Abstract:
A golf bag rain cover is used to cover a club opening of a golf bag so that the golfer&#39;s clubs can remain as dry as possible during play. The golf bag rain cover may comprise a one-piece shell being constructed of a water-resistant material which is held in a bonnet shape over the club opening by several extensible rods. The golfer simply reaches up and under the shell to retrieve or replace clubs. In alternate embodiments, the deployment of the rain cover can be adjusted to allow more or easier access to the clubs. Also in alternate embodiments, the rain cover may be stowed in a stowage element integral with the golf bag.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention pertains generally to sporting goods accessories and more particularly to rain covers for golf bags.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE FIELD  
       [0002]     Golf is a popular sport in this country and around the world and is played under all sorts of weather conditions. A golfer needs a cover for his golf bag to keep the clubs dry but accessible to him during play. Many existing golf bag covers are inefficient at keeping the clubs dry or are complicated to use, resulting in less than optimal accessibility.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing a golf bag rain cover which may fit bonnet-like over the club opening of a golf bag. The golf bag rain cover may comprise a water-resistant shell held in shape over the club opening of the golf bag by a plurality of self-tensioning rods, which may or may not be extensible. The shell assembly may be mounted onto the golf bag at the club opening thereof by two generally opposed mounting brackets, or one mounting bracket as well as an integral stowage element, may be provided integral with the golf bag. The invention may be provided as an improvement to a traditional golf bag. (Such traditional golf bags are generally cylindrically shaped and have a club opening at one end and are closed at the other.) 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of the golf bag rain cover in a deployed, closed position;  
         [0005]      FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the golf bag rain cover in a collapsed, open position;  
         [0006]      FIG. 2A  is a detail view of an extensible rod in contracted, straight position;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2B  is a detail view of an extensible rod in extended, straight position;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2C  is a detail view of three extensible rods in extended, bowed position;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a detail view of a mounting bracket;  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a back view showing the rear shell closure fastened;  
         [0011]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of a rain cover storage sheath separate from a golf bag;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5B  is a back view of a rain cover stowage element integral with a golf bag; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]      FIG. 1A  shows the golf bag rain cover  10  in the deployed and closed position as it is to be installed over the club opening  11  of a golf bag. In this position, the cover  10  will effectively keep the club heads, as well as the club grips, dry and ready for use by the golfer. For the purpose of these illustrations and this accompanying narrative, the reference frame used will be defined as follows: whether or not the golf bag is held at an angle, and regardless of the installation orientation of the cover thereon, the front of the golf bag will correspond to the front of the rain cover, i.e., the side towards which the bowed rods automatically fall (gravity action); and the rear of the golf bag will correspond to the rear of the rain cover, i.e., the side defining the closure panel. The water-resistant shell  12  is held in a bonnet-like shape and is supported by a plurality of self-tensioning, extensible rods  14  (shown in more detail in following figures) which are bowed over the club opening  11 , and the shell  12  can be opened as shown in  FIG. 1B  to provide access to the clubs, by collapsing the rods  14  towards the rear of the golf bag. (Although the shell  12  may be initially provided in several panels, the panels may be sewn, fused, or otherwise fastened together to provide a one-piece shell  12  which surmounts the bowed rods.) Alternatively, the golfer does not have to collapse the cover  10  into the fully open position as shown in  FIG. 1B , but can simply reach up under the closed shell  12  to retrieve the desired club while leaving the remaining clubs protected by the rain cover  10 . In the illustrative embodiment, a set of three extensible rods  14  is used with the shell  12 , each rod having a first end and a second end. The first ends are all held together in a set, and the second ends are all held together in a set. The first set of rod ends  22  is linked to a first mounting bracket  20 , and the second opposing set of rod ends  24  is linked to a second opposing mounting bracket  21 . The two mounting brackets will then be attached to opposing portions of the golf bag.  
