Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to a golf bag, and more particularly to a golf bag that can be stably stood obliquely and has a simplified cord linking design. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In consideration of firmly laying golf bags in all terrain of golf courses and easily accessing clubs inside the golf bags, obliquely laying golf bags on the ground with the support of a bipod can be an ideal way. 
     With reference to  FIG. 9 , a conventional golf bag with an integral bipod stand has a bag body  91 , two legs  92 , a pivot bracket  93 , two activating rods  94  and multiple guide brackets  95 . The bag body  91  has an open top, a bottom and a sidewall. The legs  92  are attached pivotally on the sidewall of the bag body  91  close to the top, and each leg  92  has a proximal end. The pivot bracket  93  is mounted pivotally on the bottom of the bag body  91 , has a flat bottom and contacts the ground when the golf bag  91  stands on the ground. The activating rods  94  are connected pivotally to the pivot bracket  93 , and each activating rod  94  has a distal end. The distal ends of the activating rods  94  are pivotally attached respectively to the legs  92  near the proximal ends of the legs  92 . The guides  95  are mounted on the sidewall, and each guide  95  has two through holes through which the activating rods  94  respectively extend. Inclining the bag body  91  relative to the pivot bracket  93  causes the activating rods  92  to pivot the legs  92  away from the bag body  91  so that the golf bag can stand obliquely and stably on the ground. 
     However, the activating rods  94  are exposed and are easily damaged or broken in the course of normal uses, and dust, dirt corrosion or other debris easily accumulates in the through holes in the guides  95  and restricts the movement of the activating rods  94  through the guides  95 . Besides, the exposed activating rods  94  are not aesthetically appealing and the golf bag obliquely standing on the ground with an edge of the bottom facing the legs  92  and a part of the pivot bracket  93  is not stably enough. 
     According to U.S. Pat. No. 7,494,009,, entitled to “Golf Bag Frame With A Leg Assembly”, the golf bag can fulfill the purpose of obliquely standing on the ground with a base and two legs pulled to extend out by a cord extending from the distal end of two activating lever and a foot of the base. The drawback of the &#39;009, Patent is that such a golf bag requires more effort in designing the top frame to allow the cord to penetrate through a passage defined through the top frame. 
     With reference to  FIG. 10 , another conventional golf bag has a bag body  7 , a pivoting base  8  and a rear post  6 . The bag body  7  has a bottom and a front portion. The rear post  6  is mounted on the bottom of the bag body  7  to support the weight of bag body  7 . The pivoting base  8  is mounted on the bottom of the bag body  7  and has a bottom  81 , a sidewall  82 , two pivot balls  83  and a mounting bracket  84 . The rear post  6  is mounted on the rear of the bottom  81  of the pivoting base  8  to support the weight of the bag body  7  and the weight of all clubs in the bag body  7 . 
     The sidewall  82  is formed on and protrudes upward from the bottom  81 . The pivot balls  83  are mounted on the sidewall  82 . The mounting bracket  84  is mounted on the sidewall  82  at a position away from the pivot balls  83 . The pivot bracket  84  is mounted pivotally on the sidewall  82 . With the pivoting base  8 , the golf bag can obliquely stand on the ground more firmly than the golf bag with an integral bipod stand as shown in  FIG. 9 . However, the issue that the exposed activating rods are easily damaged or not aesthetically appealing still exists. Furthermore, due to the tilting angle of the golf bag, the weight of the golf bag and all clubs therein leaning forwards crumples and shortens the front portion of the bag body  7 . Accordingly, a front post mounted on the front of the pivoting base  8  is inappropriate. Hence, the major support of the overall weight of the golf bag relies on the rear post, but this causes the rear post thick and heavy and the golf bag not stable upon standing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The objective of the present invention is to provide a golf bag that can be stood obliquely in stable and has a simplified cord linking design. 
     To achieve the foregoing objective, the golf bag has a bag body, a bottom frame, a top frame, two legs, multiple posts and a cord. 
     The bag body is barrel-like and has a top opening and a bottom opening. 
     The bottom frame is mounted on the bottom opening of the bag body and has a cover and a bottom cuff. 
     The cover has a top, a top opening, a cover bottom, a cover sidewall, a chamber and a stopper. 
     The top opening is formed through the top of the cover. The cover bottom is opposite to the top opening and has a front portion. The cover sidewall is formed on and protrudes upwardly from a perimeter of the cover bottom. The chamber is defined by the cover sidewall and communicates with the top opening of the cover. The stopper is formed on and protrudes upwardly from the front portion of the cover bottom. 
     The bottom cuff is received in chamber of the cover and has a front portion, a cuff bottom, a cuff sidewall, two pivot elbows, a lever holder, a lever and multiple bottom post holders. The cuff bottom has a bevel surface formed on the front portion of the cuff bottom. The cuff sidewall is formed on and protrudes upwardly from a perimeter of the cuff bottom. The two pivot elbows are oppositely and pivotally mounted on an inside of the cover sidewall and a periphery of the cuff sidewall, and abut the front portion of the cover bottom. The lever holder is hollow, formed on an inside of the cuff sidewall to align with the stopper, and has a through hole formed through a top of the lever holder. The lever is received and pivotally mounted in the lever holder. The bottom post holders are tubular and mounted on the cuff bottom. 
