Abstract:
The invention is a golf bag for receiving and transporting golf clubs and other golf-related equipment, wherein a top section of the golf bag is configured to organize frequently-used golf clubs and protect golf club heads and shafts that are prone to damage. Organization and protection are achieved through centrally-located areas that permit clubs to be retrieved and replaced without interference by other clubs and structures that prevent the head or shaft of a golf club from making contact with other golf clubs.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an implement for use in the game of golf, more particularly to a golf bag for receiving golf clubs, wherein areas within the bag organize frequently-used golf clubs and protect golf clubs from damage. 
     2. Description of Background Art 
     The game of golf is played using a specialized set of equipment, including golf clubs. A set of golf clubs may contain fourteen or more clubs, including irons, woods, and a putter. In general, a golf club is formed of a shaft and a head attached to one end of the shaft. To provide a padded and secure area for gripping the club, a grip surrounds the shaft opposite the head. This configuration makes carrying numerous clubs cumbersome without use of a golf bag. The typical golf bag is cylindrical and has an open top through which golf clubs are inserted and removed. When positioned in the golf bag, the grips of the golf clubs rest on the bottom surface of the bag with the club heads extending from the open top. Modern golf bags often contain dividers near the open top that serve to separate the golf clubs. 
     The primary purposes of a golf bag are to organize and protect golf clubs during transport. When transporting a golf bag containing numerous clubs, the clubs often shift positions, making it difficult to identify a specific club and extract the club once identified. Furthermore, shifting may create an uneven weight distribution that makes carrying the bag difficult. As such, a convenient system of organization ensuring that clubs remain in their assigned areas is necessary to a well-designed golf bag. 
     With regard to protection, advances in materials engineering have improved club performance at the cost of durability, particularly with woods and putters. Graphite shafts that are frequently used in modern golf clubs, particularly with woods such as the driving club, are easily scratched or nicked when contact is made with the metal shafts or heads of other clubs. Similarly, the enlarged heads and ball-engaging face of modern putters are prone to damage when contacting other clubs. For these reasons, golf bags must impart protection to golf clubs by preventing unnecessary contact between individual clubs. 
     Numerous golf bag designs attempt to create a convenient system for organizing and protecting golf clubs during transport. U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,184 to Smith discloses a system of protection and organization wherein the irons are inserted into pre-assigned areas such that the heads contact the bottom surface of the golf bag. Other areas are assigned to the woods and the putter wherein the heads extend from the top of the bag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,397 to Pratt discloses a partition attached to the open top of a golf bag that includes grooves extending upward to retain and segregate the clubs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,028 to Shin et al. discloses a receptacle attached to the open top of a golf bag that includes a plurality of compartments for receiving clubs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,240 to Rich et al. discloses a golf bag with a top portion having shallow indentations for receiving club heads. On the interior of each indentation is an opening through which the shaft may be inserted. Extending downward from each shaft opening is a protective sleeve for preventing contact between individual shafts. 
     The prior art golf bags discussed above serve to organize and protect golf clubs but fail to consider practicalities associated with organization and protection. The putter is the shortest club. Because of the putter&#39;s length, it is usually shorter than the golf bag itself, making retrieval of the putter difficult when it is placed among other clubs. The short length also permits the putter head to contact the edge of the golf bag, thereby causing undue wear, and become entangled with the shafts of other clubs, making removal difficult. With regard to use, the putter is statistically the most frequently used club, followed by the driving club. As such, a well-designed system of organization should place the putter and driving club in a prominent and easily accessible area. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,691 to Ratcliff et al. discloses a mount for securing a putter in a golf bag. The mount includes a bracket attached to the edge of the bag that receives the putter head. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,090 to Tucker discloses a clip-mounted device that mounts the putter to the exterior of the golf bag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,520 to Tang and U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,095 to Beck et al. disclose golf bags having a plurality of compartments for housing the irons, wedges, and woods, and segregated compartments for the putter. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,638 to Chow discloses a putter housing on the exterior of a golf bag. 
     Based on the prior art, a need exists for a golf bag that organizes all clubs, while giving prominence and a high degree of protection to the head of a putter and the graphite shaft of a driving club. The following, disclosed invention relates to such a golf bag. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a golf bag for receiving and transporting golf clubs including woods, irons, and a putter. The golf bag is comprised of a substantially hollow, elongate body, a base element, and an upper element. The body has a front portion, a pair of side portions, a back portion, an open upper end, and a lower end which is covered by the base element. The upper element attaches to the upper end of the body and includes a U-shaped protective divider and at least one general divider. The U-shaped protective divider has a pair of spaced leg segments and a base segment, each leg segment having a terminal end and an opposite end which is connected to said base segment. The leg segments extend inward from the upper end of the front portion of the body to define at least one protective aperture which may be located adjacent to the front portion of the body. The at least one general divider extends from the U-shaped protective divider to one of the pair of side portions or the back portion to thereby form a plurality of general apertures that are segregated from the first protective aperture by the U-shaped protective divider. A partition may extend downward from each of the protective dividers to the base element, thereby dividing the interior of the body into compartments. 
