US20060113346A1

US20060113346A1 - Caddie bag

Info

Publication number: US20060113346A1
Application number: US11/136,394
Authority: US
Inventors: Mitsuru Togo
Original assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co Ltd
Current assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co Ltd
Priority date: 2004-11-30
Filing date: 2005-05-25
Publication date: 2006-06-01

Abstract

A caddie bag includes a main body, a three-point type shoulder belt, and belt guides. The three-point type shoulder belt includes a pair of side belts, one ends of which are attached to right and left side portions of a lower portion of the main body. The belt guides extend from positions near the right and left side portions of the lower portion of the main body to positions near both side potions of a small article housing portion. Each belt guide defines a path allowing the side belt to pass therethrough. Each of the belt guides includes a pair of attachment edge portions, a pair of rising portions, and a cover portion. The pair of attachment edge portions are attached to the main body. The pair of rising portions rise from the attachment edge portions to define the path, respectively. The cover portion connects the pair of rising portions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a caddie bag including a three-point type shoulder belt to be attached to a main body of the caddie bag.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent No. 3117939 discloses the following caddie bag (see FIG. 1 and page 2). That is, a second flank member is superimposed on a flank member of a caddie bag from both side portions of a small article housing portion at a lower portion of a caddie bag main body to an end portion of a rear bag in an obliquely upward direction. A side belt is passed under the second flank member. Further, a part of the second flank member opens so as to allow movement of the side belt when the caddie bag is carried or stood. Portions of the second flank member other than the openings are stitched onto the flank member of the caddie bag main body. According to such a structure, there do not arise such problems that when the caddie bag is stood, the three-point type shoulder belt hangs down thereby to make it troublesome to open and close the small articles housing portion and that the shoulder belt thus hung down contacts with the ground and so soils, and further clothes soils by the shoulder belt when a person carries the caddie bag. Further, since the shoulder belt does not twist, the caddie bag can be carried easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The second flank member of the caddie bag according to Japanese Patent No. 3117939 is formed of the same material as the flank member of the caddie bag. The second flank member is superimposed on the flank member of the caddie bag from the both side portions of the small article housing portion at the lower portion of the caddie bag main body to the end portion of the rear bag, which is provided on an opposite side to the small article housing portion, in an obliquely upward direction. Further, the second flank member defines the opening portions at the upper and lower portions thereof and peripheral portions of the second flank member other than the opening portions are stitched onto the flank member of the caddie bag main body so as to allow the movement of the side belt when the caddie bag is carried or stood. A design such as arbitral characters and/or a picture are formed on a surface of the second flank member. According to such a structure, space of a path of the second flank member into which the side belt is inserted from the upper or lower opening portion is relatively narrow. Hence, a detachable attachment, a buckle for adjusting a length, and various kinds of instruments other than belts are hardly passed through the path. Further, the second flank member occupies a relatively large area in the entirety of the caddie bag. Thus, the second flank member is disadvantageous in that the cost thereof is high and also disadvantageous in a view point of reducing the weight of the bag. Furthermore, since it is difficult to provide the belt passing through the inside of the second flank member with the aforesaid instrument etc. other than the belt, the length of the side belt is adjusted by an attachment metal part attached to the lower portion of the caddie bag. In this case, this adjustment operation is troublesome since it is required to pass a pin of the attachment metal part through a hole defined in the side belt thereby to adjust the length.
