Abstract:
A golf bag assembly including supporting legs movable between a support position for cooperating with the bag to hold the golf bag assembly in an upright position and a transport position wherein the legs are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bag, a pull member assembly for moving the supporting legs, and an operating member for movement over a dead center position for controlling movement of the supporting legs between the support position and the transport position. A stop member can be provided for selectively allowing or preventing the operating member from assuming a closed position for releasably locking the supporting legs in the transport position. A transmission system for connecting the operating assembly and a pivot assembly for effecting movement of the supporting legs can extend across and through the golf bag so as not to expand the width of the golf bag. A stiffening ring assembly can be provided for incorporating the supporting legs pivot assembly, the operating assembly and the transmission system. Apparatus is also provided for maintaining the golf bag assembly in the support position even upon the application of sidewise forces to the assembly when in the support position.

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part-of Ser. No. 09/798,630, filed Mar. 1, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to support devices for golf bags, and in particular to devices for controlling the movement of supporting legs attached to a golf bag. The invention further relates to a golf bag stiffening ring assembly for holding supporting legs, a transmission assembly for moving the supporting legs, and an operating device for actuating and operating the transmission assembly. The invention relates both to springs for moving supporting legs which are both inside and outside of the golf bag. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Supporting legs pivotally attached to golf bags and movable between a transport position in which the legs are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the golf bag and a supporting position in which the legs are transverse to the longitudinal axis and contact the ground to cooperate with the bag to support the bag in an upright position, are known in the art. A support device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,310, wherein the supporting legs of a golf bag can be pivoted via an operating device from a position supporting the golf bag into a position lying against the golf bag. In this connection, the operating device consists of a tongue member coupled onto the golf bag, which is connected via a suitable spring device with the supporting legs. The tongue member can, in this case, be pivoted via a dead center position into two positions, by means of a carrying strap coupled to a clip against the golf bag and, by hand operation, into the position in which the supporting legs, with the aid of the spring member, are brought into the support position. A problem with the foregoing device is that it is not always desirable that these two positions of the tongue member are the only ones possible, but rather that there is also a possible position in which the tongue member is prevented from automatically being pivoted into the other position, past the dead center position, when the carrying strap is pulled. 
     Another problem with the prior art as shown in the foregoing U.S. patent is that the transmission system for transferring movement to the supporting legs is entirely or partly on the outside of the bag resulting in increasing the outside dimensions of the golf bag, and any portion inside the bag may take up excessive space which decreases the amount of storage space for the golf clubs, which could in turn require that the bag be enlarged to store the golf clubs. 
     Presently, golf bag manufacturers are required to produce the entire bag, which includes the stiffening ring at the top of the bag. Thus, to make a golf bag having supporting legs, the manufacturer must use as components the ring, the supporting legs, the transmission assembly, the handle and operating device for the legs, and the storage compartment forming device for defining the golf club storage spaces. The manufacturer must make and assemble each of these parts. What is needed, and what the present invention in one of its embodiments provides, is a ring assembly which incorporates the foregoing components which could be made by one manufacturer for sale to other golf bag manufacturers for incorporation into their units. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf bag with supporting legs movable between a transport position and a support position, wherein an operating device is included which can easily convert the control for the movement between an automatic operation for controlling the movement according to the position of the carrying strap and manual operation where the user can releasably lock the supporting legs in the support position. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an operating device for the supporting legs of a golf bag having a manually movable member which is pivotally mounted for movement between two positions to automatically move the supporting legs between a support position and a transport position, and a third position past a dead center position to disable an automatic control of the movement of the supporting legs and releasably lock the legs in the transport position. 
     A still further object of the invention is to provide a compact transmission device for transmitting movement to the supporting legs of a golf bag to move the supporting legs between a support position and a transport position. 
     An additional object of the invention is the provisions of a transmission device for the supporting legs of a golf bag which does not increase the outside dimensions of the golf bag. 
     It is still a further addition of the invention to provide a transmission device for the supporting legs of a golf bag which extends across the golf bag and contributes to the functioning of the golf bag. 