     The at least one protective aperture may include a first protective aperture that is positioned adjacent to the body, preferably in the front of the golf bag. The first protective aperture may receive a golf club, preferably a putter. The grip end of the putter may rest on the base element with the putter head positioned between the leg segments of the U-shaped protective divider. In this position, the user of the golf bag may insert the putter into the first protective aperture and remove the putter from the first protective aperture without interference from other golf clubs held by the golf bag in sections defined by the general apertures. 
     The at least one protective aperture may further include a second protective aperture. The second protective aperture may be formed in the protective divider and may be located adjacent to the first protective aperture. The second protective aperture may receive a golf club, such as the driving club, and, in conjunction with the partition, serves the purpose of protecting the shaft of the driving club from damage by segregating the shaft from other clubs. Like the head of the putter, a graphite shaft of a driving club is prone to damage when contacted by other clubs. In addition to protecting the shaft, the second protective aperture makes the driving club accessible to the user of the golf bag. Although not used on every hole, the driving club is statistically the second most frequently used golf club. As such, placement of the driving club in the center of the golf bag has the advantage of improved access. 
     The first and second protective apertures, in conjunction with the general apertures, form a system wherein the most frequently used and most easily damaged golf clubs are most accessible to the user and adequately protected from making contact with other clubs. 
    
    
     Various advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting a preferred embodiment of the golf bag of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the golf bag of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a top view depicting the upper element of the golf bag of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention generally along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the figures, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, a golf bag in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. Golf bag  100  is primarily comprised of an elongate body  200 , an upper element  300 , a base element  400 , and a partition  500 . Body  200  is substantially hollow and tubular and formed of a front portion  202 , two side portions  204   a - 204   b , a back portion  206 , an upper end  210 , and a lower end  220 . Attached to body  200  in the region of upper end  210  is an upper element  300 . A base element  400  is attached to body  200  in the region of lower end  220  and is preferably comprised of a rigid and durable polymer. A partition  500  is longitudinally positioned within the interior of body  200  and may be joined to upper element  300  and base element  400 . 
     Upper element  300  forms the basis for a system wherein the most frequently used golf clubs are both accessible to the user and adequately protected from making contact with other clubs. Referring to FIG. 3, the configuration of upper element  300  is illustrated. Upper element  300  includes a plurality of dividers that define apertures through which golf club shafts pass when being received in golf bag  100 . The primary divider is a protective divider  310 , having leg segments  312   a - 312   b  and a base segment  314 . Protective divider  310  encompasses a first protective aperture  330 , for receiving a club, such as the putter, and a second protective aperture  340 , for receiving another club, such as the driving club. Preferably, first protective aperture  330  and second protective aperture  340  are aligned along a centerline that connects front portion  202  with back portion  206 . Further, second protective aperture  340  maybe centrally located within upper end  210 . A dividing wall  320  separates first protective aperture  330  from second protective aperture  340 . Four general dividers  350   a - 350   d  extend from protective divider  310  to a rim section  370  to form general apertures  360   a - 360   e.    
     The basis for upper element  300  is a core which may be formed from a single element of a rigid or semi-rigid thermoplastic material having a U-shaped central portion for forming protective divider  310 , four extensions for forming general dividers  350   a - 350   d , and an outer portion for forming rim section  370 . Rim section  370  has semi-straight sides with rounded junctions between the sides, thereby forming a shape that generally corresponds with the shape of upper end  210  Preferably, a cushion or pad, having foam within a textile layer for example, surrounds the core that forms protective divider  310 , general dividers  350   a - 350   d , and rim section  370 . The foam and textile provide a cushioned surface for contacting and providing protection to the golf clubs. 
     Modern putters often include ball-engaging faces that are prone to damage when contact is made with other objects, such as golf clubs. In addition, the putter is statistically the most frequently used of all golf clubs. To provide a protective and easily accessible area for receiving the putter, upper element  300  includes first protective aperture  330 , which is bounded by leg segments  312   a  and  312   b , dividing wall  320 , and a portion of body  200  preferably comprised of an indentation  230 . Leg segments  312   a - 312   b  preferably angle outwardly in the direction of body  200  so that the terminal ends of protective divider  310  that may protrude outside of body  200  are spaced further from one another than interior portions of protective divider  310 , thereby accommodating larger-sized putter heads. 
     When the putter is received in first protective aperture  330 , the shaft extends through the interior of body  200  and the grip contacts upper surface  410  of base element  400 . The putter head is then situated between leg segments  312   a - 312   b . Putter heads come in various shapes and sizes. Depending upon the head size and configuration, the putter head may be positioned with the head pointing interiorly towards the bag center (not shown in the figures) or, as shown in the figures, the putter head may be positioned in an opposite direction and pointing outward. In either scenario, a portion of the putter head, again depending upon its shape and size, may extend over indentation  230 . The ball-engaging face of the putter may contact the protective surface of either leg segment  312   a  or leg segment  312   b , depending upon whether the putter was designed for right-handed or left-handed use, respectively. To provide sufficient protection of the putter face, leg segments  312   a - 312   b  preferably pass over indentation  230  and extend approximately three-fourths inch beyond body  200 . 
