Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-1- 2l8l4lo
Title: GOLF CLUB LOC~ING DEVICE
Field o the Inv~n1-; nn
This invention relates to a golf club locking
device for use in c~ n~t; nn with a golf bag, and more
5 particularly to a locking device attached to a golf bag for
preventing removal of golf clubs when in a locked position.
Back~round o~ th-- I~vent:ion
Golf club locking devices are known in the art.
The cost of golf clubs have always made them an attractive
10 target for thieves. In particular, unæecured and
~ lPd golf bags and their cnntfntE~ make a tempting
target for unscrupulous types, especially at public golf
couraes which are easil~ accessible.
gnown locking devices are found in U. S . Patent
No. 4,863,019 to Lewis, IJ.S. Patent No. 5,004,100 to Smith,
U.S. Patent No. 1,770,060 to Barlow, and U.S. Patent No.
1,717,959 to Cauffman.
The Cauf fman p~atent discloses a device which is
attached to the opening of a golf bag. When in the locked
20 position, the device prevents the removal of golf clubs
f rom the bag . The device comprises a circular base plate
and a circular club locking member. The circular base
plate has a series of circular openings f or the shaf ts and
grip ends of the golf clubs. The club locking member
25 comprises a rotatable disk which is provided with
corresponding openings for receiving the shafts of the
clubs. The club locking member is rotatable between a
normal position and a lock position. In the lock position,
the locking member pre~ents the clubs from being pulled
30 from the bag by constricting the openings around the shafts
and grip ends of the clubs.
-2- 2l8l4l0
The device taught by Cauf fman is cumbersome to
uæe while golf ing because the clubs must be individually
inserted through the openings. In addition, the circular
base and club locking plates severely restrict access to
5 the inE3ide of the golf bag and the number of golf clubs
which can be carried (and secured) is limited by the number
of openings. The size of the circular openings also means
that clubs with small diameter shaf ts will be loosely held
in the locked position. Furthermore, the disc shape of the
10 locking member and accompanying circular movement make~ the
~'Al~ffm~n unsuitable for use with golf bags which do not
have a circular mouth.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a golf
club locking device which is suitable for u~e with a
15 variety of golf bag shapes. There i~3 also the need for a
device which also provides full access to the inside of the
golf bag.
Brie~ 5ummar~r o~ the In~ention
The present invention provides a locking device
20 attachable to a golf bag for locking golf clubs in the bag.
The locking device i8 a].30 ~ll;t~hlf~ for securing the golf
bag to another object such as a golf bag rack or golf cart.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide a locking device which can be ;~te~r~ with golf
25 bags having a variety o~- shapes.
It is another obj ect of the present invention to
provide a locking device which allows full access to the
inside of the golf bag, and which secures all the clubs
carried in the golf bag without limiting the number of golf
30 clubs.
It is an objec~t to provide a locking device which
_ _
3 2181410
is easy and inexpensive to manufacture It is yet a
further obj ect to provide a locking device which can
manufactured as an integral component of a golf bag.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides
5 a golf club loeking device attachable to a golf club bag,
the golf club bag having a main portion divided into a
plurality of compartments and a mouth portion forming
openings in the bag for receiving golf clubs in the
compartments, said golf club loeking device comprising: (a)
10 a main member having means for fastening to the mouth of
said golf club bag, and said main member having openings
communicating with said c~ .~Li -S; (b) a locking member
coupled to said main member; and (c) means for linearly
moving said locking member in relation to said main member
15 to a first position to prevent removal of golf clubs
c~ntA;n~Cl in said compartments and to a second position to
permit removal of said golf clubs, in said first position
said locking member con~tricting said openings to engage
said golf club3.
In a second aspect, the present invention
provides a securable golf bag comprising: (a) a main
portion divided into a plurality of compartments and a
mouth portion f orming openings in the bag f or receiving
golf clubs in the c ,.~ 8; and (b) a golf club loeking
deviee comprising, (i) a main member having means for
fastening to the mouth oi. said golf club bag, and said main
member having openil1gs communicating with said
compartments; (ii) a locking member coupled to said main
member; and (iii) means for linearly moving said locking
member in relation to said main member to a first position
to prevent removal of golf clubs ~--nt~;n~d in said
compartments and to a second position to permit removal of
said golf clubs, in said first position said locking member
constricting said openings to engage said golf clubs.
_4 21~3l410
Brief De~criT~tiou of th~ Drawinqs
Reference will now be made, by way of example, to
the ~cr~, ying drawings which show a preferred embodiment
of the present inventiorl, and in which:
Figure 1 (a) is a top view of a golf club locking
device according to the present invention in the unlocked
position;
Figure 1 (b) is a top view of the golf club
locking device in the locked positiorl;
Figures 2 (a) to 2 (c) show the member components
of one embodiment of the golf club locking device;
Figure 3 is a partial side view of a golf bag
incorporating the golf club locking device of Fig. 1;
Figure 4 is a sf~rt; r~ni:ll view of the golf club
locking device taken through line A-A of Fig. l (b);
Figure 5 (a) is a sectional view of the golf club
locking device taken through line B-B of Fig. 1 (a);
Figure 5 (b) is a sectional view of another
elbbodiment of the golf club locking device; and
Figure 6 is a sectional view of another
embodiment of a golf club locking device according to the
present invention.
Detailed D6~srri~tio~ of the PLere,~d E~mh~li t~
Reference is made to Figures 1 to 5 which show a
golf club locking device 10 according to the present
invention. Like reference numerals ;n~l;r~tl~ like elements
in the Figures.
