Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The presQnt lnvention relates generally to carts
intended to carry sports accessories, more specifically to a cart
of such type having a protective cover.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Originally baseball team players transported their
equipment such as bats, gloves, balls, etc. in duffle bags or
large heavy boxes. Accordingly, many attempts have been made
since to provlde improved or new conveyances to overcome the
obvlous disadvantages of duffle bags and large boxes alone. Some
of these devices include carts having wheels. U,S. Patent number
3,869,137 discloses a portable storage cart for baseball-related
equlpment. While functional, that invention has many
lmperfections;
a) the frame of the cart is relatively difficult to manufacture,
belng made of a plurality of different pieces;
b) the cart has a central cylindrical space occupied by a duffle
bag, The bag is attached to the frame and must consequently be
detached for remov~l, Also, a duffle bag used ln thls way ls
prone to tearlng and may bulge outwardly against the bats when
full, thereby making removal of some of the latter difficult (see
Flg, l);
c) the locatlon of the wheels of the cart renders the cart
dlfflcult to tilt properly for pulling or pushlng to a dlfferent
slte when lt is fully loaded,
Another U.S. patent number 4,193,495 discloses a
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portable "organizer" for bats, helmets, etc. However, this
article must be hung and if no fence, backstop or the llke is
avallable, its usefulness is signlficantly reduced.
Another U.S. patent number 4,227,710 teaches a wheeled
device deslgned to carry baseball equipment. The devlce requlres
a pivotal leg to stay in a generally upright position. Straps are
further needed to hold the various ltems ln place. Thls is
complicated constructlon.
OBJECT$ OF THE INVENTION
In vlew of the above, lt is an important ob~ect of the
present lnvention to provlde a cart for baseball equipment havlng
a cover whlch has a furled non-use conflguration and an
encloslng, unfurled use conflguration, the cover being attached
to the cart ln a permanent manner.
It ls another lmportant ob~ect of the present inventlon
to provide a cover of the character descrlbed, whlch is easily
and qulckly unfurled or furled.
It ls yet another ob~ect of the present lnventlon to
provlde a cart whereln the cover protects all the ltems carrled
by the cart.
SUMMARY OF THE INV~ ON
, The above and other ob~ects and advantages of the
present lnvention are reallzed accordlng to a preferred
embodlment comprislng an elongated rlgld cyllnder member havlng a
closed lower end and an open upper end. The cyllnder thus defines
a cylindrlcal space ln whlch may be stored sequentlally for easy
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selection various items of equipment, such as gloves, baseballs,
helmets, etc.
Retainlng means extending all around the cylinder
member at both the upper and lower portions thereo~ are provided
to retain a plurality of baseball bats.
The cylinder member is further formed with an
outwardly-pro~ecting, longitudinal, elongated rib having an outer
surface.
The lower portion of the rib has an axle extending
transversely of the rib, the outer ends of the axle each carrying
a wheel for pulling or pushlng the cart over ground.
A protective cover, generally of a shape corresponding
to and slightly larger than the contours of the retaining means
has one of its lateral edges attached to the outer surface of the
rib and is adapted to be unfurled around the retaining means, The
top clrcumferential edge of the cover is formed with flap means
to completely close over the opening of the cylinder member. The
cover extends downwardly, having a lower edge preferably located
ad~acent the lower portlon retaining means, thus fully protectlng
the cart. The other lateral edge of the cover ls adapted to
slightly overlap the first lateral edge when fully unfurled.
Fastenlng means are provided to attach the two edges together.
When furled, the cover assumes the shape of a narrow spiraled
column at the front of the rib.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTTON OF THE DRAWINGS
The above will be more clearly understood by having
referral to the preferred embodiment of the inventlon,
illustrated by way of accompanying drawings, in which:
~ igure 1 is a perspective view of the cart, with the
cover on, showing how the cart is pulled;
Figure 2 ls an elevatlonal view of the cart of Figure l;
Figure 3 ls a top plan vlew of the cart, partlally
sectioned;
Flgure 4 ls another perspectlve view of the cart,
showing a first lateral edge portion of the cover secured
thereto; and
Figure 5 is still another perspective view of the upper
portion of the cart showlng how the cover flts around the upper
portlon.
