Abstract:
A cigar holder assembly is provided for golf carts utilizing biased clasps to hold one or more cigars in a vertical position over a removable ashtray. Temporary and permanent means for attaching the cigar holder to a golf cart are provided, and a swivel mount is provided between the attachment and the cigar holder to allow the cigar holder to maintain a substantially vertical orientation.

Description:
This nonprovisional application for utility patent claims priority of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/521,241 filed Mar. 18, 2004. 

   SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
   Golfers who smoke while playing golf prefer to put lit smoking materials in a secure and convenient place while they make golf shots. Various ashtrays exist in the prior art that can be carried in or attached to a golf cart. The existing art has certain drawbacks, including poor containment of ashes, inconvenient ash disposal, and insecure holding of smoking materials during motion of the cart, especially when the cart is on an incline. 
   This invention provides a smoking material holder, shown here as applied to holding of cigars, but applicable in principle to cigarettes and cigarillos. While intended for use on golf carts, it is applicable to use on other vehicles, such as boats, and stationary structures such as decks and cabanas. In this disclosure, for convenience, the smoking materials will be referred to as cigars and the supporting structure will be referred to as a golf cart, without restricting the applicability of the invention to other smoking materials and structures. 
   The holder comprises a mounting part, which clamps onto any thin edge of a golf cart, and a hanging part, which holds cigars and an ashtray. The hanging part freely depends from the mounting part to maintain substantial vertical orientation no matter the inclination of the golf cart and the mounting part. 
   The hanging part further comprises one or more vertical cigar clasps arranged to hold one or more cigars in a vertical orientation with the lit end facing downward. Below the lit cigar end(s) is a removable ashtray. 
   Additional embodiments of the invention include two additional means for attaching the invention to the golf cart, and two different types of mountings utilizing preexisting cup holders on a golf cart. 
   A principal object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting in or on a vehicle to temporarily hold one or more smoking materials so that the smoking materials stay lit and out of contact with soiled or heat-sensitive surfaces. Another object of the invention is to hold the smoking materials in a substantially vertical orientation regardless of the incline of the vehicle. Yet another object of the invention is to provide as part of the apparatus an easily removable receptacle for ashes. A further object of the invention is to make the apparatus easily moved from one vehicle to another, and make it capable of being installed in a variety of positions and locations in and on the vehicle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment with a cigar in place. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment clipped to a horizontal support. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment with the horizontal support of  FIG. 3  tilted. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment clipped to a vertical support. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a third embodiment. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment. 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the swivel connection. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like features among the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention. The invention has two principal parts: a hanging part  1  and a mounting part  2 . Hanging part  1  is shown depending from mounting part  2  by a hanger bar  3 , which hangs from slot  4  cut in a swivel plate  5 . Hanging part  1  includes a vertical panel  6 , below which hangs an ashtray  7 . Panel  6  is fixedly connected to hanger bar  3 , although for convenience of assembly of the device from shipped parts, hanger bar  3  may be made detachable from panel  6 ). The mounting part  2  includes the above-mentioned swivel plate  5 , which is fixedly attached to proximal end  8  of gooseneck  9 . (A “gooseneck” is a common form of elongate repositionable material consisting of intussuscepting helically-wound metal bands typically used in lamps to permit the lamp to be positioned temporarily in any one of many possible positions above the lamp base. Use of the term here is meant to be descriptive of any elongate repositionable member that may be flexed and set in a variety of temporary positions and is not meant to restrict the scope of this invention to intussuscepting helically-wound metal.) (For convenience of assembly of the device from shipped parts, gooseneck  9  may alternatively be made detachable from swivel plate  5 .) Distal end  10  of gooseneck  9  is equipped with a ball-and-socket joint  11 , which in turn is fixedly connected to a spring clamp  12 . Spring clamp  12  may be clamped to any surface narrow enough to accept it. Gooseneck  9  may be rigid or flexible; if flexible, it may more readily be bent in whatever direction is necessary to place swivel plate  5  substantially in the orientation shown. 
   Panel  6  on hanging part  1  has cigar clasps  13   a  and  13   b  rotatably attached to the front of panel  6  by bearing arms  14   a - d . Each clasp is formed from a single piece of rigid material into a substantially rectangular shape, with its upper part held by the two bearing arms and the lower part swingable under finger pressure. Cigar clasps  13   a  and  13   b  are biased by springs  15   a  and  15   b , respectively, so as to cause finger-pulls  16   a  and  16   b , respectively, to press against the front of panel  6 . 
   Ashtray  7  is pivotably and removably suspended from panel  6  by means of leaf springs  17   a  and  17   b . The leaf springs are fixedly attached to the sides of panel  6  at their upper ends  18   a  and  18   b , respectively. The lower ends  19   a  and  19   b , respectively, of springs  17   a  and  17   b , are equipped with cylindrical axles  191   a  and  191   b , respectively, which mate with holes  192   a  and  192   b , respectively, in ashtray  7 . Springs  17   a  and  17   b  are biased towards the center of ashtray  7 , thereby maintaining axles  191   a  and  191   b  in holes  192   a  and  192   b . The ashtray  7  may be removed from the rest of the assembly by pulling either of the springs  17   a  or  17   b  outward to free axle  191   a  or  191   b  from hole  192   a  or  192   b , respectively. The springs described here are leaf springs, but any elongate spring capable of deformation under finger pressure may be used, without limitation. The use of cylindrical axles to support the ashtray permits it to remain substantially level when the golf cart is on an inclined surface. 
     FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the preferred-embodiment with the environmental object of a cigar in place. A cigar  20  is put into the left side of the invention by pulling lever  16   b  forwardly away from panel  6  and placing the cigar  20  behind lower collar  21  of left cigar clasp  13   b . The lit end  22  of the cigar  20  is placed low enough so that an unburned part of the cigar will come into contact with boss  23  when lever  16   b  is released. Boss  23  is a horizontal bar provided to hold the lit end  22  of the cigar  20  away from panel  6  so that the hottest part of the cigar will normally not bear on the material of panel  6 . This protects panel  6  and prevents possible combustion products from the material of panel  6  from entering the cigar. When lever  16   b  is released, lower collar  21  presses against the cigar, which is in turn pressed against boss  23  and upper collar  24 . The cigar is removed again by pulling lever  16   b  outward. 
   The cigar clasps  13   a  and  13   b  are preferably made of, or coated with, slip-resistant material such as neoprene, and all parts of the invention should be made of burn-resistant materials such as metal or ceramic. 
   The golf cart environmental structure typically contains various panels with edges to choose from for mounting the invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , spring clamp  12  is clamped to an environmental horizontal support  30 . Note that hanger bar  3  is roughly centered in slot  4 . 
   In  FIG. 4 , the golf cart has been moved to a surface which slopes downward to the right. This causes support  30 , shown roughly level in  FIG. 3 , to tilt a like amount to the right in  FIG. 4 . Hanger bar  3  is slidingly mounted in slot  4 , so that the weight of the hanging part  1  causes hanger bar  3  to slide to the right, thereby maintaining the hanging part in a substantially level orientation. 
   The preferred embodiment of the invention may be clipped to a vertical support edge as shown in  FIG. 5 . Here, spring clamp  12  has been rotated about the ball-and-socket joint  11  to enable it to grip vertical edge  50 . 
     FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the spring clamp  12  of  FIG. 1  has been replaced by a bracket  60 , fixedly attached to ball-and-socket  11 . (For convenience of assembly of the device from shipped parts, the ball-and-socket  11  may be detachable from bracket  60 , or, alternatively, from the gooseneck  9 . Another alternative for assembly of parts is to provide a ball-and-socket of the type which permits the socket to be released from the ball.) Holes  61  permit bracket  60  to be bolted or screwed to any free surface on the golf cart using common fasteners. 
     FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention in which swivel plate  5  is the only mounting part. This embodiment might be preferred if a flat mounting surface exists on a golf cart having sufficient room underneath it to accommodate hanging part  2  without interference with other objects. Bolt holes  70  are provided in swivel plate  5  for this purpose. 
   Note also in  FIG. 7  section reference line A-A′, referring to the views in  FIG. 8  to show more clearly the sliding connection between hanger bar  3  and swivel plate  5 . 
     FIG. 8(   a ) is section view A-A′ from  FIG. 7 . Hanger bar  3 , shown in cross-section, has an upper end  80  further consisting of a vertical back plate  81  and an undercut  82 . The lower edge  83  of slot  4  in swivel plate  5  fits loosely in undercut  82 , allowing hanger bar  3  to slide along it (in and out of the page in this view). Note that back plate  81  is of greater vertical height than slot  4 , preventing the hanger bar  3  from falling out of the slot  4  merely as a result of a bumpy ride. Hanger bar  3  may be intentionally disengaged from swivel plate  5  by lifting up the hanger bar relative to the swivel plate, as shown in  FIG. 8(   b ); tilting the hanger bar  3  backward within the slot  4 , as shown in  FIG. 8(   c ); and pulling the hanger bar  3  forward (to the right in these views) clear of the swivel plate  5 , as shown in  FIG. 8(   d ). 
     FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the invention, in which a second ball and swivel  400  replaces the hanger bar and swivel plate arrangement of the first three embodiments. Cigar clasps  13   a  and  13   b  here take the form of angled levers having finger tabs  401   a  and  401   b  at one end and arcuate cigar tabs  402   a  and  402   b  at the other. Springs  403   a  and  403   b  are mounted near the vertices of angles  405   a  and  405   b  in the clasps  13   a  and  13   b . The angles  405   a  and  405   b  provide fulcrums for the levers. If the springs are mounted between the angles  405   a  and  405   b  and the cigar tabs  402   a  and  402   b  as shown here to bias the cigar tabs  402   a  and  402   b  toward the panel  6 , they will secure the smoking material in place. 
   Also shown in  FIG. 9  are optional upper bosses  404   a  and  404   b , which are horizontal bars attached to panel  6  for a similar purpose as bosses  23  in  FIG. 2 . These optional bosses hold the unlit end of the cigar away from, and out of contact with, panel  6  for sanitary reasons. 
     FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the invention, in which support for the cigar holder is provided by an additional adapter  90  shaped to fit inside a preexisting cup holder. As shown in  FIG. 9(   a ), the adapter  90  is a rigid, shaped bracket  91 , having fixedly and perpendicularly attached to it at its bottom edge  92 , a first flexible elongate strip  93 . Above this first strip  93  is a parallel second flexible elongate strip  94 , also fixedly attached to bracket  91  at intermediate height  95 . The adapter may be placed temporarily in an environmental cup holder  96  by bending strips  93  and  94  around onto themselves while inserting them into the cup holder  96 . Spring clamp  12  of the first embodiment may then be applied to top end  97  of bracket  91 . An offset bend  98  may be provided in bracket  91  to better allow continued placement of cups in the cup holder. 
     FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the invention, in which a different adapter  100 , made for permanent attachment to the outside surface of a cup holder  96 , is provided. As shown in  FIG. 10(   a ), a bendable brace  101  is fixed to the bottom end  92  of bracket  91 , with bolt holes  102  provided to permit the adapter to be permanently affixed to cup holder  96 .  FIG. 10(   b ) shows this adapter attached to the outer surface of the cup holder  96  with fasteners  103 .