Accessory Golf Bag

Abstract

A dual golf bag combination (whole golf bag), consisting of a main golf bag coupled to an accessory golf bag. The female coupler is the top of the main bag and the male coupler is the top of the accessory bag. The coupling and uncoupling of the two bags is easy to accomplish multiple times during a round of golf. When coupled the two bags are well secured to each other and the whole bag can be carried during a round of golf.

Description

REFERENCE CITED

4858761	August 1989	Fumia
4911292	March 1990	Airey, Jr.
5358109	October 1994	Nichols
5472084	December 1995	Aliano, Jr.
5540431	July 1996	Crozier
5632496	May 1997	Nelson
5918737	July 1999	Kwon
6098769	August 2000	Yen
6149041	November 2000	Perino et al
6640970	November 2003	Townsend Jr.
6758334	July 2004	Uner, et al
2002/0066763	June 2002	Hsuen
WO 91/18650	December 1991	WO

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention is a dual golf bag combination of a main golf bag and a smaller attached accessory golf bag (carry bag) that can easily be removed and replaced multiple times during a round of golf.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When sharing a golf cart with another golfer you are limited by having to walk to the golf cart to grab the right club for every golf shot. Frequently the golf cart is at a long distance from where your golf ball is located, requiring you to walk this distance to grab the appropriate club. Alternatively, you can grab more than one club from your bag and take them with you to where your ball lies. However, by taking more than one club you must drop the extra clubs on the grass, and possibly get the grips wet. Furthermore, by leaving loose clubs lying on the grass one runs the risk of leaving a club behind. With an accessory bag available you can carry the extra clubs from the golf cart to your ball and the above problems can be prevented. Ideally an accessory golf bag is built into the main bag and therefore, does not take extra room to carry. Also, the accessory bag should not add very much weight to the main bag. Furthermore, since the accessory bag will be removed multiple times during a round of golf it should be easy to remove and reattach to the main bag and when attached it should be well secured so that it does not move or become detached from the main bag as the golf cart is moving or if the main bag is carried during a round.

Uner & Schuneman (U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,334) and Husen (U.S. Pat. No. 2002/0066763) disclosed accessory built in carry bags with different coupling mechanisms. Some of these described mechanisms are impractical to use, because they may be time consuming or difficult to accomplish the attachment multiple times during a round of golf. Also, other coupling mechanisms described may not be strong enough to hold the accessory bag in place and may detach spontaneously with excessive movement of the main bag. Finally, in the Uner & Schuneman patent the sides of the two bags that are to be coupled need to have firm surfaces for successful coupling. This can add unnecessary weight to the bag.

The present invention described uses the entire perimeter of the most superior part of the accessory bag (male coupler) to couple with the most superior part of the main bag (female coupler). Therefore, no other coupling system is necessary, resulting in a much easier, faster, and more secure method of attaching and detaching the two bags and at the same time reducing the weight of the bag so that it is lighter to carry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to simplify the mechanism of attaching and detaching the accessory bag from the main bag so that it is easy for the golfer to accomplish this task multiple times during a golf round. Ideally, the detaching and reattaching the accessory bag to the main bag should be about as easy as removing and replacing a golf club from and into the bag. Also, when the two bags are coupled they should function as one bag. The bags should be securely attached and will not unintentionally uncouple with excessive motion of the whole bag, such as when it is being carried during a golf round.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings used to help describe the invention are detailed below:

FIG. 1 is a drawing of the whole golf bag (coupled main and accessory bags). Aesthetically the attached bags should have the appearance of one bag. The accessories include a shoulder strap to carry the whole bag, a hidden hand strap to carry the accessory bag a golf bag stand that can be used for both the accessory or whole bag and two slits opposite each other for the golf cart strap to go through. There is also a pull-out handle on the accessory bag and a push-in handle on the main bag.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of the accessory bag separate from the main bag.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of the accessory bag with the golf bag stand open.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of a top down view of the upper coupling of the two bags. A spring loaded club divider can be seen in the accessory bag. Magnified views of two examples of the divider are included as part of the drawing.