Accordingly, the invention provides a caddie bag, which can suppress material cost, reduce the weight thereof, facilitate the adjustment of the length of a side belt and improve the exterior thereof, while attaining the similar effects as those of the conventional caddie bag.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a caddie bag includes a main body, a three-point type shoulder belt, and belt guides. The main body houses golf clubs. The main body includes a small article housing portion at a lower center portion thereof. The three-point type shoulder belt includes a center belt, a side belt coupling part, and a pair of side belts. One end of the center belt is attached to an upper center portion of the main body. The other end of the center belt attached to the side belt coupling part. One ends of the side belts are attached to the side belt coupling part. The other ends of the side belts are attached to right and left side portions of a lower portion of the main body. The belt guides extend from positions in a vicinity of the right and left side portions of the lower portion of the main body to positions in a vicinity of both side potions of the small article housing portion. Each of the belt guides defines openings at both ends thereof. Each of the belt guides defines a path allowing the side belt to pass therethrough. Each of the belt guides includes a pair of attachment edge portions, a pair of rising portions, and a cover portion. The pair of attachment edge portions are attached to the main body. The pair of rising portions rise from the attachment edge portions to define the path, respectively. The cover portion connects the pair of rising portions.
According to this structure, the following advantages can be achieved. When the caddie bag is stood, three-point type shoulder belt does not hang down thereby to make it smooth to get an article in and out of the small articles housing portion and that the shoulder belt thus hung down does not contact with the ground and so does not soil. Also, clothes do not soil by the shoulder belt when a person carries the caddie bag. Furthermore, since the shoulder belt does not twist, the clothes are not caught by the shoulder belt when a person carries the caddie bag. As a result, a person can easily carry the caddie bag. In addition to the advantages described above, the following advantages also be achieved. Since a member made of the same material as the caddie bag itself is not attached to the main body so as to occupy a large area of the entirety of the caddie bag, the cost of the material can be reduced, and the weight thereof can also be reduced. Further, according to the structure of the belt guides, a member for adjusting the length of the side belts and instruments such as joints can be inserted within the belt guide. Therefore, the length of the side belts can be easily adjusted by drawing these members out. Furthermore, the joints can be protected by the belt guides. Also, since the exterior of the bag becomes unique, the bag can be distinguished remarkably depending on color painted on the belt guide. Furthermore, when the belt guide is arranged to be exchangeable freely, the belt guide can be exchanged to another one having a different color or design. Therefore, a person can exchange the belt guide in accordance with his/her preference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entirety of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a belt guide.
FIG. 3 is a sectional diagram taken along a line A-A in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a sectional diagram taken along a line B-B in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is an exploded plan view of a side belt.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the side belt at a portion corresponding to a side belt coupling part.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the side belt at a portion corresponding to a buckle for adjusting the length of the side belt.
FIG. 8 is a front view of a collar-shaped member.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example where the belt guide is detachably attached to the main body of the caddie bag by using snaps and rings.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example where the belt guide is detachably attached to the main body of the caddie bag by using hook-and-loop fasteners.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example where the belt guide is detachably attached to the main body of the caddie bag by using hooks.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example where the constitutional feature of the belt guide is applied to an umbrella housing portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention will be explained with reference to accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a detachable engagement attachment 5 attached to one end of a center belt 4 having a shoulder pad portion 3 is coupled to a circular ring of a center belt attachment part 2 attached to the center upper portion of a main body 1 of a caddie bag. Lower end portions 6A of side belts 6 are attached to left and right side portions of a lower portion of the main body 1, respectively. One end of each of the pair of side belts 6 is attached to the circular ring of a side belt coupling part 7 so as to be wound around the side belt coupling part 7 and to be folded up. A detachable engagement attachment 8 attached to the other end of the center belt 4 is coupled to the side belt coupling part 7. Belt guides 10 extend from positions in the vicinity of left and right side portions of the lower portion of the main body 1 to positions in the vicinity of both sides of a small article housing portion 9 provided at the center lower portion of the main body 1, respectively. Each of the belt guides 10 defines openings at both end portions thereof. The other ends of the pair of side belts 6 passes through the belt guides 10 smoothly, respectively. Each of the belt guides 10 includes a pair of attachment edge portions 11, a pair of rising portions 12, and a cover portion 13. The pair of attachment edge portions 11 are attached to the main body 1 of the caddie bag. The pair of rising portions 12 rise from the attachment edge portions 11 to secure path spaces for the side belt 6. The cover portion 13 connects the pair of rising portions 12.