Like numerals indicate like elements throughout the
drawings.
DETAI~ ~DE,S~R,~P~ION,,OF THE PREFERRED E~BODIME,~NT
Referrlng flrstly to Figures 2 and 4, there ls shown a
cart 1 ,accordlng to the lnventlon. Cart 1 conslsts of a rigid
elongated cyllnder member 2 havlng a bottom circular wall 3 and
an open upper end, Member 2 may be made of molded plastlc or a
lightweight metal. An upper annular flange 4 is preferably
lntegrally formed wlth member 2 at the upper edge of the latter.
Spaced below flange 4 ls a first part of the retainlng
means, conslstlng of a second annular flange 5, having a
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plurality of generally circular notches 6, all having a narrowed
opening 6 . Flange 5 is Inade of semi-resilient non-marring
material, so that baseball or soft.ball bats 7 may be easily
snapped into a notch 6 at their grip areas 7 .
The second part of the retaining means is embodied by
an annular disk 8 extending in spaced relationship above wall 3,
as best seen in Figure 2. The upper surface of disk 8 is
provided with a plurality of vertical hores 9, made therein, each
bore 9 being in vertical registry with one of the notches 6,
The dlstance between secon(1 flange 5 and the bottom of
bores 9 is predetermined to accommodate the variations in length
of bats 7, as suggested in Figure 2. Thu~" any bat 7 may be
easily and quickly selected from the cart.
The cart 1 is further formed with an elongated
outwardly projecting rib 10. The latter is formed of a pair of
outwardly-converging side walls 11 and 12, which are joined by a
flat outer surface 13. Rib 10 exterlds from upper flange 4 almost
to the bottom wall 3 of cylinder melllbt?r 2 all-..l below disk 8.
An axle 14 extends trarlsversely through the lower
portion of rib 10, its opposite ends carrying a pair of
rotatively-mounted wheels 15 and 16.
~ ecured to flat surface 13 and extending from the lower
edge of disk 8 to upper flange 4, is a protective cover 17.
Cover 17 is made of waterproof, flexible material and is fixed to
surface 13 by one of its lateral edge portion 18.
Figure S shows cover 17 in fully-unfurled
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configuration. A handle 19 for pulling the cart by a hand 25 is
secured to the cover at the upper area of lateral edge portion
18. As shown, cover 17 is unfurled from the stored configuration
of Figure 2 in a clockwise direction
The other lateral edge portion 20 of the cover is
adapted to slightly overlap lateral edge portion 18 when the
cover is fully unfurled. Lat.eral edge portions 18, 20 are
provided with fastening means consisting of a plurality of
vertically-spaced twist clasps 21 secured to edge 18 and
complementary slots 22 secured in e~ portion 20.
The flap means referred to above consists of a pair of
semi-circular flaps 23 and 24 stitched or otherwise secured to
the semi-circular upper edges of the cover. The straight edges
of both flaps are free. Straight edye 24 overlaps straight edge
23 in water-tight relationship. A strap 26, or the like, is
secured to rib lO to maintain cover 17 in furled non-use
condition at the front of rib lO.
Preferably, a second han~ G? 27 ts s-?curefl to cover 17
diametrically opposlte rib lO intermediate the length of the
cover, so that the cart can be carried manually. An additional
feature (not shown) may include a hollow hand space in the lower
surface of disk ~, such space heing located along the same
vertical line defined by handle 27. lhus, the cart may be easily
grasped with both hands and carried.
It is to be noted that, when cart 1 is being pulled or
pushed, the two lateral edge portions 18 and 20 are located
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closest to the ground, thereby furth{?r protecting against rain.
Cover 17 is of dimensions to fit in a generally snug
way around the contours of the cart,
It is to be further noted that, since cover 17 is
permanently secured to the cart, there is no possibility that it
will get lost.