     The top frame is mounted on the top opening of the bag body and has a top sidewall, a divider, multiple top post holders, a cord guide and two leg holders. The top sidewall has an inner surface. The divider is attached to the inner surface of the top sidewall to divide a space inside the top sidewall into multiple sub spaces. The top post holders are formed on the inner surface of the top sidewall to correspond to the bottom post holders. The cord guide is mounted on the top sidewall and the bag body and has a branching channel formed on the cord guide. The two leg holders are pivotally mounted on a periphery of the top sidewall, penetrate through the top sidewall to abut against the cord guide. 
     The two legs are respectively connected to the leg holders. 
     Each of the posts has two ends respectively mounted in one of the top post holders and a corresponding one of the bottom post holders. 
     The cord has a first end and a second end. The first end is tied to the lever of the bottom cuff. The second end has two branches penetrating through the lever holder and the branching channel of the cord guide and respectively tied to the leg holders. 
     When the golf bag is tilted, the bevel surface rests on the cover, the cord is pulled to expand the two leg holders and the two legs to stand on the ground. As the cover stay fully lying on the ground when the bottom cuff tilts, the golf bag of the present invention can stably stand and requires a simplified cord linking design. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a golf bag in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a bottom frame of the golf bag in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a top frame of the golf bag in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the golf bag in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged side view in partial section of the bottom frame of the golf bag in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an operational side view of the golf bag in  FIG. 1  showing the golf bag in an obliquely laying condition; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged operational front view in partial section of the bottom frame of the golf bag in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is an operational perspective view of the golf bag in  FIG. 6  showing the golf bag in the obliquely laying condition; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a conventional golf bag; and 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of another conventional golf bag. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a golf bag in accordance with the present invention has a bag body  1 , a bottom frame  2 , a top frame  3 , two legs  4 , multiple posts  5  and a cord  6 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  5 , the bag body  1  is barrel-like and has a top opening and a bottom opening. The bottom frame  2  is mounted on the bottom opening of the bag body  1  and has a cover  21  and a bottom cuff  22 . The cover  21  has a top, a top opening  211 , a cover bottom  212 , a cover sidewall  213 , a chamber  214 , a stopper  215  and two first pivot pins  216 . The top opening  211  is formed through the top of the cover  21 . The cover bottom  212  is opposite to the top opening  211  and has a front portion. The cover sidewall  213  is formed on and protrudes upwardly from a perimeter of the cover bottom  212 . The chamber  214  is defined by the cover sidewall  213  and communicates with the top opening  211 . The stopper  215  is formed on and protrudes upwardly from the front portion of the cover bottom  212 . The two first pivot pins  216  are oppositely mounted on an inside of the cover sidewall  213  and is adjacent to the front portion of the cover bottom  212 . 
     The bottom cuff  22  is received in chamber  214  of the cover  21  and has a cuff bottom  221 , a cuff sidewall  222 , two second pivot pins  223 , two pivot elbows  224 , a lever holder  225 , a lever  226  and multiple bottom post holders  227 . The cuff bottom  221  has a front portion and a bevel surface  2211 . The bevel surface  2211  is formed on the front portion of the cuff bottom  221 . The cuff sidewall  222  is formed on and protrudes upwardly from a perimeter of the cuff bottom  221 . The two second pivot pins  223  are oppositely mounted on a periphery of the cuff sidewall  222  and respectively correspond to the two first pivot pins  216 . The two pivot elbows  224  are V-shaped and has two arms  2241  and two holes  2242 . Each of the two arms  2241  has an elbow end  2243  and a free end  2244 . The elbow ends  2243  of the two arms  2241  are connected with each other. The hole  2242  is formed through the free end  2244  of the arm  2241 . The holes  2242  of each pivot elbow  224  are mounted rotatably around the corresponding first pivot pin  216  and second pivot pin  223 , and the free ends  2244  of the two pivot elbows  224  face the front portion of the cuff bottom  221 . The lever holder  225  is hollow, is dome-shaped, is formed on an inside of the cuff sidewall  221 , aligns with the stopper  215  and has a through hole  2251  formed through a top of the lever holder  225 . The lever  226  has a disk portion  2261  and an elongated portion  2262  integrally formed with the disk portion  2261 . The disk portion  2261  of the lever  226  is received in the lever holder  225  and pivotally mounted on an inner wall of the lever holder  225 , and has a groove  2263  partially formed in a perimeter of the disk portion  2261 . The elongated portion  2262  abuts against the cover bottom  212  of the cover  21  and one side of the stopper  215 . The multiple bottom post holders  227  are tubular and are mounted on and protrude from the cuff bottom  221 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the top frame  3  is mounted on the top opening of the bag body  1  and has a top sidewall  31 , a divider  32 , multiple top post holders  33 , a cord guide  34  and two leg holders  35 . 