     Yet an additional object is the provision of a transmission device for moving the supporting legs for a golf bag which extends across the golf bag and defines the storage spaces for golf clubs in the golf bag. 
     Another object is to provide a stiffening ring assembly for a golf bag comprising the supporting legs, the transmission device for the supporting legs, the operating device for the transmission device and the supporting legs, and the control mechanism for operating device, which ring assembly can be constructed separately from the remaining portions of the golf bag and be included as a component for golf bags. 
     These and other objects will be apparent from the description to follow and from the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a golf bag assembly incorporating an embodiment of the invention, showing the supporting legs in the support position; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial side view of the golf bag assembly illustrated in FIG. 1, showing the supporting legs in the transport position; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the golf bag assembly illustrated in FIG. 1, rotated 90° from the view shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the operating or tongue assembly incorporated in the first embodiment of the invention with the stop member in the inactive position; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the operating or tongue assembly incorporated in the first embodiment of the invention with the stop member in the active position; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of a golf bag incorporating a second embodiment of the invention, showing the supporting legs in the support position; 
     FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows  7 — 7  in FIG. 6, illustrating a stiffening ring assembly disclosing a transmission system in schematic form; 
     FIG. 8 is a top view of the stiffening ring assembly shown in FIG. 7, incorporating the transmission system; 
     FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway bottom view of the stiffening ring assembly shown in FIG. 8, showing the components of the transmission assembly; 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 are cross sectional views of the stiffening ring assembly and of the upper portion of the golf bag assembly in the support condition and in the transport condition, respectively; 
     FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 10, but with a modified guide assembly; 
     FIG. 13 is a detailed view of a cross-sectional view transmission housing showing the guide assembly; 
     FIG. 14 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention, shown in the transport position; 
     FIG. 15 is another side view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 14 rotated 90° from that shown in FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 16 is a side view of a spring assembly used in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 17 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, but in the support position; and 
     FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of the spring guide and spring employed in the embodiment of FIG.  14 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, schematically illustrated golf bag assembly  1  is shown. Golf bag assembly  1  has a stiffening ring assembly  3  at the upper portion thereof, to which is attached a textile or other fabric-like bag body  5  (which could have varying degrees of stiffness). Golf bag assembly  1  further has supporting legs  7  shown in their supporting or transport position, in which they cooperate with the base of the bag body to support golf bag assembly  1  in an upright position as shown in FIG.  1 . Supporting legs  7  are pivotally attached to the golf bag by a suitable assembly, shown in FIG. 1 by the numeral  9 . Assembly  9  includes a spring member  11 , which could be an elastomeric member such the heavy rubber band as shown which biases the supporting legs to their support position, or possibly a coil spring or the like. A pull rope or cable  13  is attached as shown to supporting legs  7  for acting against the bias of spring member  11  for drawing supporting legs  7  to their transport position against golf bag assembly  1 . Spring member  11  can have different forms, and does not have to run on the outside of golf bag assembly  1 , and does not have to be at the same height as stiffening ring  2 . As explained below, spring member  11  and cable  13  could extend transversely through the golf bag. 
     An operating assembly or tongue assembly  15  is attached to golf bag  1  through appropriate fittings and/or a base plate  17  which is fixed to stiffening ring  3 . Base plate  17  could be attached to stiffening ring  3  rather than being an integral part thereof, which could make retrofitting and/or replacing of base plate  17  easier. Tongue assembly  15  is composed of a hand lever  19 , which is pivotally connected to base plate  17  by means of an axle  21  (FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 ). Cable  13  is attached to hand lever  19  such as by an appropriate cable clamp, so that cable  13  moves with the movement of hand lever  19  or vice versa. A clip  23  is attached to hand lever  19 , and a carrying strap  25  for golf bag  1  is coupled to golf bag  1  by reason of its attachment to clip  23 . Clip  23  moves in response to the movement of hand lever  19 , and hand lever  19  moves in response to the movement of clip  23  and to the movement of carrying strap  25  when golf bag  1  is being carried or when bag  1  is released. When golf bag  1  is picked up, strap  25  applies tension to clip  23 , and clip  23  presses against the lower side of lever  19  to move hand lever  19  from its downward position shown in FIG. 1 wherein supporting legs  7  are in the support position, to the position shown in FIG. 3 wherein supporting legs  7  are in the transport position in response to the movement of hand lever  19  to the upper position. 
