Golfer{40 s pocket kit

[57] ABSTRACT

A golfer’s pocket kit comprising a rectangular container open ended at one end, having closure means for the open end; having a partition therein parallel to and spaced between the front and rear wall thereof and extending between the side walls and to the closed end wall thereof, forming a pair of compartments therein; having a plurality of first spaced apertures, adapted to receive golf ball tees in the closed end wall portion parallel and adjacent to the front or rear wall of the container; and having a plurality of second spaced apertures adapted to receive golf ball markers, in the front or back thereof, proximate the closed end thereof and staggered with respect to the apertures in the end wall, the apertures in the bottom wall and in the front or back wall forming openings in the same compartment.

Claims, 4 Drawing Figures

<img file="US3799331A_D0001.tif" />

PATENTEDMAR261974 3J99,331

<img file="US3799331A_D0002.tif" />

3,799,331

GOLFER'S POCKET KIT

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a golfer’s pocket kit. More particularly, this invention relates to a compact golfer’s kit for carrying a collection of accessories arid personal effects in a minimum of space.

2. Description of the Prior ARt

Pocket smoking kits and various golfer’s kits have been described in the prior art. However, the smokers’ kits do not provide convenient means for carrying golfer’s paraphernalia on the golf course and the golfer’s kits are inconvenient for carrying cigarettes therein, particularly with respect to portability and compactness.

Many pocket smoking kits have been described in the prior art, but most of these items are designed to carry a fairly large quantity of bulky smoking material, e.g., a pipe and tobacco, a collection of cigars or an entire package of cigarettes. While capable of containing all of a smokers’ equipment in a single package, these kits are generally too large to be conveniently carried in a pants or shirt pocket. Furthermore, they do not provide means for carrying golfer’s accessories, e.g., golf ball tees, golf ball markers, score card and pencil. Becasue they are designed for carrying smoking materials, the addition of golfers’ accessories, particularly pointed golf ball tees, results in cigarettes contained therein being torn and broken, thereby ruining the cifagettes and spilling loose tobacco into the compartment. One example of prior art smoking kits is the well-known plastic cigarette case, into which a package of cigarettes and a package of matches can be inserted.

On the other hand, golfers’ kits heretofore proposed in the prior art are generally too complex and too bulky for conveniently carrying in a shirt, pants or jacket pocket, and accordingly are best carried in or on the golf bag itself. One such prior art golfers’ kit is described in Link, U.S; Pat. No. 1,973,819. While generally satisfactory for carrying on a golf bag, this kit has several disadvantages if one attempted to carry it on his person because it is relatively large and, when fully loaded, it has many sharp protrusions from the sides thereof which would cause Wear and tear of the pockets from repeated insertion and removal.

Accordingly, it would be highly desirable for golfers to have available a pocket kit for carrying golfing accessories and personal effects of a design and size such that it could be carried conveniently in a shirt, pants or jacket pocket or in a golf bag, if desired. Many golfers continue to carry items such as golf tees, markers, pencils, cigarettes and coins loose in their pockets, which causes considerable wear arid tear on the clothing as well as fumbling when attempting to remove a particular item. Not only are various types of pants pockets readily torn by pointed articles, such as pencils, tees arid ball markers, but carrying these articles loose fenders them highly susceptible to loss. Although they are inexpensive, their loss can cause inconvenience when it occurs on a golf course. Furthermore, for golfers who smoke cigarettes, there is a need for a container for cigarettes so they can be carried conveniently without crushing while, at the same time, keeping them dry and free from being broken.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a golfers’ kit of simplified design which is light5 weight and of a sufficiently small size to be conveniently carried in a pocket.

Another object is to provide a golfers’ kit which can be carried in the pocket without causing severe wear and tear thereof.

An additional object is to provide a golfers’ pocket kit which will keep cigarettes and matches intact and dry.