     Standard putter lengths range between 32 and 35 inches. To ensure that the putter grip contacts upper surface  410 , indentation  230  is preferably formed at a height of approximately 32 inches relative to upper surface  410 . Similarly, to ensure that the face of a putter having a length of 35 inches is adequately protected, protective divider  310  preferably extends upward to a height of approximately 36.5 inches relative to upper surface  410 . 
     The second most frequently used golf club is the driving club. Modem driving clubs frequently utilize a graphite shaft that may become damaged upon contact with another golf club. A second portion of the organizational and protective system embodied in the present invention involves a separate, easily accessible, protective area which may receive the driving club, such area being second protective aperture  340 . Second protective aperture  340  is located adjacent to first protective aperture  330  and bounded by aft portions of leg segments  312   a - 312   b , base segment  314 , and dividing wall  320 . Centrally located relative to upper end  210 , second protective aperture  340  may receive the shaft of the driving club and, in conjunction with partition  500 , serves to protect the shaft by segregating the shaft from the shafts of other clubs. When the driving club is received in second protective aperture  340 , the club is centrally located with the head of the driving club exposed. This permits the user to easily remove the driving club from protective aperture  340  without significant interference from other clubs. The tern “driving club” is used herein to refer to any of the various clubs that the golfer may select to “tee off” or commence with. It may be a wood or driver such as a number  1 ,  3 , or  5  driver for example. But it should be understood that second protective aperture  340  may be used to receive any of the various clubs that the golfer may possess, preferably clubs having longer shafts or graphite shafts. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, partition  500 , which maybe formed of a durable textile, extends downward from protective divider  310  and connects with base element  400 . Partition  500  serves to divide the interior of body  200  into compartments. The first compartment extends downward from first protective aperture  330  and second protective aperture  340  and receives the shafts of the putter and driving club. The second compartment extends downward from general apertures  360   a - 360   e  and receives the shafts of the other golf clubs. In the preferred embodiment, partition  500  is secured to upper surface  410  of base element  400  by stitching the vertical leg of an L-shaped plastic member  420  to the lower end of partition  500  and riveting the horizontal leg directly to base clement  400 . In alternate embodiments, the two compartments maybe further subdivided by separate partitions. For example, partition  502  may extend downward from dividing wall  320 , as illustrated in FIG. 5, such that the shafts of the putter and driving club are segregated. Partitions may also extend downward from one or more general dividers  350   a - 350   d  so as to prevent shafts and grips of the golf clubs received in general apertures  360   a - 360   e  from becoming entangled. 
     Protective apertures  330  and  340  serve to organize the putter and driving club. The remaining clubs, which may include the irons and woods, are distributed among five general apertures  360   a - 360   e . Extending from body  200  in the area of upper end  210  and connecting with protective divider  310  are five general dividers  350   a - 350   d . The spaces bounded by general dividers  350   a - 350   d , protective divider  310 , and rim section  370  define general apertures  360   a - 360   e.    
     As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, rim section  370  preferably includes a general downward cant directed toward indentation  230 . The downward cant adds to the organizational system of the present invention by providing general apertures  360   a - 360   e  with varying heights. General aperture  360   c , preferably having the greatest height, may receive golf clubs with greater lengths, such as the woods. To facilitate removal of these golf clubs, the upper edge of body  200  may include a concave section adjacent to general aperture  360   c . In the preferred embodiment, general apertures  360   a  and  360   e , being shorter than general apertures  360   b - 360   d , may receive golf clubs with shorter heights, such as the wedges and higher-numbered irons. The remaining clubs may be distributed among general apertures  360   b  and  360   d.    
     In addition to the general downward cant of rim section  370  that is directed toward indentation  230 , a top edge of leg segments  312   a  and  312   b  may slope downward in a reverse direction and toward a back portion of golf bag  100 , as depicted in FIGS. 2,  4 , and  5 , for example. That is, the top edge of leg segments  312   a  and  312   b  may slope upward in the direction toward indentation  230 , which is located on a front portion of golf bag  100 . 
     Additional elements of golf bag  100  may include pockets  610  and handle  620 . Pockets  610  may be attached in a conventional manner to exterior portions of golf bag  100  and store golf equipment other than golf clubs, including towels, golf balls, and tees. A zipper or hook and loop closure device secures items contained within pockets  610 . Handle  620  is used to lift golf bag  100 . In addition, one or more carrying straps that permits the user to support the weight of golf bag  100  on a shoulder or shoulders may be attached to the exterior in either the front of back. 
     This invention has been disclosed with reference to the preferred embodiments. These embodiments, however, are merely for example only and the invention is not restricted thereto. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that other variations and modifications can easily be made within the scope of this invention, as defined by the appended claims.