     The top sidewall  31  has two slots  311  and two seats  312 . The slots  311  are formed through the top sidewall  31  and corresponding to the lever holder  225  of the bottom cuff  22  respectively. Each of the seats has two walls formed beside the corresponding slots  311 . The divider  33  has a mesh form and is attached to an inner surface of the top sidewall  31  to divide a space inside the top sidewall  31  into multiple sub spaces. The top post holders  33  are formed on the inner surface of the top sidewall  31  and correspond respectively to the bottom post holders  227 . The cord guide  34  has a shape in reverse isosceles triangle, is mounted on the top sidewall  31  and the bag body  1 , and has a Y-shaped branching channel  341 . The branching channel  341  is formed in a back of the cord guide  34  and has a longitudinal portion  3411  and two branch portions  3412 . The two branch portions  3412  are V-shaped and connected with the longitudinal portion  3411 . The branch portions  3412  of the cord guide  34  are respectively aligned with the slots  311  on the top sidewall  31 . The two leg holders  35  are pivotally mounted on a periphery of the top sidewall  31 . Each of the two leg holders  35  has a pivot shaft  350 , a cord receiving portion  351 , a leg holding portion  352  and a torsion spring  354 . The pivot shaft  350  is pivotally mounted through the walls of the corresponding seat  312 . The cord receiving portion  351  is semicircular, has a groove  353  formed in an circular edge of the cord receiving portion  351 , is mounted through one of the slots  311  on the top sidewall  31  and is mounted in a corresponding branch portion  3412  of the branching channel  341 . The leg holding portion  352  is tubular and has a closed end and an open end. The closed end has two wings  3521  formed on the closed end and the cord receiving portion  351  is mounted between the two wings  3521 . The torsion spring  354  is mounted around the corresponding pivot shaft  350 . 
     Each of the two legs  4  is mounted in the open end of the leg holding portion  352  of one of the leg holders  35 . 
     Each of the multiple posts  5  has two ends respectively mounted in one of the top post holders  33  and a corresponding one of the bottom post holders  227 . In the present embodiment, three posts  5  are implemented, and one in the back and two in the front of the bag body  1 . 
     The cord  6  may be a fiber cord or a metal cable and has a first end and a second end. The second end of the cord  6  has two branches  11 . The first end of the cord  6  is tied to the lever  226  and received in the groove  2263  of the lever  226 . The second end penetrates through the through hole  2251  of the lever holder  225 . The second end further penetrates through the longitudinal portion  3411  and the two branches are respectively mounted through the two branch portions  3412 . After being mounted through the two branch portions  3412  of the branching channel  341 , the two branches  11  of the cord  6  are respectively received and tied in the grooves  353  of the cord receiving portions  351  of the leg holders  35 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , when the golf bag stands upright, the disk portion  2261  of the lever  226  is received in the lever holder  225  and the elongated portion  2262  of the lever  226  abuts against the cover bottom  212  of the cover  21  and the stopper  215 . The free ends  2244  of two arms  2241  of each of the two pivot elbows  224  all directly face the front portion of the cover  21 . Two legs  4  are folded and attached to the bag body  1 . With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , when the golf bag is leaned forwards, the front portion of the bottom cuff  22  tilts down and the bevel surface  2211  rests on the cover bottom  212  of the cover  21 . The elongated portion  2262  of the lever  226  is pushed against by the cover bottom  212  of the cover  21  to pivot the disk portion  2261  relative to the lever holder  225  until the lever  226  lie on the cover bottom  212  and is blocked by a bottom edge of the cuff sidewall  221 . When the lever  226  lies on the cover bottom  212 , the cord  6  tied inside the groove  2263  of the disk portion  2261  is pulled downwardly. The two branches  11  of the cord  6  respectively received in the grooves  353  of the cord receiving portions  351  of the leg holders  35  are also moved downward to pivot the two leg holding portions  352  forward. Accordingly, the two leg holders  35  with the two legs  4  are expanded for obliquely standing on the ground as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     When the golf bag of the present invention is tilted, the cover  21  is kept to lie flatly on the ground. With the two legs  4  and a full contact of the cover bottom  212  on the ground, the golf bag can be held on the ground stably. With the cord  6  being connected between the lever  226  of the bottom cuff  22  and the cord guide  34  of the top frame  3 , a passage defined in the divider  32  for the cord passing therethrough is unnecessary. The structure of the golf bag and the manufacturing and assembling processes for the same can be simplified. Whenever the golf bag is tilted, the full contact of the cover on the ground prevents the front portion of the bag body  1  from being crumpled and shortened. Accordingly, multiple posts can be mounted in the front and back of the bag body to evenly share the weight of the golf bag and the clubs therein, and the posts can be lighter and thinner without causing the golf bag unstable upon standing. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

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