Abstract:
A golf ball holder for a golf car includes a cylindrical wall portion with an opening that is located at an intersection of the cylindrical wall portion and a skirt portion that bounds a periphery of a drink holder module. A golf ball supporting surface spans one end of a golf ball retaining space which is defined by the cylindrical wall portion. A second end of the golf ball retaining space is open and allows golf balls to pass through. The opening provides finger access to the golf ball retaining space.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/176,000 filed on Jul. 6, 2005. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to receptacles for holding golf balls.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Drink holders are mounted in many vehicles to provide operators and passengers with convenient places to set their drink containers. As drink containers have become increasingly “super-sized”, known drink holders have been devised to accommodate containers of varying sizes. These drink holders generally have a moving member to accommodate the various diameters of containers. While such drink holders may be suitable for use in many vehicles, they are generally unsuitable for use in a golf car.  
         [0004]     Golf cars, which include small vehicles used and/or rented for uses such as transporting sportsmen afield, parking lot shuttles, and so forth, are often driven across hilly and bumpy terrain and therefore present unique problems in designing drink holders. In addition to accommodating drink containers of varying diameters, the drink holders should also minimize maintenance costs related to repairing or replacing broken drink holder parts. The drink holders should also be easy to clean to reduce the time needed to clean the golf car and make it available to rent or use again. Furthermore, the drink holders should be designed to minimize time needed for assembling the golf cars.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A golf ball holder for a golf car includes a cylindrical wall portion with an opening that is located at an intersection of the cylindrical wall portion and a skirt portion that bounds a periphery of a drink holder module. A golf ball supporting surface spans one end of a golf ball retaining space which is defined by the cylindrical wall portion. A second end of the golf ball retaining space is open and allows golf balls to pass through. The opening provides finger access to the golf ball retaining space.  
         [0006]     Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective top view of a drink holder module;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective partial bottom view of a drink holder module;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3A  shows a cross section of a multiple diameter receptacle having pliable members;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3B  shows a cross section of a multiple diameter receptacle having pliable members;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  shows a cross section of a mold;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of an instrument panel (IP) for mating with a drink holder; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  shows a perspective view of a drink holder module that includes one or more golf ball holders. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]     The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  shows a drink holder module  2  arranged in accordance with the present invention. The module  2  has a trim surface  4  with single diameter receptacles  6  and multiple diameter receptacles  8  disposed therein. The receptacles  6 ,  8  may be arcuately arranged with each receptacle partially intersecting one or more adjacent receptacles  6  and/or  8 . The module  2  also has a vertical portion  10  having a plurality of protrusions  12  for securing the vertical portion  10  to an adjoining structure. The vertical portion  10  may include one or more storage bins  14 . A skirt portion  16  having a bottom edge  18  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) surrounds the trim surface  4 . The bottom edge  18  may engage an adjoining structure as described later herein. The module  2  may include an integral fillet panel  20  to provide an aesthetic transition between the trim surface  4  and the vertical portion  10 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  shows a bottom view of the module  2 . An interior of the skirt portion  16  has one or more alignment features  22  and one or more attachment points  24 . The alignment features  22  protrude beyond the bottom edge  18  of the skirt portion  16 . The alignment features  22  may engage with a mating feature, such as a slot, in the adjoining structure to align the module  2  with the adjoining structure. The attachment points  24  have a planar portion  26  generally parallel to the interior of the skirt portion  16 . A clip  28 , such as a Tinnerman type clip, secures to the planar portion  26  to the adjoining structure, thereby securing the module  2  to the adjoining structure. A drain nipple  30  has a through-hole  32  to an interior of its associated receptacle  6 ,  8 . The through-hole  32  provides a path for liquid to drain from the receptacles  6 ,  8 , thereby facilitating washing and rinsing the receptacles  6 ,  8 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 3A  shows a cross-section view taken through section lines  3 A- 3 A of  FIG. 1 . The multiple diameter receptacle  8  has a lower receptacle  34  and an upper receptacle  36 . The lower receptacle  34  has a first curved wall  38  having a top  38   a  and a bottom  38   b . A support portion  40  extends radially inward from the bottom  38   b  of the first curved wall  38 . The through-hole  32  penetrates the support portion  40  to provide a drain for the multiple diameter receptacle  8 . A support ring  42  has a flat surface  44  extending radially between the top  38   a  of the first curved wall  38  and a bottom  46   a  of a second curved wall  46 . A top  46   b  of the second curved wall is integral with the trim surface  4 .  
