Abstract:
A golf club carrier mainly comprises an extrusion molded cylindrical frame with multiple integral sub-cylinders each longitudinally extending in parallel to accommodate at least the length of a golf club shaft. The sub-cylinders are latitudinally arranged in a circle into which a cylindrical container for holding accessories is inserted through a press fit. The container has a closed bottom, an open top and a hand-held lid removably attached to the open top for closing the same. The height of the container is much less than that of the main frame to allow an easy access to the contents in the container. At the end opposite from the container lid the main frame is reinforced for supporting the same on the ground.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     A. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a sports bag. More particularly, the present invention relates to an abbreviated golf bag for carrying a full set of golf clubs with less weight and extra convenience.  
         [0003]     B. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     To keep golf a healthy sport with no compromise in the desired precision, golfers had better carry their own set of all fourteen regularly allowed clubs rather than getting an assistance of carts or paid carriers.  
         [0005]     Apart from full-sized golf bags which are heavily clad with layers and meant to be carried on hand-pulled or motorized carts in the golf course, choices of lighter golf bags have been offered using lesser and/or lighter materials especially suited to female golfers.  
         [0006]     Extra restrictions by golf facilities against using golf carts to help carry golf clubs in a bag have made male as well as female golfers today look for a lightest golf bag, although there are already introduced many lighter versions of conventional heavy golf bags available to buy or reference.  
         [0007]     Prior arts show a variety of golf bags. U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,024 to Clayton describes a Golf Club Bag that can be made with two pieces of planar flexible material stitched together and then a plurality of elongate tubes are inserted in a row between the material pieces for receiving the club shafts, respectively. The assembled bag may be changed in form between a “bundled” position where the clubs are arranged in a circle and an unfolded flat arrangement.  
         [0008]     Kjose U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,391 shows a reversible equipment carrier that is converted into a golf bag with multiple tubular sleeves for holding individual club shafts. Again, each of the sleeves are inserted into the corresponding number of separate compartments of the main structure of the bag calling for multiple manufacturing steps for making each of the sleeves in position.  
         [0009]     While the above examples of improvements resulted in lighter bags, there are found substantial improvements to make in the area of golf bag in lightness and convenience in the actual use in the field.  
         [0010]     Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an ultra light golf club carrier with an extra convenience means of hand rest.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     A golf club carrier comprises: (a) cylindrical accessory container having a closed bottom, an open top and a hand-held lid removably attached to the open top for closing the same; (b) an extrusion molded cylindrical main frame with multiple integral sub-cylinders each longitudinally extending in parallel to accommodate at least the length of a golf club shaft, the sub-cylinders being latitudinally arranged in a circle for enclosing the container tightly from its open top and extending past the closed bottom to provide a plurality of circumferential tubular compartments; and (c) a shoulder strap attached externally to the main frame for holding the carrier during its transportation, whereby a number of golf clubs are received in the sub-cylinders and carried by a hand-shoulder coordination of a golf player holding the hand-held lid and wearing the shoulder strap.  
         [0012]     According to one embodiment of the present invention the lid of the container has a rigid hand held area generally extending longitudinally of the cylindrical container. In another embodiment, the lid of the container has a rigid hand held area generally extending latitudinally of the cylindrical container.  
         [0013]     The golf club carrier of the present invention further comprises an outer skin that covers the main frame leaving at least the top entrances of the compartments for the golf shafts.  
         [0014]     Because of the one-piece structure of the main frame the overall lightness of the carrier of the present invention is easily controlled at manufacturing in a matter of choosing a lighter plastic material for extrusion molding. Therefore, the club carrier made according to the present invention allows a golf player to carry the permitted fourteen clubs throughout the golf play with less labor of transporting a golf bag itself.  
         [0015]     To improve the texture over the plastic main frame an outer skin of fabric may be layered on the frame. The skin may be also made of one or more resin coatings.  
         [0016]     The shoulder strap is attached at its two opposite ends to the main frame through the outer skin with localized reinforcements. In another embodiment, the shoulder strap is attached directly to the main frame and extends in a spiral path along the length of the main frame.  
         [0017]     The golf club carrier of the present invention further comprises a stand and multiple pointed protrusions at the bottom end of the main frame cooperating with the stand for propping the carrier. The stand has at least one pole connected at its top end pivotally to an upper area of the main frame and may be swiveled between a propping position away from the main frame and a rest position in a lower area of the main frame. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the golf club carrier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2 a  cross sectional view of the golf club carrier taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 3 a  perspective view of a top end cap shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a side view of an accessory container with the hand rest covering the top opening of the container.  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the golf club carrier taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the golf club carrier taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 7 a  perspective view of a bottom member of the golf club carrier of the invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the golf club carrier according to a second embodiment wherein a different shape of the hand rest is attached.  
         [0026]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the golf club carrier according to a thirds embodiment showing a shoulder strap is attached to the carrier sleeve along a spiral path.  
