The present invention relates to a combined bag and trolley and, more particularly, to such a combined unit in which the trolley wheels may be collapsed or folded away for convenience in storing and transporting the unit. The invention is especially designed for use as a combined golf bag and trolley but may also be constructed for use with other articles, for example, surfboards or sailboards.

On golf courses, golfers often transport their golf bags on trolleys, commonly referred to as caddy carts, to avoid the strain of having physically to carry the bags which, when loaded with a full set of golf clubs, can be heavy. Typically a caddy cart comprises a simple frame mounting a pair of wheels and having a handle. A golf bag is strapped to the frame so that it may be towed or pushed on the trolley by the golfer. The golf bag is normally removed from the caddy cart for the purposes of storage and transportation and, whilst caddy carts are available with collapsible frames and foldable wheels, they still tend to be cumbersome and awkward to transport together with golf bags, for example, in the boots of cars.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combined bag and trolley, more especially, although not exclusively, a combined golf bag and trolley, in which the trolley of the combined unit, whilst remaining attached to the bag, may be collapsed or folded when not in use to facilitate storage and transportation of the combined unit.

The invention consists in a combined bag and trol¬ ley comprising an elongated bag and a trolley, characte¬ rised in that the trolley comprises an undercarriage mount¬ ing a pair of wheels and attached to the bag via a pivotal connection, whereby the undercarriage can be swivelled between an operative position in which the wheel axes are transverse to the longitudinal axis of the bag and an inoperative position in which they are disposed substan¬ tially in the plane of the bag axis, said wheels being

foldable, when not in use, into positions such that their planes are substantially parallel to the undercarriage.

Preferably, in the inoperative position, the under¬ carriage is disposed within a projected area of the bag intermediate its sides. Also, preferably, when the under¬ carriage is in its inoperative position, it is stowable in a cavity or recess in an adjacent side of the bag. The cavity or recess may be sufficiently deep so as entirely to receive the undercarriage and folded wheels within the confines of the bag.

In one preferred embodiment, the bag includes spaced longitudinally extending frame members extending along opposite sides of the cavity or recess, and the undercarriage is movable into the cavity or recess between these frame members. The combined bag and trolley prefera¬ bly includes a handle which is pivotally connected to a pivotal strut assembly, the strut assembly being arranged such that pivotally lifting the handle deploys the under¬ carriage out of the cavity or recess, swivels the undercar¬ riage to its operative position, and unfolds the wheels, and pivotally lowering the handle reverses the procedure to re-stow the undercarriage in the cavity or recess. A latching mechanism may be provided to latch the handle in its pivotally lifted position, so as to retain the under¬ carriage securely in its operative position.

Where the undercarriage is stowed within a cavity or recess in the bag, the pivotal strut assembly may in¬ clude one or more struts coupling the undercarriage to the bag and extending in the longitudinal direction of the bag and swingable in a direction transverse to the bag axis so as to move with the undercarriage as the latter is moved into and out of the cavity, the undercarriage being pivo¬ tally connected to the strut or struts. Preferably, the strut or struts are spring-biassed about their pivotal connections so as to provide a force effective to push the undercarriage out of the cavity. The strut or struts may be pivotally connected to a plate member to which the

undercarriage is pivotally connected.

Conveniently, the undercarriage comprises an arch- shaped wheel brace and the wheels are attached to opposite ends of the brace by hinged legs so that they can be folded inwardly to be positioned substantially parallel to the underside of the brace.

The invention is particularly suitable for use as a combined golf bag and trolley or caddy cart. In such an embodiment, the bag may have an open upper end provided with a projecting handle and the undercarriage may be mounted adjacent the closed lower end of the bag so that when the undercarriage and wheels are deployed, the bag, when not being wheeled, will be supported, by a tripod arrangement formed by the lower end of the bag and the two wheels, in a generally upright position providing ready access to the clubs projecting from the open upper end of the bag. The upper end of the bag may be provided with a hinged lid or cover for closing the upper end of the bag and protecting the golf clubs. When open, the lid may be used for carrying items of clothing, golf balls, etc.

The pivotal connection of the undercarriage to the bag may be arranged to be releasable so that the undercar¬ riage and wheels can be detached from the bag and the bag may be provided with a shoulder strap so that, in the event the undercarriage is detached, the bag can be carried in the conventional way. The cavity or recess for receiving the undercarriage and wheels may be provided with a closa- ble cover, for example, actuated by a zip fastener, so that it can be used as a storage compartment for carrying per¬ sonal items or other golfing accessories.