     The operative attachment location of spring member  11  to supporting legs  7  and the coupling of spring member  11  to tongue assembly  15  is such that when hand lever  19  passes the dead center of the spring biased tongue assembly  15 , hand lever  19  snaps to either to the uppermost position in which supporting legs  7  are in the transport position against golf bag  1 , or to the lowermost position in which supporting legs  7  are in the support position. When golf bag  5  is picked up by carrying strap  25 , hand lever  19  is moved upwardly past the dead center position by clip  23  to the position shown in FIG. 2, and spring member  23  pulls supporting legs  7  into the transport position. When the golfer moves hand lever  19  past the dead center position, spring member  11  pulls lever  19  to the down position and moves supporting legs  7  to the support position through the connection between spring member  11  and legs  7 . 
     It is sometimes desired by users of golf bags with supporting legs that the supporting legs assume the support position from the transport or contact position whenever the user is not carrying the golf bag, i.e. the supporting legs automatically assume the support position whenever no force from carrying bag  5  is put on hand lever  19  of tongue assembly  15  such as when there is no upward force placed on carrying strap and on clip  23 . That is, no manual force should be required to move hand lever  19  from the upper position to the lower position. In order to accomplish this objective, a stop member  27  is pivotally attached to golf bag assembly  1  by means of an axle  29  supported by base plate  17  of the tongue assembly  15  as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Stop member  27  can be manually moved from its inactive position shown in FIG. 4 to its active or stop position shown in FIG.  5 . Stop member  27  includes a lever  31 . When lever  31  is in its inactive position, it does not effect the movement of hand lever  19  to its uppermost position as is evident from FIG.  4 . However, when lever  31  is in its stop position illustrated in FIG. 5, hand lever  19  cannot reach its dead center point since its abutment surface  32  contacts lever  31  as it approaches its upper position but before it reaches its dead center point. The advantage is that if lever  31  is in its stop position as shown in FIG. 11, the bag assembly automatically goes to its support position when the pressure on the strap  57  or on lever  31  is released. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, hand lever  19  is shown in solid lines in its position also shown in FIG. 1 in which supporting legs  7  are in their support position, and in dashed lines in FIG. 5 when lever  19  is in near the position shown in FIG. 2 but prevented from passing its dead center position—wherefore upon the release of the force required to hold lever  19  against lever  31 , spring member  11  moves hand lever  19  downward and supporting legs  7  to the support position. 
     Stop member  27  can have other configurations than that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. For example, it could effect its function by engaging clip  23  to prevent tongue assembly  15  from passing the dead center position for moving supporting legs  7  to the transport position. 
     Referring next two the second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 6 illustrates a golf bag assembly  51  having a golf bag  53  similar to that discussed with respect to the first embodiment, and a stiffening ring assembly  55 . A carrying strap  57  is attached to bag  53  by an appropriate clip at the strap&#39;s lower end and to a clip  59  (FIG. 7) forming part of an unlatching, operating or tongue assembly  61  at the upper end of strap  57 . Stiffening ring assembly  55  has a stiffening ring  63  preferably made from hard, rigid plastic, to which is attached a bearing plate assembly  65  from which extend a pair of supporting legs  67  which are movable between a support position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and a transport position in which legs  67  are adjacent to bag  53  and parallel to each other, which is effected when strap  57  is pulled away form bag  53  when bag  53  is picked up and operates a control device or transmission system  69  to move legs  67  towards and against bag  53 . Legs  67  have lower ends  71  for engaging the ground when legs  67  are in the supporting position, and upper ends  73  which are constructed to move legs  67  to assume the supporting position or the transport position according the state of control device  69 . The construction and operation of control device  69  and of the upper ends  73  of legs  67  can advantageously be those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/798,630 filed on Mar. 1, 2001. Golf bag  53  has a longitudinal axis x as shown. Supporting legs  67  make an angle A with longitudinal axis x when legs  67  are in the supporting position. 
