| WO2011068463A1 | 2011-06-09 |
| US2879819A | 1959-03-31 | |||
| US5573122A | 1996-11-12 | |||
| US3053298A | 1962-09-11 | |||
| US3967667A | 1976-07-06 | |||
| US4932523A | 1990-06-12 |
| THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WH ICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS: 1. Apparatus for holding golf clubs in a golf bag, comprising: A rigid hollow vertical tube with a block at the top. The block has vertical cylindrical void through it aligning longitudinally with the attached tube and has a void in the front face. The void in the front face of the block conforms to the cross-sectional shape of the golf club head and is open at the top. An inverted golf club is inserted grip first through the block and attached tube until the head of the golf club rests in the void in the front face of the block. This apparatus is inserted tube first into the existing club well of a golf bag. Each apparatus is clearly labeled with the number or name of the club it is designed for. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said tube comprises: A rigid hollow tube of any suitable material that is of sufficient inside diameter to accommodate a golf club shaft and grip. Said tube is of sufficient outside diameter to fit into the golf club well of most golf bags and is held in place by friction. Said tube is of sufficient length so that no part of the golf club protrudes from the open bottom end of said tube when the club is at rest in the void in the face of the block as described in claim 1. The length of the tube may also vary to achieve different heights of said apparatus to minimize interference with others of the same when pluralities of this apparatus are installed in the same golf bag. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said block comprises: A solid or semi-solid shape of any suitably rigid material. Said block may be attached to the tube permanently or semi-permanently. The diameter of the cylindrical void in said block aligns with and roughly matches the inside diameter of the attached tube. Said block may be of any shape or complexity to suit the functionality of said apparatus. The shape of the block is such that when pluralities of this invention are inserted into adjacent club wells in the golf bag the inventions fit somewhat snugly together and are prevented from rotating within the golf bag club well. 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said void comprises: An open space in the front of the block that all or part of the head of the golf club rests in when the club is stored in this apparatus. The void is generally wedge-shaped and open at the top with one side conforming to the angle of the face of the club. The golf club is inverted so the top line of the club head sits in the bottom of this void. The toe of the golf club head protrudes from the face of the block and void. The face of the block may have additional shapes and thickness in the void area to aid in club support. 5. In the particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention this apparatus will be used in plurality so that most or all of the clubs in the golf bag will use one of this apparatus for each golf club. Most golf bags are such that the club wells (dividers) are designed in rows. An adjustable quick release strap can be attached to the outside of the apparatus at one end of a row, travel across the tops of all the golf clubs in that row and attach to the outside of the apparatus at the other end of that row. This will hold the golf clubs in place during travel or unusual movement of the golf bag. |
This invention inserts into the existing club well of any golf bag and supports the golf club by the head and prevents the golf club from rotating or contacting other golf clubs during normal use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Since the invention of golf in the 15 th century golfers have used a bag to carry their golf clubs. Early bags were nothing more than a single tube that held all the clubs and had a carrying handle or strap. The only innovations since then have been adding sections to the large central cavity of varying shapes and sizes for individual golf clubs (club wells) and the additions of various pockets and compartments on the outside of the bag to hold accessories. Each golf club has a varying face angle (loft) and shaft length. The head of the golf club and some length of the shaft protrude from the top of the golf bag. The golf clubs can move around within the club well, spin freely and contact each other. There is no set place for each specific club in the golf bag and clubs can get mixed around, mixed together and become an inconvenience to locate. There have been numerous patents issued for "golf club holder" and "golf club holder for bag", for Example:
CA 2,044,924 ANTONIOUS
US 6,244,438 WEINMEIER
US 5,620,091 LARSON
US D384,504 CHRISTIE
US 5,775,513 ANTHONY
All of these inventions are more similar to each other than they are to this invention. They are overly complex, require a mechanical method of attachment to the golf bag and are not easily adaptable to the many variations in golf bag size and design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is an accessory for a golf bag that solves several issues inherent with current golf bag designs and prior art attempts to improve them. It protects the club for the entire length of the club shaft, it prevents the clubs from contacting each other during normal usage and it keeps golf clubs organized by providing a specific place for each club in the golf bag. It is a simple light weight single piece design with no moving parts and will universally fit most golf bags. It is installed without clamps, adhesives or any modifications to the golf bag. The golf club is held in place by gravity alone without the need for magnets, clamps or any type of friction device. This invention can be used singularly or in plurality with each individual unit made to suit the different clubs in the bag. It is not attached to the bag by any means and is easily removable and can be arranged with pluralities of its type to best suit the various size and locations of the club well dividers in differing golf bags. It can be constructed of any suitably rigid material ' . Plastic, metal or even wood.
In the drawings, which form a part of this specification,
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention with the dashed line showing the location of the cross- section in Fig. 2
Fig. 2 is a top down cross section of the block.
Fig. 3 is an isometric wireframe view of the block, void and partial tube.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the purposes of promoting and understanding of the principles of this invention the term block is used to describe the shape at the top of the tube in this invention. The shape of the block is not limited to being cube shaped and can vary for functional and aesthetic suitability without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.
This invention consists of a rigid hollow tube (3) and a block at the top (1). The block has vertical cylindrical void through it aligning longitudinally with the attached tube and has a void (2) in the front face. An inverted golf club is inserted grip first through the block (1) and attached tube (3) until the head of the golf club rests in the void (2) in the front of the block. The void (2) in the front of the block generally conforms to the cross-sectional shape of the golf club head and is open at the top. The tube is of sufficient inside diameter to accommodate the golf club shaft and is longer than the golf club shaft so that the grip of the golf club does not protrude from the open bottom end of the tube. This invention is inserted tube first into the existing club well of a golf bag.
In the particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention illustrated, the club does not rest on the bottom of the bag on the golf club's grip, the golf club is suspended from the head of the club. The shape of the block is such that when pluralities of this invention are inserted into adjacent club wells in the golf bag the inventions fit somewhat snugly together and are prevented from rotating within the golf bag club well. The shape of the void is such that the golf club is held in place when resting in said void during normal usage and the golf club is easily removable. The golf clubs are prevented from contacting each other during normal movement of the golf bag. By varying the shape of the void and the length of the tube this invention can be modified to accommodate the varying head shapes and shaft lengths of each golf club without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.