         [0015]     Although any number of rods, extensible or not, could be used to practice the invention, an optimal number here illustrated and discussed is three. (For instance, as alluded to in the alternate configuration here presented, two rods could be effectively used.)  FIG. 2A  shows one ( 14   a ) of a set of three extensible rods  14   a ,  14   b , and  14   c . In this  FIG. 2A , the rod  14   a  is contracted to a maximum extent, the extent to which it will be contracted and shortened when the shell  12  is in the stowed position, e.g., for stowage in a storage sheath (e.g., a sheath separate from the golf bag or a stowage tube or other element integral with the golf bag). When contracted, the outer portions  18   a  and  18   b  of the rod  14   a  slide onto the inner portion  16 , and when extended, the outer portions  18   a  and  18   b  slidably extend from the inner portion  16 .  FIG. 2B  shows the same rod  14   a  of the set of three extensible rods  14   a ,  14   b , and  14   c  in the extended and straight position; and  FIG. 2C  shows the set of rods  14   a ,  14   b , and  14   c  in the extended and bowed position, as they will be bowed when the shell  12  is in the deployed, closed position of  FIG. 1A . The rod ends (ends of the outer portions) are positioned proximate each other and may be held within pockets  28  of the shell  12 . Likewise, the inner portions  16  of the rods  14  may be at least partially held within similar shell pockets or loops.  
         [0016]     Although there will be two mounting brackets  20  and  21  linked to the ends of the rods  14 , and located on the golf bag at the club opening, for clarity and for illustration purposes, only one mounting bracket  20  is shown in  FIG. 3 . It is understood that the second, opposing mounting bracket  21  will be a mirrored complement to the first illustrated. It is also understood that although the mounting brackets  20  and  21  of the embodiment shown here are clips that can be easily installed and removed from the golf bag, any other type of suitable mounting bracket may be used, including a mounting bracket that is permanently mounted to the golf bag at the club opening  11  thereof. In the illustrative embodiment, the three rods  14  ( 14   a ,  14   b , and  14   c ) are used with and support the shell  12 , the first set of rod ends  22  being linked to one mounting bracket  20  and the second opposing set of rod ends  24  being linked to a second opposing mounting bracket  21 . The mounting bracket  20  is designed to hold the first rod  14   a  in a fixed relation; this rod  14   a  when extended and bowed into the deployed position will be oriented toward the rear of the golf bag club opening  11  and will retain its position whether the cover  10  is opened or closed. The second and third rods  14   b  and  14   c  are held in a pivoting relation to the first mounting bracket  20  and also to the first rod  14   a . All rods ends may be retained in pockets  28  of the shell  12  (or alternatively may be held together by a pivot pin or other device) and so will fall forward (gravity action) when the brackets  20  and  21  are installed allowing the shell  12  to completely deploy and cover the golf bag club opening  11 . Alternatively to the shell, the mounting bracket  20  itself may be designed to hold the second and third rods  14   b  and  14   c  in such a pivoting relation; these rods  14   b  and  14   c , when extended and bowed into the deployed, closed position, will be oriented toward the front of the golf bag club opening  11  and will be capable of collapsing to be adjacent the first rod  14   a  to provide club access.  
