Golf club carrier

[57] ABSTRACT

A golf club carrier having a plurality of parallel golf club receiving tubes which are mounted at one end on a base member and are bound at the other end by a collar member, both members mounted on a supporting spine. The base member has a plurality of spaced projections over which the lower ends of the tubes have a stretch fit, the expanded lower end portions of the tubes being releasably clamped to their respective projections by a clamping yoke which is moved into wedging with said lower end of the tubes by a screw connector extending through the base member.

Claims, 4 Drawing Figures

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PATENTED FEB 181975

3,866,646

SHEET 1 OF 2

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PATEmra 18.1975

SHEET 2 OF 2

Ί. 866,646

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3,866 1

GOLF CLUB CARRIER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The Invention relates to golf club carriers and in par- 5 ticular to light weight carriers.

2. Prior Art

Golf club carriers, commonly, take the form of an elongated bag generally made of a heavy canvas, leather or heavy thermoplastic material which are pro- 10 vided with carrying straps by means of which the bag can be carried on the shoulder of the player. In order to protect the golf club grips some bags are compartmentalized, each compartment holding one club, or the bag may be filled with light tubes, each tube being of ¹⁵a size sufficient to accept the shaft of one club.

Golf bags of this type withstand heavy usage, however, they are heavy and many players require the assistance of a caddy to carry the equipment around the golf course. ²θ

In recent years light weight carriers have developed principally for use on pitch and put courses where no more than three clubs are required. One particular form of carrier for this purpose has a plurality of light tubes, each being of a size sufficient to accept the shaft of one club and which are secured in parallelism, at top and bottom to a rigid rod or spine. The tubes are usually secured to a base plate, the base plate being secured to the spine. Prior art carriers of this type al- ₃₀though being sufficiently light and giving adequate protection to the golf club grips are prone to separation of their component parts as the tubes tend to loosen on the base plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ³⁵

The present invention provides a light weight golf club carrier of the last mentioned type which is light, sturdy of construction and which is provided with a novel base plate construction which substantially 40 avoids separation of the base plate and the tubes.

The golf carrier of the present invention, furthermore, is relatively inexpensive to fabricate and in the event of breakage of its component parts can be easily repaired or replaced. 45

The golf club carrier of the present invention has an elongated rigid spine having a collar secured adjacent its upper end and a base plate secured adjacent its lower end, the base plate being provided with a plurality of spaced upwardly extending projections, and a ⁵⁰plurality of tubes disposed in parallelism, bound by the collar adjacent their upper ends and having stretch fit over the base plate projections at their lower ends. A clamping yoke fitting between the tubes is moved into wedging engagement with the extended lower ends said ³⁵adjacent tubes by means of a screw type tension element extending upwards from the base plate.

A detailed description following, related to the drawings, gives exemplification, of apparatus according to the invention which, however, is capable of expression in means other than those particularly described and illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the golf bag of the ⁶⁵invention,

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 2—2 of FIG. 1, ,646

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3—3 of FIG. 2, with portions broken away for purposes of clarity,

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 4—4 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings FIG. 1 illustrates a golf club carrier in accordance with the invention which is designed to carry three golf clubs. The carrier has a collar 10 and a base plate 11 which are mounted in spaced relationship on a spine 12. The spine is preferably a metal rod approximately three eights inches in diameter which is bowed near its upper extremity to provide a carrying handle 13. A sleeve 14 which can be rubber or a suitable thermoplastic fits over the carrying handle 13 and the spine 12 extends below the base plate 11 and is pointed at its lower end 15.

A plurality of elongated, thin walled tubes severally 16, being three in number, are arranged in parallelism and extend longitudinally of the spine. The tubes are bound compactly by the collar adjacent their upper ends, severally 17, and are connected to the base plate at their lower ends, severally 18. The tubes can be formed of a light weight material such as a suitable thermoplastic or a light metal such as aluminum and are of size sufficient to slideably accept, without binding, the shaft of a golf club.

The base plate 11, see FIGS. 2 and 3, which can be cast aluminum for ruggedness and lightness, has three hollow frusto-conical, upwardly tapering, hollow projections, severally 19, having about a 2° taper which are disposed so that their axes lie on the apeces of an equilateral triangle. Outside diameter of the projections, at their upper ends, is substantially the same as the inside diameter of the tubes 16. Outer surfaces of the projections are also roughened.

The base also has an upwardly extending tubular collar 21 through which the spine 12 slideably extends. The collar being provided with diametrically opposed aligned openings 23. The spine 12 has a transverse central passage which when brought into registery with the openings 23 accepts a cotter pin 24.

The collar 10 which can also be of cast aluminum for rigidity and lightness is shaped to conform to the triangular disposition of the tubes, and binds the tubes in a compact bundle. The collar 10 like the base, has an opening 26 through which the spine slideably extends and which is connected to the spine by a cotter pin 27.

The tubes 16 have a stretch fit over the projections 19 so as to provide expanded lower end portions, severally 29, which have an upward taper corresponding to the taper of the projections. If thermoplastic tubes are used the lower end portions 29 are heated until they become slightly plastic and then thrust over the projections. Thin walled aluminum tubes can also be used, however, in this case the lower ends would be provided with longitudinal slits so as to facilitate expansion.

A machine screw 31 extends upwards through a suitable counter sunk aperture 32 positioned centrally between the projections and threadedly engages the threads of a suitably tapped hole which is located centrally of a trefoil shaped clamping yoke 34 which fits within the bundle of tubes 16. The clamping yoke has three tube engaging faces 35 which are curved and tapered to provide intimate engagement with the outer surfaces of the expanded lower end portions 29 of the tubes. The dimensions of the clamping yoke is such that it can, by appropriately tightening the screw, be drawn

3,866,646 downwards into wedging engagement with the three tubes so that the tubes are pinched between the yoke and the projections. The connection of the tubes and the base, it is seen, is not only substantially proof against separation but also results in a structure in which the tubes themselves act as structural members to prevent bending of the spine under hard usage.

The carrier as described is light and rigid. Furthermore, good drainage is provided by the hollow projections on which the shafts of the clubs rest and materials of construction are substantially non-perishable.

It is to be understood that although a carrier capable of carrying three clubs has been described the invention is not so limited. Carriers having any desired number of tubes can be constructed along the lines of the invention with the tubes arranged either linearly or in a circle with the clamping yokes having a configuration matching the disposition of the tubes.