An additional object is to provide a golfers’ pocket kit capable of carrying cigarettes, matches, golf ball 15 tees, golfball markers, score card and pencil in a compact package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to this invention, there is provided a golf20 ers’ kit comprising a cuboid container which is open at orte end having closure means for the open end; having a partition therein parallel to and spaced between the front and rear wall thereof and extending between the side walls and to the closed end wall thereof, forming 25 a pair of compartments therein; having a plurality of first spaced apertures, adapted to receive golf ball tees in the closed end wall portion parallel and adjacent to the front or rear wall of the container; and having a plurality of second spaced apertures adapted to receive ³⁰ golf ball markers, in the front or back thereof, proxiriiate the closed end thereof and staggered with respect to the apertures in the end wall, the apertures in the bottom wall and in the front or back wall forming openings in the same compartment.

DETAILED DISCUSSION

The specific embodiment of the golfers’ kit disclosed herein comprises a rectangular container portion having spaced parallel rectangular front and rear walls, ⁴⁰ parallel elongated rectangular side walls perpendicular to and joining side edges of the front and rear walls, and an elongated rectangular end wall perpendicular to and joining corresponding top edges of the front, rear and side walls, the container portion being open at the op⁴⁵ posite end thereof. A rectangular partition means is mounted therein parallel to and spaced between the front wall and the rear wall and extending between the side walls and from the end wall along at least a major portion of the length of the side walls, to form a pair of ⁵⁰ compartments in the container portion. Support means extending lorigitudinally along the inside of the side walls between the front and rear walls maintains the partition means in a fixed spaced relationship between : the front and rear walls. A plurality of spaced tee³ receiving apertures, each adapted to snugly receive a golf ball tee, are formed in a row in the end wall of the container between the partition and one of the front and back walls of the container portion. A plurality of ₆θ spaced marker-receivirig apertures, each capable of snugly receiving a golf ball marker, are formed in one of the front arid back walls proximate the end wall and adjacent the tee-receiving apertures but off-set therefrom, thereby allowing insertion of both golf ball mark₆₅ ers and golf ball tees into the apertures in one of the compartments of the container portion without interfering with the insertion of cigarettes iri the other compartment of the container.

3,799,331

By virtue of the above arrangement, the container portion can be loaded with golf ball tees in such a way that they do not protrude from either side thereof, thereby avoiding wear and tear on pockets when the kit is inserted and removed therefrom. The golfball markers are inserted nearly flush along the front or back side of the container portion and off-set from the tees; which not only minimizes contact of the golf ball markers with a golfer’s pocket, but allows a golfer to cover the golf ball markers with his hand when inserting or removing the kit from his pocket, thereby further reducing pocket wear and tear. By virtue of the partition means forming two compartments, matches, a score card and a pencil can be carried in the compartment into which the ends of the tees and ball markers protrude and cigarettes or other personal effects can be carried in the other compartment and remain unaffected by the insertion and removal of tees and/or markers. A cover portion is provided which slides over the open end of the container portion and is slidably engageable therewith to provide a water-tight package which keeps cigarettes and matches dry. It will be obvious that a hinged lid (not shown), although less preferred, could also be used to seal the closed end of the container.

The present invention provides a flexible, lightweight, compact golfers’ kit capable of conveniently holding golf tees, golfball markers, cigarettes, matches, score cards, pencils and other golfing and personal accessories. Preferably, the kit is constructed out of a pliable plastic material, e.g., low density polyethylene, which has a gripping action on tees and ball markers inserted in the apertures therein. By using this type of material, tees and ball markers can be placed in holes on the outside of the kit and held in place despite frequent insertion and removal. In a preferred design, the golfers’ kit can hold about five to seven tees, two to three golf ball markers, and about 6-14 cigarettes, as well as miscellaneous items, e.g., matches, a pencil, and a score card. The partition divides the container portion of the golfers’ kit into two compartments so that the tees and markers can be inserted into one compartment and cigarettes can be inserted into the other compartment and thus kept free from being damaged by the pointed ends of the tees and the ball markers which protrude into the interior of the kit. The compartment normally carrying the cigarettes need not be used solely for that purpose but can be used to carry a score card and pencil or any other article of suitable size. Preferably, the golfers’ pocket kit of this invention includes both a container portion and a closure portion. However, the container portion can be used alone, if desired, the closure portion being easily disengaged for storage elsewhere, e.g., in the golf bag. As stated above, the closure portion can also be a hinged lid which snaps shut over the open end of the container portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed discussion, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the severl FIGS, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a golfers’ pocket kit of this invention and tees, markers, pencil, score card and cigarettes and matches as stored therein;

FIG. 2 is a fragmented inverted perspective view of the container portion of the golfers’ pocket kit;

FIG. 3 is an inverted perspective view of an alternative container portion of the golfers’ pocket kit with separate dividing wall; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective fragmentary view of an alternative dividing wall with integral retaining means.