         [0019]     The support ring  42  provides support for containers having a bottom diameter greater than a diameter of the lower receptacle  34  and less than a diameter of the upper receptacle  36 . Vertically positioning the support ring  42  closer to the top  46   b  than to the bottom  38   b  increases the likelihood that the bottom of such a container will rest upon the support ring  42 , even when the container has an external diameter that increases along a vertical axis.  
         [0020]     The multiple diameter receptacle  8  may also have a plurality of pliable members  48  integrally molded with the support ring  42  and protruding radially inwardly from the first curved wall  38 . The pliable members  48  secure drink containers having a diameter less than a diameter of the lower receptacle  34  by deflecting downwardly as the container is inserted in the lower receptacle  34 . Once the container is in the lower receptacle  34 , the pliable members  48  apply a retaining force against a sidewall of the container, thereby holding the container in place. Depending on a method chosen to integrally mold the pliable members  48 , a slot  50  may be disposed in the first curved wall  38  between each pliable member  48  and the bottom  38   b . As described later herein, the slots  50  allow a simple two-piece mold to be used to integrally mold the pliable members  48 . The drain nipple  30  is integrally molded with the support portion  40 .  
         [0021]     It should be noted that throughout the specification like reference numerals will refer to like elements.  FIG. 3B  shows an alternative method for securing the pliable members  48 . A radially outward portion  52  of each pliable member  48  may have one or more barbs  54  for engaging an exterior portion of the first curved wall  38 . The barbs  54  secure the pliable member  48  in position.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  shows a mold  56  suitable for forming the multiple diameter receptacle  8  of  FIG. 3A . A first mold portion  58  forms an exterior surface of the multiple diameter receptacle  8 . A second mold portion  60  forms an interior surface of the multiple diameter receptacle  8 . A void  61  is formed between the first and second mold portions  58 ,  60 . A recess  62  temporarily bends and secures a portion of the pliable member  48  such that a remainder of the pliable member  48  is positioned in a portion of the void  61  that forms the support ring  42 . Injection ports  64  provide a path for introducing a molding material, such as a heated thermoplastic olefin, to the mold cavity  61 . A pair of contacting mold surfaces  63 ,  65  are located below the recess  62  and prevent the molding material from undesirably molding over the portion of the pliable member  48  that is temporarily held in the recess  62 . The contacting mold surfaces  63 ,  65  also form the slot  50 . As the molding material sets, the remainder of the pliable member  48  becomes integrally molded with the support ring  42 . When the first and second mold portions  58 ,  60  are separated, the portion of the pliable member  48  springs free from the recess  62  and protrudes radially inwardly from the first curved wall  38 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  shows an instrument panel  66  for providing the adjoining structures for the drink holder module  2 . The instrument panel  66  has a top portion  68  for receiving the plurality of protrusions  12 . A support periphery  70  mates with the skirt portion  16 . The support periphery has mating alignment features  72  and mating attachment points  74 . The mating alignment features  72  receive the alignment features  22  integrally molded in the drink holder module  2 . The mating attachment points  74  are engaged by the clips  28  to secure the drink holder module  2  to the instrument panel  66 . The instrument panel  66  may also include one or more holes  76  for allowing the drain nipples  30  to protrude down through the instrument panel  66 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  shows one of several embodiments of a second cup holder module  2 ′ which includes one or more golf ball holders  90 . Golf ball holder  90  retains a golf ball under all reasonable driving modes of a golf car. Golf ball holder  90  also can also be molded simultaneously with much of the remainder of cup holder module  2 ′.  
         [0025]     Each golf ball holder  90  includes a cylindrical wall portion  92  that intersects with skirt portion  16 . An opening  94  is located at the intersection of cylindrical wall portion  92  and skirt portion  16 . Opening  94  can be a slot that is generally parallel with the axial axis of cylindrical wall portion  92 . One end of the slot can be left open to facilitate lifting or rolling a golf ball from holder  90 . A shape of the second end of the slot can be based on a shape of a bottom of the ball holder. To facilitate draining liquids from golf ball holder  90 , the bottom of the second end of the slot can be lower than a golf ball supporting surface at the bottom of golf ball holder  90 . In some embodiments a depth of golf ball holder  90  is greater than a width or diameter of cylindrical wall portion  92 . The depth can be measured along the axial axis of cylindrical wall portion  92 . A first endpoint of the depth is located at an intersection of the axial axis and the plane of trim surface  4 . A second endpoint of the depth is located at an intersection of the axial axis and the golf ball supporting surface at the bottom of golf ball holder  90 .  
         [0026]     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.