5_ 2l81410
In a f irst embodiment, the golf club locking
device 10 comprises a main member 12, a locking member 14
and a bottom member 16. The locking member 14 is slidably
fastened to the main member 12 and movable between an
5 unlocked position shown in Figure 1 (a), and a locked
position shown in Figure 1 (b) .
The main member 12 is fastened to the top of a
golf bag 18 and includes one or more openings 20a, 20b, 20c
for receiving golf clubs 22 as shown in Figure 3. The
openings 20a, 20b, 20c register with partitions or dividers
24 which form ~ aLi t~ 25 in a golf bag 18 as shown in
Figure 3. A~ shown in Figures 3 and 4, the main member 12
;n~ tabg 13 for fas~ening to the golf bag 18. E:ach of
the tabs 13 ; n~ an aperture 15 for receiving a
fastener 17 for attaching to the bag 18. The tabs 13 may
be replaced by a skirt 15 (Figure 2 (c) ) which fits and
attaches to the mouth of the bag 18. Preferably the skirt
15 is connected to the bottom member 16 in order to extend
around the full perimeter as shown in broken outline in
Figure 2 (c) . If the skirt is c~nnf~tf~cl to the main member
12 a cut-out or slot is rleeded for the locking member 14 to
move to the unlocked position. It will be appreciated that
the tabs 13 and/or fasteners 17 depend on the steps
~t; l; 71"9 in the --n--fAct~lre of the golf bag 18 . For
example, the bottom member 16 can connect to the dividers
24. The device 10 may also be manufactured as a separate
acce~sory having a collar which f its over and attaches to
the mouth of the bag 10.
The locking member 14 is located between the main
member 12 and the bottom member 16. me locking member 14
is coupled to the main member 12 (and bottom member 16)
u~ing suitable fasteners, such as rivets 26 shown in Figure
5 (a), inserted through respective apertures 28, 30 in the
main and bottom members 12,16. Preferably, a suitable
spacer 27 is provided to ~-;ntA;n the main member 12 and
2181410
the bottom member 16 at a spaced r~lAt;(~n~h;r The main
member 12 and the bottom member 16 form a channel (defined
by the spacer 27) wit]1in which the locking member 14
slides. The degree of ~c ~ of the locking member 14 is
5 defined by slots 32. The slots 32 communicate with the
apertures 2 8 in the main member 12 and the apertures 3 0 in
the bottom member 16 wllich receive the rivets 26. The
length of the slots 32 define the movement of the locking
member 14 from the locked position to the unlocked
10 position.
The bottom member 16 includes a set of openings
34a,34b,34c which correspond to the openings 20a,20b,20c in
the main menlber 12. The locking menlber 14 includes a
second set of opPn;n~S 36a,36b and a bottom edge 36c.
In the unlocked position, the openings 36a, 36b
and bottom edge 36c of t~le locking member 14 align with the
respective openings 20a,20b,20c in the main menlber 12 (and
bottom member 16) and al] ow the lln(~n(_ ' cred passing of the
clubs 22 into the c~ 25 of the golf bag 18.
In the locked ]?osition, the locking menlber 14 is
slid relative to the main member 12 (and the bottom member
16) resulting in the openings 20a,20b,20c being reduced to
constricted openings 38a, 38b, 38c as shown in Figure 1 (b) .
The constricted ~p~n;n~ 38a,38b,38c prevent the passage of
the shafts and grip ends of the golf clubs 22 cr~ntA;n~cl in
the bag 18 . The main n~ember 12 ; nrl 11(-lGf2 an aperture 40
which registers with an aperture 42 in the locking member
14 when in the locked position. The registered apertures
40,42 are suitable for receiving the shackle of a padlock
3 0 44 ( Figure 3 ) to secure the device 10 in the locked
position. A cable 46 (shown in broken outline in Figure 3)
can be attached to padlock 44 to secure the golf bag 18 to
a fixed object, for example, a golf bag rack. S;m;l~rly,
in the unlocked position, the padlock 44 and cable 46 may
~ 2181410
-- 7--
be used to secure the bag 18 to a golf cart (not shown) to
permit use of the clubs 22 but prevent removal of the bag
18. The device 10 may also include a cover (not shown)
which covers and secure~ the golf clubs 22 and is coupled
5 to the bag 18 by the padlock 44.
Preferably the main member 12 and locking member
14 are fabricated from a material having sufficient
ml~rh~n; ,-~l 8trength to resist passage of the golf club
shaft under force. For example, suitable materials include
10 a molded plastic or a thin sheet metal. As shown in Figure
5 (b), a main member 12' molded from plastic can have an
integra ted " snap - type " f as t ener 2 6 ' . Pref erab ly the
fastener 26' is molded with a shoulder portion 29 to
~in~ n the spaced relationship between the main member
15 12 ' and the bottom member 16 and thereby eliminating the
need for a separate spacer 27 (Figure 5 (a) ) .
Figure 6 shows another embodiment of a golf club
locking device 11 according to the present invention. The
golf club device 11 shown in Figure 6 comprises a main
2 0 member 12 " and a locking member 14 ' . The locking member
14' is coupled directly to the m.ain member 12~ using a
suitable fastener 26" alleviating the bottom member 16.
The fastener 26" includes a flange 31 suitably sized to
support and allow the locking member 14~ to slide between
25 the locked and unlocked positions. If made of metal, the
fastener 26" preferably ;nc~ s a plastic bushing 33 for
pregsing against the edges of the slots 32 in the locking
member 14.
The present in~ention may be embodied in other
30 specific forms without departing from the spirit or
essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the
presently discussed ~ s are considered to be
illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the
invention being indicate~d by the appended claims rather
21814tO
--8--
than the foregoing description, and all changes which come
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim~;
are therefore ;n~n(~l to be embraced therein.