A rear bag 14 is provided at the opposite side of the small article housing portion 9. An umbrella housing portion 15 is provided at one of side surfaces of the main body 1 of the caddie bag. The umbrella housing portion 15 is configured so that a tip end of an umbrella inserted from an insertion opening 16 of the umbrella housing portion 15 is exposed from a small opening 17 defined at a lower end of the umbrella housing portion 15. The insertion opening 16 is a hole defined at a center portion of a collar-shaped member 18 made of rubber or plastics. The umbrella housing portion 15 is formed as a bag shape and is configured so that a not-shown umbrella is housed within the bag and that the tip end and the grip of the umbrella are exposed to outside.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the belt guide 10 attached to the lower portion of the both side portions of the main body 1 of the caddie bag. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line B-B in FIG. 2. From the point of view of weight saving and cost saving, the belt guide 10 is preferably made of plastic materials. Examples of the plastic materials include polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, various kinds of synthetic rubber. In particular, rubber or plastics, which has sufficient elasticity, is preferable as a material of the belt guide 10 since it is hardly broken or deformed.
A width W1 of the upper opening of the belt guide 10 is larger than a width W2 of the lower opening thereof. Therefore, the side belt 6 can move sufficiently in the width direction of the opening within the upper opening having the width W1. The width W2 of the lower opening is larger than a width of the side belt 6 by 2 mm to 75 mm, more preferably, 5 mm to 55 mm in order to pull out the side belt 6 smoothly in the lower direction. The width W1 of the upper opening is larger than the width of the side belt 6 by 10 mm to 150 mm, more preferably, 25 mm to 120 mm in order to move the side belt 6 freely. As the specific values, the width W2 of the lower opening is in a range of 37 mm to 110 mm, more preferably, 40 mm to 80 mm, whilst the width W1 of the upper opening is in a range of 45 mm to 185 mm, more preferably, 80 mm to 150 mm. The preferable values of the aforesaid widths change depending on the width of the side belt 6 (the aforesaid value ranges are premised on that the width of the side belt 6 is about 35 mm). A height H of the upper opening from the main body 1 of the caddie bag to the cover portion 13 is also set to have a size enough to house instruments such as a joint 20 (described later) for coupling belts to each other. The height H of the upper opening is smaller than a height h of the lower opening shown in FIG. 4. Since the height h of the lower opening is larger than the height H of the upper opening, the side belt 6 can be easily pulled downward. The difference (h−H) of the heights of these opening portions is preferably in a range of 1 mm to 40 mm, more preferably, 2 mm to 30 mm from a view point of the external appearance. This is because the height H of the upper opening is required to be such a value not to be tight but sufficient for passing the side belt 6 through the upper opening, whilst the height h of the lower opening is required to be a value sufficient for pulling various joints beneath the belt guide 10. As the specific values, the height H of the upper opening is in a range of 3 mm to 60 mm, more preferably, 12 mm to 40 mm, whilst the height h of the lower opening is in a range of 11 mm to 80 mm, more preferably, 15 mm to 60 mm. The preferable numerical values of the aforesaid heights change depending on the thickness of the side belt 6 and the thickness of the joint 20 (the aforesaid value ranges are premised on that the thickness of the side belt is about 2 mm and the thickness of the joint 20 is about 10 mm). The belt guide 10 is attached to the main body 1 of the caddie bag in such a manner that the attachment edge portions 11 are firmly attached to the main body by means of screws, stitching, or an adhesion. The upper and lower ends of the cover portion 13 are formed into notched openings 13A, 13B, which are cut toward the center portion of the cover portion 10. In particular, since the notched opening 13B is formed, the side belt 6 can be pulled downward easily.