         [0027]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention showing an optional stand to maintain the carrier at rest on the ground. 
     
    
       [0028]     Similar reference numbers denote corresponding features throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0029]     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2  together, a golf club carrier  10  according to the first embodiment of the present invention is generally comprised of an elongated cylindrical main frame  11  having a center tubular wall  12  and fourteen sub-cylinders  14  arranged in parallel to each other about the tubular wall  12 .  
         [0030]     The tubular wall  12  and sub-cylinders  14  of main frame  11  may be formed through extrusion molding plastic into an ultra light single piece structure having the cross section of  FIG. 2 , which is then cross cut into an appropriate length to receive a set of fourteen regulation-approved golf clubs  15  to carry. Fourteen round outer walls  16  are connected with each other in a circle and their junctions are extended to the center tubular wall  12  forming the same number of partitions  17  defining the sub-cylinders  14 . The center tubular wall  12  forms an inner cylinder that can be configured with a floor to hold articles. Although a plastic sheet can be laid across the opening of the inner cylinder to form a floor to support articles, a fabric sack is preferred to maintain a lower weight.  
         [0031]     An outer skin  18  of fabric is bonded to the main frame  11  for providing a good texture to the touch and aesthetic value of the golf club carrier  10 . Outer skin  18  may also be formed by resin coatings. Skin  18  may be so thin that no significant weight is added to the carrier  10 .  
         [0032]     At the top of the main frame  11 , a cylindrical container  19  snuggly plugs the inner space of the tubular wall  12  partially and is capped by a dome-shaped lid  20 , which is threaded into the container  19 . The container  19  has a shoulder  21  that rests on a top surface of the tubular wall  12 . From atop the lid  20  is protruding a vertical hand rest  22  centrally thereof. The hand rest  22  is textured to provide a good grip for a hand to carry out a comfortable transportation of the golf clubs in the carrier  10  without swinging and clanking of the golf clubs  15  against each other. The hand rest  22  also works as a handle to turn the lid  20  in closing or opening the container  19 .  
         [0033]     A shoulder strap  23  is attached through hooks  24  at its opposite ends to the main frame  11  providing a comfortable carrying means in cooperation with the hand rest  22 . To provide eyelets for the hooks  24 , two reinforcement straps  25  are attached to the outer surface of the skin  18  with folds  26  formed in a longitudinal projection line. The straps  25  may be directly on the main frame  11  if the outer skin  18  is of resin coatings, which then cover the straps  25 . Each of the folds  26  has a through hole reinforced with a grommet where one of the hooks  24  penetrates. The straps  25  may be replaced by cable loops disposed inside of the tubular wall  12  of the main frame  11 .  
         [0034]     The strap  23  has pronounced soft ridges  27  on its underside to provide a positive grip on the shoulder of a bag carrier. Thus, with a number of golf clubs received in the sub-cylinders  14  the carrier  10  may be transported by a hand-shoulder coordination of a golf player holding the hand rest  22  and wearing the shoulder strap  23 .  
         [0035]     Top ends of outer walls of the main frame  11  where golf clubs  15  mostly bear against are reinforced by a cap  28  to resist wear and tear. The cap  28  may be a separate member as shown in  FIG. 3 . The top end cap  28  has annular outer walls  29  that gradually upwardly conform to the connected outer walls  16  of the main frame  11 . End cap  28  also has similarly rounded inner walls  30  with an even space from the outer walls  29  and fourteen slits  31  at the corresponding locations to the partitions  17  of the main frame  11 . Thus, the top end cap  28  may be brought into a wrapping contact with the outer walls of the main frame  11  and bonded permanently thereto for reinforcement.  
         [0036]     Alternatively, the cap  28  may be a thick coating of a resin material, which is readily available in various forms suitable for spraying or dipping for localized reinforcement of the main frame  11  at its top end.  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows the container  19  with the lid  20  on as discussed above. In turn,  FIG. 5  is to show the inside of the container  19  in the fully assembled carrier  10  in a cross section. The container  19  has partitions  32  to provide three divided compartments  33  for conveniently organizing golf accessories like balls, a glove and tees to carry. Surrounding the container  19  is the main frame  11  and the both sides of the outer walls  16  of the main frame  11  are covered by the end cap  28  with the fabric skin  18  covered under the outer walls  29  of the end cap  28 . As previously mentioned above, the container  19  having partitions made from single piece of plastic exclusion can receive a number of bags, in this case three. The container can be in the form of a rigid container or a flexible fabric bag, or a flexible non fabric bag.  
         [0038]     The screw-on connection of continuous threads between the container  19  and lid  20  is the preferred fastening mechanism although modified threads of snap tabs-notches or tabs-hooks may be used to engage and disengage the lid  20  to and from the container  19  with quick partial turns of the lid  20  against the container  19 .  