In a modification, the invention consists in a combined bag and trolley comprisingan elongated bag and a trolley detachably secured to the bag, characterised in that said trolley comprises an undercarriage mounting a pair of foldable wheels which, when folded, are disposed substantially parallel to the undercarriage, and said trolley being securable to the bag in such a manner that,

when unfolded, the wheel axes are transverse to the longi¬ tudinal axis of the bag. Conveniently, the bag is provided with a cavity within which may be stowed the undercarriage with its wheels folded.

The combined unit may be motor driven instead of manually propelled. To this end, the unit may be furnished with one or more electrical motors suitably coupled to drive one or both wheels and a rechargeable battery or accumulator as a source of electrical power for the motor. In a particular embodiment, a small motor may be mounted on each wheel and the motors may be independently controlled.

Whilst the term "bag" is used herein, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to a combined unit in which the receptacle for carrying items has flexi¬ ble walls. On the contrary, the receptacle may be a box¬ like item having rigid walls or a receptacle having a combination of rigid and flexible walls. Hence, in this specification, the term "bag" is intended generally to con¬ note a bag, box or other receptacle construction.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a combined golf bag and trolley constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention and illustrating the trolley in its opera¬ tive position,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the embodiment shown in figure 1 and illustrating the trolley swivelled into its inoperative position preparatory to being stowed,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the embodiment illustrating the trolley in its stowed position,

Figure 4 is a side elevation similar to Figure 3 and omitting interior details of the bag,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating a front elevation of the trolley with the wheels unfolded for use, and

Figure 6 illustrates a view from the inside of the

bag in the direction of the rear of the bag.

Referring to the drawings, a combined golf bag and trolley comprises an elongated bag 1 and a collapsible trolley 2. The bag 1 has an open upper end and a closed lower end and comprises two parallel, spaced, longitudi¬ nally extending frame members 3,4, for example made from aluminium tubes, an upper transverse plate member 5 and a lower rigid plate member 6 closing its lower end. A frame member 7 having a C-shaped cross-section and being made from any suitable material, for example rigid plastics sheet, such as polypropylene, joins the four frame members 3-6 together to form a tubular shaped bag. The whole framework is then covered in suitable sheeting material (not shown) which is connected, for example by rivets, to the upper and lower plate members 5,6. The upper plate member 5 is appropriately provided with a plurality of holes (not shown) to accommodate different golf clubs.

As shown in Figure 5, the trolley 2 comprises an elongated arch-shaped brace 8 forming an undercarriage, and a pair of foldable legs 9,10 mounting a pair of wheels 11,12, the legs being hinged to opposite ends of the brace 8 by hinges 13,14 such that the wheels in their open posi¬ tion, as shown in Figure 5, are positioned outside of the brace 8 with the brace being located therebetween. The wheel brace 8 is pivotally connected to a plate 40 by a bolt 41 and a butterfly nut 42, and a pivotal strut assem¬ bly interconnects the plate 40 with the foldable legs and a handle 24, and the bag plate member 6. The strut assembly comprises two struts 15,16 pivotally connected at one of their ends to the plate 40 and at their other ends to the foldable legs 9,10 respectively, with one strut extending along one side of the wheel brace 8 and the other strut extending along the other side of the brace as best shown in Figure 6. The lower end of the plate 40 is coupled to the lower plate member 6 by three pivotal spring-biassed struts 17,18,19. The two struts 17,18 lie in substantially the same plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the

bag and the third strut 19 is pivotally connected to a projecting flange 20 of the plate 40 and is located above and between the other two struts to inhibit twisting move¬ ment of the plate 40, thereby ensuring that the trolley 2 is maintained, in its operative position, substantially parallel to adjacent side 21 of the bag. A further plate 22 is pivotally connected to the wheel brace 8 at a posi¬ tion offset from the pivotal axis of the brace formed by the bolt 10, and another strut 23 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the plate 22 and at its upper end to the handle 24. The handle, in turn, is pivotally mounted on a bracket 25 projecting into the interior of the bag and joining the two frame members 3,4, as shown in Figure 6. A latching mechanism 26 is provided on the handle 24 for latching the handle to the upper plate member 5 to retain the handle in its generally upright position.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a cavity 27, formed between the frame member 3,4, is provided within the con¬ fines of the bag 1 adjacent its lower end, for stowing the undercarriage when collapsed and turned as described here¬ inafter so as to extend parallel to the bag. In this position, the undercarriage is movable between the spaced frame members 3,4 and into and out of the cavity 27 through an opening in the skin wall of the bag disposed in the adjacent side 21 of the bag.

