose of storage and transport, the golf bag is removed from the supports 15 and 19 and the upper sub-frame 11 is folded onto the wheel 18. If required, the wheels 20 may be removed from the axle 21 simply by depressing the arms of the spring clips 28 manually and then sliding the wheels off the ends of the axle. The trolley illustrated in the accompanying drawings is more stable in use than is a trolley comprising only two wheels or a trolley wherein only a single wheel is driven. When out of use, the trolley is more compact than are known trolleys, the fold axis and the bulky components being near to the axis of the driven wheels. Folding of the trolley can be effected simply and without any preparation, other than removal of the golf bag. \ -.ι.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. A trolley comprising a frame, a pair of wheels which are spaced apart laterally of the trolley, a third wheel spaced longitudinally of the trolley from said pair of wheels, a motor and transmission means for transmitting drive from the motor to a wheel, wherein the frame is adapted to support a golf bag and the wheels, motor and transmission means are mounted on the frame, character¬ ised in that the transmission means is arranged for transmitting drive to said pair of wheels. 2. A trolley according to Claim 1 wherein the frame comprises a lower sub-frame which bears the motor and the transmission means and which is supported by said pair of wheels and by said third wheel and wherein the frame further comprises an upper sub-frame which includes a handle and which is connected with the lower sub-frame for pivoting relative thereto about a pivot axis which intersects both wheels of said pair. 3. A trolley according to Claim 2 wherein the upper sub-frame is freely pivotable relative to the lower sub- frame. * 4. A trolley according to Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein the upper sub-frame can be pivoted relative to the lower sub-frame to a folded position in which the upper sub- frame rests on said third wheel. 5. A trolley according to any preceding claim wherein the motor is nearer to the axis of rotation of said pair of wheels than to the axis of rotation of said third wheel. 6. A trolley according to Claim 5 further comprising means for supporting a battery in a position nearer to the axis of said pair of wheels than to the axis of the third wheel. 7. A trolley according to any preceding claim wherein the wheels of said pair are detachably mounted on opposite end portions of an axle by means of respective quick release couplings. 8. A trolley according to any preceding claim comprising respective uni-directional bearings associated with the wheels of said pair for transmitting drive in one rotational direction to each wheel and allowing each wheel to rotate freely in one direction. 9. A trolley according to Claim 7 wherein each said quick release coupling includes a manually operable spring clip which is releasably engageable in an undercut recess provided in the corresponding wheel. 10. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein or in the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: DAVIES PETER NORMAN, SMITH RODERICK MILSOM
Applicants: DAVIES PETER NORMAN, SMITH RODERICK MILSOM, TEE CADDIE GOLF EQUIPMENT LTD
Application year: 1982
Main classification: A63B55
IPC codes: A63B55, B60B37, B62B3, B62B5