FIG. 5 is a series of drawings of the upper bags coupling system. 5A illustrates the male coupler at maximum compression. 5B illustrates the couplers coupled. Included is a drawing of how the perimeter of the coupling system, appearing seamless when coupled. Included is a lip extending from the female coupler over the male coupler. 5C is a magnified drawing of a side view of segment of 5B.

FIG. 6 is a drawing of the base of the main bag, including the circular platform where the accessory bag will rest. An open space on the platforms perimeter is illustrated.

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating two different methods of attaching the golf cart strap to the main bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, 5A and 5B the present invention uses the entire perimeter of the most superior aspect of the accessory bag, 3 (male coupler, 1) to couple with the imprint of the accessory bag on the main bag (female coupler, 2), also located in the most superior aspect of the main bag, 4. For purposes of this description the male coupler, 1 can be circular and fits in snuggly into the female coupler, 2. As seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B the female coupler, 2 will have an open side on its perimeter that is less than the diameter of the male coupler, 1 but large enough for the male coupler to compress through. As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 the male coupler, 1 is the accessory golf bag's saddle, 3 and the female coupler, 2 is part of the main bags saddle, 4, inside which club partitions are located. As seen in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, for purposes of this description, the partition in the accessory, 5 bag runs parallel to the opening length of the female coupler, 2. As seen in FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B this partition, 5 is spring loaded, so that it compresses as the male coupler, 1 is being pushed or pulled through the perimeter opening of the female coupler, 2. However, once inside or outside of the female coupler the spring loaded partition, 5 expands back to its natural state. Therefore, when coupled the spring pushes the walls of the male coupler against the walls of the female coupler, resulting in a tight, fit. Illustrated in FIG. 4 and for the purpose of this description, the spring loaded partition, 5 can be made of two circular tubes one of slightly smaller diameter that slides inside the other. A compressible spring can run inside the length of both tubes. Alternatively, the partition in the accessory bag can be made from a bendable material that retains its memory, such as certain plastics, or an alloy, such as nitnol. Also, as illustrated in FIGS. 5B, and 5C the perimeter of the female coupler, 2 can extend over the perimeter of the male coupler, 1 as a lip, 6 to prevent the accessory bag, 10 from sliding out if turned upside down. As seen in FIGS. 5A and B The perimeter of the accessory bags saddle (male coupler, 1) must be constructed out of a flexible material capable of compressing and changing shape as it passes through the narrow opening of the female coupler, 2 and then return to its normal shape once inside or outside the female coupler. One way to accomplish this function is to line the perimeter of the accessory bags saddle with a flexible, yet strong material made out of an alloy, such as nitnol. Nitnol will keep its memory and strength after multiple passes through the female coupler. The base or more distal end of both the main and accessory bags can also be coupled in a similar fashion. Alternatively, as seen in FIG. 6, the base of the main bag, 7 can extend under the base of the accessory bag, 8 and be a hollowed out platform with the same shape and of slightly larger perimeter than the base of the accessory bag for a snug fit when the base of the accessory bag sits inside it. In FIG. 1 the action of removing the bag in the preferred embodiment is to first, grab the pull handle, 19 on the accessory bag, 10 with one hand and the push handle, 20 on the main bag, 9 with the other hand and pull the upper most portion of the accessory bag towards you and then lift the bag off the base of the main bag. As seen in FIG. 2, reattaching the accessory bag to the main bag would be to first set the bottom of the accessory bag, 8 on the base of the main bag, 7 coupling them together at the base and then push the upper end of the accessory bag, 1 into the upper end of the main bag, 2 under the lip that extends from the main bag, coupling them together at the top. The pull handle, 19 can protrude from the top of the accessory bag as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 & 5, or alternatively it can be a slit in the same location large enough to fit 4 fingers to lift and pull the accessory bag.

The golf bag is attached to the golf cart by a strap. In this invention only the main bag will be attached to the golf cart. Therefore, the strap will not hinder with the removal of the accessory bag. Multiple ways could be used to attach the main bag to the golf cart. In FIG. 7 two options are illustrated. The first is to have slits on the side of the main bag, 12, which the strap passes through from one end to the other. The second option shown is the strap going around the main bag and through strap loops, 13 placed on the outside of the main bag that faces the accessory bag. Once the strap is placed it should not interfere with the attachment of the accessory bag to the main bag or interfere with the placement of the golf clubs inside either bag.