The bag has castors 28, and an end butt 29 at its lower end, and a detachable carrying strap (not shown) . The interior of the bag may be provided with a multiplicity of longitudinally extending tubes forming individual com¬ partments for the shafts of golf clubs carried in the bag.

The combined bag and trolley operates in the fol¬ lowing way. When required for use, the handle 24 is pivoted upwards from the stowed-away position shown in Figure 3. As this is carried out, the strut 23 is swung out of the bag to the position shown in Figure 2, which causes the struts 17,18,19, which are spring-biassed, to over-centre by pivoting towards the frame members 3,4.

This in turn causes the wheel brace 8 and wheels 11,12 to be pushed out between the frame members 3,4 as also shown in Figure 2. As the handle 24 is lifted further, the wheel brace 8 is rotated through 90° about its pivotal connection relative to the plate 40 by further upward movement of the strut 23, which in turn causes the wheel struts 15,16 to hinge the legs 9,10 outwardly until the wheels 11,12 are in their operative position as shown in Figure 5. When the turning of the wheel brace 8 is complete, hooks 30,31 mounted on the upper surface of the wheel brace 8 locate around lugs 32,33 provided on the inner faces of the frame members 3,4, thereby retaining the trolley 2 in its opera¬ tive position. The handle 24 is also latched by mechanism 26 to hold the trolley securely in its operative position. The combined bag and trolley is now ready for use and may stand upright when not held by the handle 24, by being supported by the tripod arrangement formed by the two wheels 11,12 and the castors 28, in contact with the ground, as shown in Figure 1.

In order to collapse the combined bag and trolley the handle 24 is unlatched and pivotally lowered to its stowed-away position. This action on the handle causes the undercarriage to swivel back to its inoperative position, which folds the wheels, and the spring-biassed struts 17,18,19 to over-centre back into the bag thereby pulling the whole undercarriage into the bag recess 27. When in the stowed position, the outside surfaces of the wheels 11,12 are substantially flush with the adjacent flat side 21 of the bag so as to form a streamlined unit for storage or transportation, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. When col¬ lapsed, the trolley 2 may be retained in the recess 27 by any suitable means, for example, a zip up fabric panel or velcro securing straps.

A retaining strap (not shown), which may be made for example of webbing, is preferably provided between the plate 40 and the upper plate member 5 so as to retain the plate 40 within the bag and to prevent the undercarriage

from falling away from the bag. The trolley 2 may be detached from the plate 40 by removing the nut and bolt 40,41, so that the bag 1 may be carried, for example by a shoulder strap (not shown) .

The combined golf bag and trolley may be motorised, for example, by the provision of two small motors 34,35 mounted on the wheel axes. Power may be transmitted from a rechargeable battery (not shown) or other power source to the motors, which may be driven independently or in unison, by a suitable control device or switching apparatus (not shown) provided on the handle 24. The control device or switching apparatus may be operable so as to cause driving of the wheels in forward or reverse directions and at variable speeds. Recesses 37,38 may be formed in the lower surface of the brace 8 in order to accommodate the motors when the wheels are folded.

The bag 1 may be provided with a lid (not shown), which when open is a convenient receptacle for holding small items, for example golf balls, jumpers, gloves, etc.

It can be seen, in particular from Figure 3, that the pivotal connection of the handle 24 to the bracket is offset relative to the pivotal connection of the strut 23 to the handle, and the pivotal connection of the lower end of the strut 23 to the plate 22 is substantially in line with respect to the pivotal connection of the handle 24 to the bracket. This arrangement enables the handle to be located further inside the bag in its stowed-away position and further outside the bag when in its operative position. By virtue of the rotation of the wheel brace 8, the diago¬ nal wheel struts 15,16 hold the legs 9,10 fully open and will not close them in against the brace 8 until the wheel brace is swivelled back to its inoperative position by lowering of the handle.

It will be understood that modifications to the embodiments particularly described are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the undercarriage wheel brace 8 may be provid-

ed with grooves or flanges for assisting the correct align¬ ment of the trolley 2 with the frame members 3,4. Also the hinges 13,14 may be formed by suitable parts of flexible plastics. The castors 28 may be replaced by a roller which is less prone to becoming clogged with dirt, etc, during use. In a modification of the invention the described embodiments may be readily adapted for carrying other items such as surfboards and sailboards, instead of golf clubs.