     FIG. 7 is another view of the golf bag assembly  51  shown in FIG.  6 . The lower ends of supporting legs  67  are separated by the distance B when in the support position, which is a sufficient distance to assure balance under playing conditions. Supporting legs  67  are rotatably journaled via spatial axes  75  in bearing plate  65 , as described in detail in the above-mentioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/798,630. Control device or transmission system  69  is shown in schematic form, and can be seen as extending transversely across and through golf bag  53  so as not to widen bag  53  and not require parts which would require sufficient length to operate around the periphery of bag  53  and would be required to withstand the force and torque which would be imparted to the working components of the transmission systems if it were to be located around the periphery of the bag. 
     Stiffening ring assembly  55  is shown in FIGS. 8-12 Assembly  55  includes stiffening ring  63 , a transmission housing  77  which extends out of the plane of the figure to form an apex  79 . Two walls  81 , 83  extend across stiffening ring  63 , and are connected to bore housings  85  and to connection  87  which extend inwardly from ring  63 . Walls  81 , 83  are connected to housing  77  and apex  79 . Ring  63  cooperates with walls  81 , 83  and housing  77  to define six chambers  89 - 94  for holding golf clubs. Stiffening ring assembly is preferably an integral unit composed of stiffening ring  63 , housing  77 , apex  79 , walls  81 , 83 , housings  85 ,connections  87  and a pair of support walls  95 , 97  discussed below. 
     Operating or tongue assembly  15 , described with respect to the first embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-5 can be used in the golf bag assembly  55 . Thus, base plate  17  is attached to support wall  97  by screws  99 . Base plate  17  is shown having parallel arms  101  holding an axle  103  for hand lever  19 . Clip  23  is pivotally mounted on an axle parallel to axle  103  but located closer to ring  63 . Pull member or cable  13  extends between the arms of clip  23 , and is connected to axle  21  by means of a cable clamp  105 . Axle  21  is located in hand lever  19 . Stop member  27  which includes lever  31  is pivotally mounted on axle  107  extending between two walls  109  of base plate  17 . 
     A second base plate  111 , on the opposite side of the golf bag from plate  17 , is attached to wall  95  by means of screws  113 . A pair of pivoting parts  115  for holding the upper portions of a pair of supporting legs extends transversely outwardly, since the unit is in the support position. Pivoting parts  115  are attached to a yoke  117  which is described below, by means of a screw and washer assembly  119  into holes in flanges  121  extending from pivoting parts  115 , and in holes in yoke  117 . The operation of the movement of pivoting parts  115  is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/798,630 mentioned above. 
     The underside of stiffening ring assembly  55  is shown in FIG.  9 . Many of the parts described with respect to FIG. 8 are also shown in FIG.  9 . Disposed within housing  77  is cable or pull member  13  which is connected to axle  21 , and is connected to a juncture  123  of a pair of yoke arms  125  of yoke  117 . A coil spring  127  is also connected to juncture  123 , and to support wall  111  by means of a pin  129  which extends through a loop in the end of spring  127  into an appropriate pin receiving hole in wall  111 . Yoke  117  is a hard but flexible member in which arms  125  are biased away from each other because of their attachment to pivoting parts  115  under the influence of spring  127 , which urge parts  115  to the support position. Coil spring  127  biases yoke  117  and cable  13  towards wall  111  and pin  129 . These parts are also shown in FIGS. 10-12. 