FIG. 5 is an exploded plan view of the side belt 6. The side belt 6 is split into two pieces, that is, side belts 6A and 6B. The side belt 6A is stitched at its lower end to the lower portion of the main body 1 of the caddie bag. A folding member 19 is attached to an upper end of the side belt 6A. A male member 20A constituting the joint 20 is attached to a tip end of the other side belt 6B. Also, a female member 20B into which the male member 20A is inserted to engage therewith is attached to an intermediate portion of the other side belt 6B. A portion extending toward the tip end thereof from the female member 20B is folded in an duplex manner, and a buckle 21 for adjusting the length thereof is attached on the way of the extending portion. The side belt 6 is attached to the side belt coupling part 7 in such a manner that the side belt 6 is turned up or folded with respect to the side belt coupling part 7 (see FIG. 6). One end of the side belt 6 extending in the duplex manner is attached to the center portion of the buckle 21, whilst the other end of the side belt 6 passes through one hole of the buckle 21 and then passes through the other hole of the buckle 21 and finally attached to the female member 20B (see FIG. 7). The male member 20A of the joint 20 is inserted into the folding member 19, then turned up, and inserted into and engaged with the female member 20B. Both the joint 20 and the folding member 19 are positioned within the path of the belt guide 10. The side belt 6 can be separated (into the side belts 6A and 6B) in such a manner that the side belt 6A is pulled out in the downward direction to pull out the joint 20, and then the male member 20A is disengaged from the female member 20B. Then, the belt 20B thus separated from the belt 20A is pulled out in the upper direction. The length of the belt 20B can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the buckle 21. The joint 20 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 5, and a known joint such as one using a snap, a hook, a hanging clip, or a utility clip may be employed in place thereof.
FIG. 8 shows the collar-shaped member 18, which is made of rubber. The collar-shaped member 18 has a tapered portion 18B, which is lowered toward an opening 18A so that an umbrella can be got in and out of the umbrella housing portion 15 easily.
FIG. 9 shows an example where the belt guide 10 is attached to the main body 1 of the caddie bag through an engagement attachment so as to be detachable from the main body 1. In an example of the engagement attachment, rings 22 attached to the belt guide 10 are detachable from snaps 23 attached to the main body 1 of the caddie bag, respectively. In another example of the engagement attachment, male screws are attached to the main body 1 side, holes are defined in the belt guide 10, and female screws are engaged with the male screws, which are inserted into the holes to attach the belt guide 10 to the main body 1.
FIG. 10 shows an example where the belt guide 10 is attached to the main body 1 of the caddie bag through hook-and-loop fasteners 24 serving as the detachable engagement attachment. The hook-and-loop fasteners 24 are firmly fixed to the rear surfaces of the attachment edge portions 11 of the belt guide 10 by means of the stitching. Hook-and-loop fasteners (not shown) constituting a pair with the hook-and-loop fasteners 24 are firmly fixed to the potions in the vicinity of the both sides of the small article housing portion 9 provided at the center lower portion of the main body 1 of the caddie bag by means of the stitching, respectively. Each of the widths a and b of the hook-and-loop fasteners 24 is preferably in a range of 10 mm to 30 mm, more preferably, 15 to 25 mm. This range is determined in view of providing the suitable fixing force between the main body 1 and the belt guide 10, and the external appearance of the caddie bag.
FIG. 11 shows an example where the belt guide 10 is attached to the caddie bag main body 1 through hooks 25 so that the belt guide 10 is detachable from the main body 1. The hooks 25 are firmly fixed to the rear surfaces of the attachment edge portions 11 of the belt guide 10 by means of screws, rivets, hitting members. Hooks (not shown) constituting a pair with the hooks 25 are firmly fixed to the potions near the both sides of the small article housing portion 9 provided at the center lower portion of the main body 1 by means of the screws, rivets, hitting members, respectively. The hook 25 is preferably a so-called strong hook. It is preferable that two to eight hooks 25 are attached in order to fix the belt guide 10 and the main body 1 to each other. It is more preferable that four to six hooks 25 are attached to each of the belt guides 10 and the hooks constituting a pair with the hooks 25 are attached to the main body 1 so as to realize the facility of the attaching and detaching operations and provide the suitable fixing force between the main body 1 and the belt guide 10.
Although the explanation is made based on the drawings that the rings 22, the snaps 23, the hook-and-loop fasteners 24 and the hooks 25 are utilized as the engagement attachment for the belt guide 10, normal fasteners, a member utilizing magnetic force, or the male members 20A and the female members 20B shown in FIG. 5 may be used as the engagement attachment in place thereof. Further, other known detachable means may be used as the engagement attachment.
FIG. 12 shows an example where the umbrella housing portion 15 is formed with using the side surface of the main body 1 by applying the constitutional feature of the belt guide 10 to the side surface. The longitudinal size of the umbrella housing portion 15 to which the constitutional feature of the belt guide 10 is applied may be made shorter than that shown in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12, an umbrella can be inserted from the upper opening to the lower opening of the umbrella housing portion 15 to house the umbrella therein.