Referring to the drawings, the golfers’ pocket kit of the present invention comprises a cuboid container portion, generally indicated at 10, having spaced parallel rectangular front 11 and rear 12 walls and parallel elongated rectangular side walls 13, 14, perpendicular to and joining the side edges of the front and rear walls. An elongated rectangular end wall 15 is perpendicular to and joins corresponding end edges of the front, rear and side walls. The container portion 10 is open along one end thereof for insertion and removal of articles.

A rectangular partition 20 is positioned parallel to and spaced from the front 11 and rear 12 walls, the width A-A' of partition 20 extending between side walls 13 and 14 and the length B-B' of the partition means extending from the inner portion of end wall 15 along at least a major portion of the length of side walls 13 and 14, to form a front compartment 26 and a rear compartment 28. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, partition 20 is positioned in fixed spaced relationship between the front and rear walls 11 and 12 by its edges 20α, 20/&gt;, and 20c, being sealed to or an integral part of the inner faces of walls 13, 14 and 15. In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 3, partition 20 can be a separate element held in position by slots 30 extending longitudinally along the inside of the side walls 13, 14 between the front and rear walls 11 and 12.

A plurality of spaced tee-receiving apertures 16, each capable of snugly receiving a golf ball tee 50, are formed in the top wall portion 15α of the front compartment and spaced between partition 20 and front wall 11 to permit insertion of a golf ball tee therein. These apertures are conveniently of a uniform dimension which is slightly less than the dimension of a golf ball tee just below the head thereof, and snugly hold the golf ball tees in place.

A plurality of ball marker-receiving apertures 17, each capable of snugly receiving a golf ball marker 52, are formed in the front wall portion 15 of the front compartment 26, and are spaced below and offset or staggered from the tee-receiving apertures 16 in order to allow the insertion of golf ball markers without interfering with the insertion of golf ball tees into apertures 16.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, container portion 10 is provided with a ridge 18 protruding from at least one of the side walls 13, 14. When used in conjunction with bottom portion 40, this stop prevents the cover portion 40 from being slid along top portion 10 far enough to crush cigarettes or other fragile articles being carried therein. In an alternative embodiment, the ridge 18 is absent and the end of partition 20 acts as a stop for cover 40.

Usually, the container portion 10 is used in combination with a corresponding cover portion 40, as shown in FIG. 1, which cover is slidably engageable over container portion 10 to form a closed, water-tight box. Cover portion 40 has parallel rectangular front 41 and

3,799,331 rear 42 walls, a pair of parallel elongated rectangular side walls 43 and 44 and an elongated rectangular end wall 45 adjoining corresponding bottom edges of the front, rear and side walls. The interior dimensions of bottom portion 40 correspond to and are slightly larger than the exterior dimensions of the open end portion of container portion 10, so that bottom portion 40 can be slidably engaged over the outer surface of top portion 10 to form a single closed box.

In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, portion 20 has perpendicular end flanges 32 for positioning the partition between the front and rear walls 11 and 12 of container portion 10, In this embodiment, slots 30 are absent from the interior surfaces of side walls 13 and 14.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the golfers’ kit of the present invention is shown in an exploded view along with common golfing and personal accessories which can be stored therein. A plurality of golf ball tees 50 are inserted into tee apertures 16, while ball markers 52 are inserted into corresponding marker apertures 17. The pointed ends of the golf ball tees and golf ball markers project into front compartment 26, where matches 54 and pencil 56, can likewise be carried. Score card 58 and a plurality of cigarettes 60 are shown stored in compartment 28 but the former can also be stored in front compartment 26. It can be readily seen that the above arrangement provides a convenient method of carrying tees and markers without damaging the other contents of the kit. Furthermore, the tees and markers are held in such a position that repeated insertion and removal of the kit from a pocket does not result in wear and tear on the pocket and the pointed ends of the tees and markers are positioned to prevent damaging action on other contents of the kit.

From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.