Ladies' lacrosse bag or stick head cover

Abstract

A ladies' lacrosse stick carrier in the form of a head cover has a first compartment for holding the head of the lacrosse stick and a second compartment for holding accessories. The carrier is of a generally tear-drop shape and contains the head of the lacrosse stick, with the shaft projecting out through an open throat at the rear. The carrier is provided with a carrying strap or shoulder strap. The unit ofers the participant a convenient way to stock and store all the relevant gear.

Description

This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/610,587, filed Sep. 17, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns a small carrying bag or holder for a lacrosse stick, for convenient carrying of the stick and lacrosse accessories, such as gloves, goggles, lacrosse balls, and other small items. The invention is more broadly concerned with a purse-like bag or carrier suitable for a lacrosse player to carry an article of sports equipment that is in the form of a head and shaft. The invention is further concerned with a small bag or carrier in the form of a head cover that protects the head of the lacrosse stick, and which can remain on the lacrosse stick when the lacrosse stick is being stored in a holder off the floor, and provides a convenient place for storage of other items equipment.

To date, there have been no convenient carrying bags for women's lacrosse equipment, and no means for convenient storage of accessories or small items of sports equipment, e.g., gloves, balls, etc., except to have them in a standard player's travel bag. These bags are bulky and heavy.

In women's lacrosse and girl's lacrosse, the rules of play do not permit contact, so the players do not need bulky items of padding and equipment that are required for men's lacrosse. This means that for the players other than goalkeeper, ladies' lacrosse requires only such items as a face mask or goggles, a mouth guard, and gloves. Only the goal keeper needs to wear significant padding or a helmet. However, to date no carrying bag has been proposed that takes into account the rather small amount of equipment needed to be carried by the women or girls on the team.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for shafted sports equipment, namely, a ladies' lacrosse stick, and for additional small items, which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art, and provides a convenient means for carrying the lacrosse stick.

It is another object to provide a ladies' lacrosse head cover that can be easily carried, e.g., by means of a shoulder strap, and which is at the same time large enough to contain the head of the lacrosse stick and accessory items, yet small enough to be convenient and stylish.

Likewise, it is a further object to provide a lacrosse stick head cover in the form of a small soft carrier or bag that can remain on the lacrosse stick when the lacrosse stick is being stored on a wall-mounted hanger or in a locker.

It is a related object to provide a lacrosse stick head cover that permits the head of the lacrosse stick to be quickly inserted into the storage compartment and closed up, and which also allows the lacrosse stick to be quickly and easily removed when needed for play or practice.

In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a ladies' lacrosse stick head cover is provided for convenient carrying of a lacrosse stick and lacrosse accessories. The lacrosse stick head cover is formed as a small bag of a flexible material, such as leather, a leather-like fabric, or another fabric material, or a combination of these. The bag is generally the size of a woman's purse. The lacrosse stick head cover has a first compartment of a generally rounded teardrop shape, with a narrow open throat at a rear side thereof through which the shaft of the lacrosse stick can protrude. The first compartment is defined between first and second tear drop shaped panels, that are joined along an upper side by means of an upper strip. A zipper closure extends from the upper strip around and along a front and a lower side to said throat of said first compartment.

A second compartment or accessories pouch is provided for holding accessories. This second compartment is defined between the second tear drop shaped panel and a third panel that has a rounded front side that conforms with the front side of the second panel; a side wall that joins the second and third panels and which closes off upper, rear, and lower sides of the second compartment; and a closure, e.g., a zipper closure, that is disposed across a front side of the second compartment. An adjustable carrying strap has its ends attached onto the upper strip, and serves as a handle or shoulder strap for convenient carrying, and can also be used for hanging the lacrosse stick head cover, together with the stick and accessories contained in it, on a wall peg.

In a preferred embodiment, the second compartment, i.e., accessories compartment includes a lining of a soft, plush material, and may also have interior pockets for small items such as car keys, mouth guard, or cell phone. The zipper closure on the accessories compartment has its slide moving towards the upper side to close and towards the lower side to open the second or accessories compartment. The zipper closure on the first compartment has its slide moving towards the throat or rear end to close the first or lacrosse head compartment, and moving forward to open the compartment.

In a preferred version, the first compartment has width of about eight to nine inches and a length of about fifteen inches, to accommodate the head of the lacrosse stick. The second compartment has a similar shape but truncated a few inches ahead of the throat of the first compartment, and has a depth of about three inches.

The above and many other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will be more fully appreciated from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment, with the description to be read in conjunction with the accompanying Drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a right side perspective views showing a ladies' lacrosse stick carrying bag, i.e. a lacrosse stick head cover, according to one possible preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view.

FIG. 3 is a top view.

FIG. 4 is a front end view.

FIG. 5 is a rear end view.