Claims

1. A caddie bag comprising:

a main body that houses golf clubs, the main body including a small article housing portion at a lower center portion thereof;

a three-point type shoulder belt including:

a center belt, one end of which is attached to an upper center portion of the main body;

a side belt coupling part, the other end of the center belt attached to the side belt coupling part; and

a pair of side belts, one ends of the side belts attached to the side belt coupling part, the other ends of the side belts attached to right and left side portions of a lower portion of the main body; and

belt guides extending from positions in a vicinity of the right and left side portions of the lower portion of the main body to positions in a vicinity of both side potions of the small article housing portion, each of the belt guides defining openings at both ends thereof, each of the belt guides defining a path allowing the side belt to pass therethrough, wherein:

each of the belt guides includes a pair of attachment edge portions, a pair of rising portions, and a cover portion;

the pair of attachment edge portions are attached to the main body;

the pair of rising portions rise from the attachment edge portions to define the path, respectively; and

the cover portion connects the pair of rising portions.

2. The caddie bag according to claim 1, wherein the path of each guide belt is defined so that the side belt passes therethrough smoothly.

3. The caddie bag according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the side belts is split into two sub side belts; and

the two sub side belts of each side belt are detachably coupled to each other through a joint within the path of each belt guide.

4. The caddie bag according to claim 1, wherein the belt guide is made of plastic.

5. The caddie bag according to claim 1, wherein:

each belt guide defines the openings at upper and lower portions thereof, respectively; and

a width of the opening defined at the upper portion is larger than that of the opening defined at the lower portion.

6. The caddie bag according to claim 1, wherein each cover portion defines a notched opening, which is cut toward a center portion of the cover portion, at at least one of upper and lower portions thereof.

7. The caddie bag according to claim 1, wherein the belt guides are detachably attached to the main body through engagement attachments.

8. The caddie bag according to claim 5, wherein:

the width of the opening defined at the upper portion of each belt guide is larger than that of the side belt by 10 mm to 150 mm; and

the width of the opening defined at the lower portion of each belt guide is larger than that of the side belt by 2 mm to 75 mm.

9. The caddie bag according to claim 5, wherein a height of the opening defined at the upper portion of each belt guide is lower than that of the opening defined at the lower portion of each belt guide.

10. The caddie bag according to claim 9, wherein a difference between the height of the opening defined at the upper portion of each belt guide and that of the opening defined at the lower portion of each belt guide is in a range of 1 mm to 40 mm.

11. The caddie bag according to claim 3, wherein heights of the both openings defined in each belt guide are larger than a thickness of each side belt and a thickness of each joint.

12. A caddie bag comprising:

a main body that houses golf clubs;

a three-point type shoulder belt including a pair of side belts, each side belt split into first and second sub side belts, one ends of the first sub side belts attached to a right lower side portion of the main body and a left lower side portion of the main body, respectively, the other ends of the first sub side belts detachably engaged with one ends of the second sub side belts through joints, respectively; and

belt guides attached to the main body, the belt guides positioned above the right lower side portion and the left lower side portion, respectively, wherein:

the pair of attachment edge portions are attached to the main body;

the pair of rising portions rise from the attachment edge portions, respectively;

the cover portion connects the pair of rising portions;

the side belts pass through paths defined by the belt guides, respectively;

the joint is disposed between the main body and the cover portion.