     The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 is in the supporting position. Hand lever  19  is positioned against bag  63  against which is it pushes clip  23  by virtue of spring  127  urging yoke  117  and cable  13  towards wall  111  and pin  129 . The free ends of yoke arms  125  are urged apart from a normally inwardly biased position, by pivoting parts  115  under the bias of spring  127 . When hand lever  19  is pivoted towards the up position, it pulls cable  13 , yoke  117 , spring  127  and pivot parts  115  towards lever  19 . Assuming stop member  27  is in its inactive position, hand lever  19  passes the dead center position, and rests against stiffening ring  63 . Yoke  17  is withdrawn into housing  77  and pivot parts  115  are held against golf bag  51 . When hand lever  19  is moved downward past the dead center position, spring  127  effects the return of the parts to their positions in accordance with the support position. 
     In order to assure a smooth movement of yoke  117  and the parts to which it is connected in housing  77 , a guide assembly  78  is provided. A guide rail  131  is attached to the underside of apex  79  such as by means of a screw  133  (FIG.  10 ), and a guide member  134  is located on top of juncture  123  for riding along the surface of guide rail  131  to assure uniform movement and prevent yoke  117  from wobbling during its movement. Guide rail  131  is preferably tapered as shown at numeral  135  for smooth movement of member  133  from the support position to the transport position and vice versa. Of course this is not necessary as shown in FIG. 12, where the corresponding surface is shown at numeral  137 , forming an end part of guide rail  131 ′. 
     There are particular advantages to the guide rail  131  and its associated parts as shown in FIG.  10 . If the unit is in the support position, and force such as wind force is applied against the side of the bag have force components parallel to the axis of spring  27 , this force is applied by guide member  133  directly against taper  135 , which prevents member  33  and legs  67  from moving from the support position to the transport position, to assist in helping the golf bag to remain in its upright position. Taper  135  could be eliminated or modified by one or more notches  139  shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10 for receiving and holding member  133  in place and prevent the undesired movement of the supporting legs to their position against the golf bag. Even with this provision, the desired movement of member  33  to a smooth portion  138  of guide rail  131  is accomplished by the pulling of cable  13  by the raising of hand lever  19 . The latter action is not impeded by taper  135  or notch(es)  136 . 
     Guide rail assembly  78  is also shown in FIG.  13 . Guide rail  131  extends from apex  79  for engagement by guide member  133 . However in this figure, there is no taper or notch(es) as shown in FIG.  10 . 
     Support ring assembly  55 , with operating device  15 , the supporting leg assembly and transmission system  69 , can all be provided as one complete assembly. Therefore, the manufacturer of such a complete assembly can ship it manufacturers of golf bag assemblies, who can assemble it in a fast and easy fashion. In this regard, a series of holes or bores shown generally by the numeral  135  can receive connecting members from the golf bag portion of the final assembly, to provide an efficient and effective product for assembly. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 14-18. In this embodiment, a golf bag assembly  140  has a golf bag  141  and a pair of supporting legs  142  which extend from pivoting parts  143  (which could be similar to pivoting parts  65  discussed earlier) extending from a base plate  144 . A bent wire spring  145  has inwardly biased arms  146  which extend from a base member  147  near a base  149  of golf bag assembly  140  through a bore  150  in a guide member  151 . Springs  146  are connected to each other through a support base  153  and to legs  142  at spring connecting members  155 . Arms  146  bias supporting legs  142  to their transport or closed position as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. 
     Spring arms  145  are bent to form a bent portion  157 . In order to put golf bag assembly  140  in the support position as shown in FIG. 17, the golfer tips assembly  140  onto base  149 , and the weight of the bag and its contents overcomes the bias of spring arms  146  and urges legs  142  away from the transport position and into the support position. Bent portions  157  of arms  146  help keep assembly  140  in an upright position even upon the exertion of side force as shown by arrows F, which could for example be wind forces, by being engaged by notches  159  in guide member  151  as shown in FIG.  18 . In order to return legs  142  into their closed or transport position, the golfer merely tips golf bag  141  towards a vertical position so that the full weight of golf bag assembly  140  is not pressing on spring arms  146 , and spring arms  146  return supporting legs to their position shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. 
     The invention has been described in its preferred forms, but variations and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art from the preceding description and in the appended claims.