FIG. 6 is a left side view.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing accessory items contained in the lacrosse stick head cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the Drawing FIGS. 1 to 6, a lacrosse stick head cover or small carrying bag 10 for carrying a ladies' lacrosse stick is shown, here containing the head of the lacrosse stick, with a shaft 12 thereof extending rearward from the stick head cover 10. The head, not visible here, has a somewhat elongated open frame of oval shape, from which the shaft 12 extends, and is contained in a first compartment, i.e., head compartment 14 that is defined between a first generally tear-drop or pear shaped panel 16 (see FIG. 6), and a second panel 18, a portion of which is visible in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The first compartment 14 is closed over the lacrosse head on the front, top and bottom, but has an open throat 20 defined at the back, through which the shaft 12 can protrude. These panels 18, 16 are spaced from one another and joined by a strip 22 of material that extends forward from the throat 20 towards the front of the lacrosse stick head cover. A carrying strap or shoulder strap 24 has its ends secured to this strip 22. In this embodiment, the strap ends are sewn down, but in other embodiments the strap may be removably attached, e.g., by a swivel clasp mechanism. A zipper closure 26 extends from the front end of the strip 22 around the front and along the bottom of the stick head cover, and has web portions that join the two panels 16, 18. The first compartment 14 is approximately two inches deep, to accommodate the thickness of the lacrosse head frame. The two panels 16, 18 are dimensioned so that the first compartment 14 has a front to back length of substantially fifteen inches and a width from top to bottom of substantially eight to nine inches. This will accommodate the standard ladies' lacrosse stick. However, a somewhat different dimension lacrosse stick head cover would be used for carrying a goalkeeper's lacrosse stick, which has a larger head.

A second compartment 28, i.e., an accessories compartment, is formed on one side of the lacrosse stick head cover 10, which is on the right side in this embodiment. This is intended for carrying small items of equipment as well as personal items, such as mouth guard, eye protection, gloves, etc. The compartment 28 is defined between the second panel 18 and a third panel 30 which conforms in shape to the profile of the first and second panels, but terminates somewhat ahead of the throat 20. A side wall 32 joins the second and third panels 18, 30, and there is a zipper closure 34 across the front side. The second compartment has a depth of about three inches, which is sufficient to accommodate most accessory items that might be needed.

As shown here, the zipper closure 26 for the first compartment 14 has its slider arranged to move to the throat end (see FIG. 2) to close the lacrosse stick head cover, and to the front of the lacrosse stick head cover to open. This facilitates placing the lacrosse stick head into the lacrosse stick head cover and removing it easily, yet securely holds the lacrosse stick for carrying. On the other hand, the zipper closure 34 for the second compartment or accessories compartment 28 has its slider arranged to move to the top to close and to move down to open. This arrangement facilitates opening the accessories compartment 28 when the lacrosse stick head cover is being carried, without risk of the contents spilling out.

As shown in FIG. 7, the contents of the accessories compartment 28 may include the items shown, namely, a mask or eye protection, gloves, a mouth guard, and one or more lacrosse balls, as well as lip balm, a portable phone, car keys, or other items. There may be internal pockets or compartments for some of these items sewn in.

In a preferred embodiment, the lacrosse stick head cover 10 or bag is formed of a vinyl-covered durable cloth, so that the material has a leather-like appearance and texture. The first or head compartment 14 may be lined with a durable nylon liner material, and the second or accessories compartment 28 may be lined with a soft, plush material. Alternatively, the material used in the lacrosse stick head cover may be leather, or may be a woven material. Also, in some embodiments, a Velcro closure, a snap closure, or another type of closure may be used instead of the zipper closure 34 of the accessories compartment.

The strap 24 may be used for hanging the lacrosse stick on a convenient hook or wall peg. Alternatively, the lacrosse stick may be supported on a wall-mounted holder of the type described and illustrated in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/184,409, Jul. 19, 2005, of Michael Guy. The lacrosse stick head cover 10 may simply remain on the lacrosse stick while the stick is supported by its shaft or handle.

While the invention has been described with reference to a specific preferred embodiment, the invention is certainly not limited to that precise embodiment. Rather, many modifications and variations will become apparent to persons of skill in the art without departure from the scope and spirit of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier for carrying a ladies' lacrosse stick and lacrosse accessories, and adapted for carrying a lacrosse stick of the type which comprises a head formed of a rounded elongated frame, and a shaft that extends from a lower part of said frame, the carrier being formed of a flexible material, and comprising

a first compartment of a generally rounded teardrop shape having a narrow open throat at a rear side thereof through which the shaft of the lacrosse stick can protrude; the first compartment being defined between first and second tear drop shaped panels, with an upper strip extending along an upper side and joining said first and second panels at said upper side, and with a closure extending from said upper side around and along a front and a lower side to said throat of said first compartment;

a second compartment adapted for holding accessories and defined between the second tear drop shaped panel and a third panel that has a rounded front side that conforms with the front side of the second panel; a side wall joining the second and third panels and closing off upper, rear, and lower sides of said second compartment; and a closure disposed across a front side of said second compartment for closing same but permitting access to the second compartment; and

a shoulder strap having ends attached onto said upper strip.

2. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 1 wherein said panels are formed of a leatherlike fabric.

3. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 1 wherein said panels are formed of leather.

4. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 1 wherein said second compartment includes a lining of a plush material.

5. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 1 wherein the closure of said second compartment includes a zipper closure.

6. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 5 wherein said zipper closure has a slide that slides towards the upper side to close and towards the lower side to open the second compartment.

7. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 1 wherein the closure of said first compartment includes a zipper closure.

8. The ladies' lacrosse stick head cover carrier of claim 7 wherein said zipper closure has a slide that slides towards said throat to close and towards the front to open the first compartment.

9. In combination, a ladies' lacrosse stick and a head-cover carrier therefor; wherein the lacrosse stick has a head and a shaft extending therefrom; the carrier having a length and width dimensions corresponding to a profile of said head, such that the head cover carrier contains said head leaving the shaft protuding therefrom; the carrier including closure means for closing the cover around said head; and a carrying strap.

10. The combination of claim 9, the carrier further including a pouch thereon for holding accessory items.