FIGS. 1, 2, & 3 show that the accessory bag can have other accessories on it, such as a handle, 14 to carry the bag. This handle can be located on the coupling side of the bag, so that it disappears from sight when the two bags are coupled. Also, the accessory bag can have a golf bag stand, 15 to hold the bag up when you set it on the ground. FIG. 1 shows that the stand, 15 is located opposite the coupling side of the bag and can also be used as a stand for the whole bag (coupled main and accessory bag). FIGS. 6 & 7 show that the base of the main bag, 7 has an opening on its perimeter, 17 large enough for the pedal of the golf bag stand, 18 shown in FIGS. 1, 2, & 3, to protrude through and can be used to orient the accessory bag correctly for coupling to the main bag.

Claims

1. A golf bag having a length appropriate for carrying golf clubs, with an open top and a closed base, comprising of a main larger golf bag coupled to a smaller accessory golf bag along one length of both bags. The accessory golf bag is cylindrical in shape and has a closed base. The main golf bag has the imprint of the accessory bag along the length that is coupled. The closed base of the main bag extends under the base of the accessory bag as a hollowed out platform of slightly larger but symmetric outside dimensions as the base of the accessory bag. There is a coupling mechanism at the top of both bags. The imprint at the top of the main bag is the female coupler and is made of a firm, strong material with minimum flexibility. It has an open end on its perimeter of a length less than the length of the diameter of the male coupler. The male coupler is at the top of the accessory bag. It is made of a strong, flexible material that retains its memory so that it can compress through the female coupler and return to its normal cylindrical shape when it is fully coupled or uncoupled. The male coupler also functions as the saddle of the accessory bag. The saddle has a golf club partition centrally located extending the full diameter of the male coupler in a direction parallel to the opening length of the female coupler. The club partition has a compressible spring within it capable of compressing through the opening of the female coupler. Also, the female coupler has a lip extending over the male coupler when they are fully engaged. The retaining strap from the golf cart wraps around the main bag and through a number of strap loops located on the coupling side of the main bag.

2. The golf bag in claim 1 where the base of both golf bags are coupled in a similar fashion as the coupling mechanism at the top of both bags.

3. The golf bag in claims 1 where the coupling mechanism works where by the female coupler is more flexible by material and or spring loading and opens wider as the male coupler is being passed through. The male coupler may or may not be compressible.

4. The golf bag in claims 1 where the male coupler is made by a strong, flexible material, with good memory, such as the alloy nitnol, and may or may not have a compressible club partition.

5. The golf bag in claims 1 with a golf club partition made of a flexible rod, such as nitnol, rather than a compressible spring, that bends as the male coupler compresses through the female coupler.

6. The golf bag in claim 1 where the top female coupler does not have a lip that extends over the male coupler.

7. The golf bag in claim 1 where the platform of the base has a convex shape and the base of the accessory bag has a matching concave shape or vise versa.

8. The golf bag in claim 1 where the platform of the base has an opening on one side large enough for the pedal of a golf bag stand to protrude through and can be used to orient the accessory bag correctly for coupling with the main bag.

9. The golf bag in claim 1 where the accessory bag has more of an oval shape rather than a cylindrical shape.

10. The golf bag in claims 1 where there is a handle and/or carry strap on the side of the accessory bag that couples to the main bag.

11. The golf bag in claims 1 and 8 that has a golf bag stand with protruding pedal attached to the accessory bag opposite the side of the handle and/or carry strap and can be used when carrying the whole bag or accessory bag.

12. The golf bag in claims 1 where there is a handle on the top of the accessory bag opposite the coupling side of both bags that is used for pulling and lifting the accessory bag off of the main bag.

13. The golf bag in claim 1 where there is a handle that extends above the saddle of the main bag and is used for pushing the main bag as the accessory bag is pulled away from the main bag.