         [0017]     The mounting brackets  20  and  21  may be removable from the golf bag as in the embodiment shown and/or be permanently fixed to the rod ends or to the shell  12  itself. Alternatively, the mounting brackets  20  and  21  may be fixed onto the golf bag proximate the club opening  11 , so that they will always be available for accepting the two sets of rod ends  22  and  24 , and thereby deploying the golf bag rain cover  10 . Alternatively, the mounting brackets  20  and  21  may be held by a strap which circumscribes the golf bag proximate the club opening  11 . If such a strap is used, then the strap may be removed in fair weather (e.g., for the summer season) and installed in harsher weather (e.g., for the fall, winter, or spring seasons). Regardless of the means of attaching the mounting brackets  20  and  21  to the golf bag, the linkage between bracket and rods may be such that at least one fixed rod  14   a  is oriented toward the rear of the club opening  11 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a back view of the rain cover  10  and shows a detail of the rear shell closure  30  within the rear panel  38  (which may preferably be constructed of the same water-resistant material as the rest of the shell). This rear shell closure  30  may be accomplished with a zipper  32  as shown, or may be accomplished with a variety of other methods, e.g., hook-and-loop fasteners such as Velcro™, snaps, or overlapping flaps. (The rear panel  38  is typically defined by the shell  12  on all but the lower edge  40 . Alternatively, in the case of a surmounting shell held atop bowed rods, the rear panel  38  may simply depend from the shell.) The zipper  32  closes the rear panel  38  of the rain cover to a point proximate the lower edge  40  of the rear panel, defining an opening  42  to accommodate a golf bag handle or shoulder strap. It is optimal, though not requisite for the practice of the invention, that the zipper  32  descend far enough that the zipper tab  34  locate at or below the club opening  11  so that no rain can enter though the opening  42  onto the golf clubs. The lower edge  40  of the rear panel therefore locates proximate the club opening of the golf bag. An adjustable retention strap  44  attached to the rear panel  38  of the rain cover proximate the lower edge  40  fastens under such golf bag handle or shoulder strap to complete the circumscription of the opening  42 . Alternatively, the zipper tab  34  (or flap end, bottom snap, etc.) may be fastened to the golf bag for added retention and rain resistance (for instance on a windy day). Fastening the closure  30 , and fastening the retention strap  44 , zipper tab  34 , or snap, etc., not only assists in retaining the rain cover  10  to the golf bag and in eliminating space between the cover and the golf bag, but also adds an amount of tension to the rear panel  38  of the shell  12 , so as to maintain the bonnet-shape of the shell  12  as installed on the golf bag. When the closure  30  is unfastened, the tension will be released, and the rear panel  38  will be loose and capable of being stowed (i.e., the rods  14  will be allowed to straighten out from the deployed position (bowed) in order to contract into the straight, stowable position of  FIG. 2A ).  
         [0019]     The golf bag rain cover  10  is intended to be stowed in or proximate to (even adjacent) the golf bag, and in the stowed position, the inner portion  16  slides into and nests with the outer portions  18   a  and  18   b  in order to accommodate the difference in length between the stowed (straight and contracted) and in use (extended and bowed) configurations. (The contracted rods  14  can now be stowed in a storage sheath  46 , shown in  FIG. 5A , along with the shell  12  to await future use.) In alternate embodiments, any other suitable method for contracting and extending the rod length could be designed, e.g., telescoping, folding, etc.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5B  shows an alternate embodiment of a stowage element  48 , such as a tube, being fastened to or integrated with the side of the golf bag and the rain cover  10  being removably housed therein and deploying therefrom. The stowage element  48  may have an open end proximate or adjacent the club opening of the golf bag and a closed distal end spaced therefrom, and the stowage element  48  may be located on the interior or the exterior of the golf bag. In this embodiment, the entire rain cover, including at least one mounting bracket, may slide out of and be separated from the stowage element (and then mounted onto the club opening), or the rain cover may slide out of the proximate end of the stowage tube  48 , and then the proximate end of the stowage tube may itself function as one of the two mounting brackets (by engaging and retaining the first mounting bracket attached to the rain cover). The opposing mounting bracket may be linked to the opposed rod ends and removably attach onto the opposing side of the club opening  11 . Alternatively, the opposing mounting bracket may be permanently fixed to the appropriate location on the club opening  11 , and the rod ends would simply deploy from the storage tube  48  and link to said mounting bracket.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  shows an alternate embodiment in which one of the extensible rods  14  (in this figure, the middle/second rod  14   b ) may be collapsible and retained in closer proximity to an adjacent rod (in this figure, the rearward/first rod  14   a ). In this way, the rain cover  10  may be partially collapsed to accommodate some pull cart configurations, some light rain situations, or other circumstances. One way to accommodate such retention may be to use strategically placed hook-and-loop fasteners  50  such as Velcro™. Any other suitable method may be used.  
         [0022]     It is appreciated that various modifications to the inventive concepts described herein may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the hereinafter appended claims.