         [0039]      FIGS. 6 and 7  show a bottom member  34  shaped like a hollow disc  35  having an outer annular wall  36  erected upright from the disc base  35  and an inner annular wall  37  which extends in parallel with the outer wall  36 . The inner wall  37  may be higher relative to the outer wall  36  providing an enough bonding surface with the center wall  12 . The bottom member  34  may be formed of an elastic material for supporting the fully loaded carrier  10  with a good absorbency of shocks when it is put down to the ground. Alternatively, the bottom member  34  may be replaced by a thick coating of a resin material as with the cap  28 .  
         [0040]     The U-shaped bottom member  34  in transverse cross section (not shown) is press fitted to the main frame  11  with the skin  18  at three sides including the bottom end and parts of the inner  12  and outer  16  walls of the frame  11 . The skin  18  may have an extended bottom end that coextend with the bottom and inner wall  37  of the member  34 . The main frame  11  and bottom member  34  may be fastened together by mechanical means such as bolts and nuts or through a chemical bond.  
         [0041]      FIG. 8  illustrates the identical golf club carrier  10  with a modified container lid  40  having a horizontal hand rest  42 .  
         [0042]      FIG. 9  shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein a golf club carrier  100  has an integral shoulder strap  123  attached by tacks  124  or bolts and nuts to a main frame  111  though an outer skin  118  at its two opposite ends  125 . The strap  123  extends in a spiral path along the length of the carrier  100  to better hold the carrier  100  when it is lifted by the strap  123  in operation.  
         [0043]     The strap  123  may be adjustable in length by a well-known means including an adjustable fasteners used in conventional luggage and a garment buckle mechanism.  
         [0044]     In  FIG. 10 , a golf club carrier  200  of another embodiment of the present invention is propped on an optional stand  201  attached to a main frame  211  to keep the carrier  200  at a convenient posture for the golfer to draw clubs  215  out of the carrier. The stand  201  comprises a hollow pole  202  connected at its top end to a connector  203  that is pivotally attached to an upper reinforcement strap  225  at its fold  226  diametrically opposite to another fold  227  where a shoulder strap  223  is attached. A bottom end of the pole  202  is fitted with a heel cap  204  and may be swiveled toward the main frame  211  into a clip  205  for clipping the pole  202  resiliently until the golfer pulls out the stand  202  under the carrier for propping the same as in the drawing. The clip  205  may be attached by a tack (not shown) to a lower reinforcement strap  225   a  used to hook a lower end of the shoulder strap  223 .  
         [0045]     Fitted to the lower end of the carrier  200  is a bottom member  234  having two or more balancing toes  235  protruding at a wide angle to prevent the carrier  200  from rolling from side to side. Toes  235  may be formed integrally with the bottom member  234  or they may be separate attachments to the member  234 . Alternatively, the bottom member  234  may have flat sidewalls like a square, pentagon or hexagon rather than a circle as illustrated. Thus, the multiple toes  235  help to maintain the carrier  200  an upright posture on the ground. Optionally, a three-point support of the carrier  200  may be established by two toes  235  and the heel cap  204  for an easier access to the golf clubs.  
         [0046]     Though single pole  202  is illustrated in  FIG. 10 , a double pole stand may be employed instead with appropriate modifications to the connector  203  and clip  205  to hold two poles for providing a four-point support for the carrier  200 .  
         [0047]     Even with the various optional convenience attachments described above, the inherent structural oneness of the main frame  11 / 111 / 211  keeps the golf club carrier of the present invention made lighter as more improved materials become available for extrusion molding.  
         [0048]     Therefore, while the presently preferred form of the golf club carrier with hand rest has been shown and described, and several modifications thereof discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that various additional changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.  
       CALL OUT LIST OF ELEMENTS  
       [0000]    
       
           10 : Golf Club Carrier  34 : Bottom Member  
           11 : Main Frame  35 : Hollow Disc  
           12 : Tubular Wall  36 : Outer Wall  
           14 : Sub-cylinders  37 : Inner Wall  
           15 : Golf Clubs  40 : Container Lid  
           16 : Connected Outer Walls  42 : Hand Rest  
           17 : Partition  100 : Golf Club Carrier  
           18 : Outer Skin  111 : Main Frame  
           19 : Container  118 : OuterSkin  
           20 : Container Lid  123 : Shoulder Strap  
           21 : Shoulder  124 : Tack  
           22 : Hand Rest  125 : Strap End  
           23 : Shoulder Strap  200 : Golf Club Carrier  
           24 : Hooks  201 : Stand  
           25 : Reinforcement Strap  202 : Pole  
           26 : Fold  203 : Connector  
           27 : Ridges  204 : Heel Cap  
           28 : Cap  205 : Clip  
           29 : Outer Walls  211 : Main Frame  
           30 : Inner Walls  225 , 225   a : Reinforcement Strap  
           31 : Slit  226 , 227 : Fold  
           32 : Container Partition  234 : Bottom Member  
           33 : Compartments  235 : Toes