Patent Application
20160082327
The present invention relates generally to accessories for use when playing golf, and more particularly to a lightweight golf tee bag which can function to carry a plurality of essential golf tools.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Golf accessories such as tees, divot repair tools and ball markers, for example, are an essential to the game of golf. In this regard, a person playing golf must have enough tees at the ready to complete a nine or eighteen hole game. Due to breakage or loss of tees when the golf ball is struck at tee-off, the player must have a plurality of tees that are accessible. Likewise, when the ball is located on the green, the golfer must have their ball marker and divot repair tool ready. If any of these items are not readily accessible, the golf game is delayed while the player searches his or her golf bag, or some other location for the missing items. Such a delay of game is typically considered bad etiquette in golf, as it causes the golfing partners, as well as advancing groups of golfers to delay their games while the items are located.
For this reason, many golfers routinely carry their golf accessories in their trouser pockets during game play. However, the act of constantly inserting and retrieving these accessories from the trouser pockets, typically between 25 and 30 times per round, often results in damage to the trousers. Moreover, in many cases, the golfer does not have accessible pockets, and must remember to retrieve the items from the golf cart or golf bag each time they are needed.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a lightweight golf tee bag which can be secured to a traditional belt, and that can function to simplify the game by providing instant access to the most commonly utilized golf accessories which remain in a central location throughout the entire round of golf.
The present invention is directed to a golf tee bag device. The device can be formed from a single piece of fabric material having a front surface, a back surface and a plurality of edges. A series of fold lines can separate the main body into four body sections. When folded, the device forms a main pocket suitable for receiving a divot repair tool, an elongated horizontal pocket for receiving a pair of horizontally positioned golf tees, and a pair of vertical pockets for receiving another pair of golf tees vertically.
Another embodiment of the invention can further include a ball marker engagement unit that can secure a ball marker along the front surface of the device. Additionally, the back section of the main body can include a pair of connectors which can function to secure the device onto a belt or other article of clothing.
This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
Identical reference numerals are used for like elements of the invention or elements of like function. For the sake of clarity, only those reference numerals are shown in the individual figures which are necessary for the description of the respective figure. For purposes of this description, the terms “upper,” “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
As shown, the device 10 can include a substantially rectangular shaped main body 11 having a front surface 11a, a rear surface 11b a pair of opposing side edges 11c and 11d, a bottom edge 11e, and a top edge 11f. In one embodiment, the main body can further include a plurality of fold lines f1, f2 and f3 extending along the main body and creating four main body segments 12, 13, 14 and 15. In the preferred embodiment, segments 12 and 13 can include substantially identical sizes, and the combination of segments 14 and 15 can include a substantially identical size as one of the segments 12 or 13.
As described herein, the main body 11 can preferably be constructed from a generally soft and malleable material such as marine vinyl, for example. Marine vinyl is often manufactured with a smooth finished surface 11a and a rough unfinished surface 11b. Of course, other forms of vinyl having both finished and unfinished surfaces are also contemplated, as vinyl is a commonly utilized and widely accepted fabric which has hypoallergenic properties that are safe for direct and prolonged contact with humans. Although described above as including a vinyl material, this is for illustrative purposes only, as any number of other lightweight fabric materials can also be utilized herein. These other fabrics can include natural materials such as wool, cotton or cotton blend, for example, or synthetic materials such as polyester, rayon and lightweight plastics, for example.
In one preferred embodiment, the main body 11 can include a length (edges 11e to 11f) of approximately 7 inches, and a width (edges 11c to 11d) of approximately 4 inches. Of course, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the exact dimensions of the device body 11 may vary from these amounts without departing from the overall spirit and scope of the present invention.
As shown best in
Although described above as including strips of hook and loop material, those of skill in the art will recognize that the attachment units can include any number of known components capable of being removably connected. Several non-limiting examples include opposing polarity magnets and/or magnetic elements, and compression fittings such as buttons and snaps, for example. Each of these items can be permanently secured to the main body 11 by a permanent sealer such as glue, adhesive tape, or stitching, for example. Moreover, other embodiments are contemplated wherein no connectors are provided, and the above noted sections of the main body can be permanently secured together via stitches or other such materials, thereby forming a permanent opening for receiving a user's belt.
As shown in
As shown in
As noted above, the device 10 is intended to be as small and lightweight as possible. As such, it is preferred that the pocket area P include a dimension that is complementary to the dimensions of a standard golf divot repair tool, and that the horizontal pocket H include a diameter that is complementary to the diameter of the shaft portion of a golf tee. Although described above as utilizing stitches S1-S5, this is for illustrative purposes only, as any number of other known means can be utilized, several nonlimiting examples include hem tape and/or liquid sealants, among others, for example.
In operation, and as shown in
As the dimension of the horizontal pocket H and the openings 41 are greater than the diameter of the tee shaft 5a, and less than the diameter of the tee head 5b, the pocket H can securely position two golf tees horizontally, so that the tee shafts are enclosed, and tee heads are not enclosed. Likewise, additional golf tees 5 can be positioned within vertical tee pockets V. Such a feature allows a user to easily store and retrieve up to four golf tees at any time without having to manipulate the shape of device itself.
In the illustrated embodiment, the pocket area P can further include a marker engagement unit 50. As shown, by arrow b, the marker engagement unit can function to secure a golf ball marker 6 (typically a coin or other flat metallic object) to the outside surface of the device 14. In the preferred embodiment, the marker engagement unit can include a magnet that is positioned within the pocket area P. Of course, any number of other objects capable of securing a ball marker to the outside of the device are also contemplated, several nonlimiting examples include strips of hook and loop material and snaps, for example, wherein one half of such device would be affixed to the device 10, and the other would be affixed to the ball marker itself, so as to allow the same to be repeatedly joined and separated without requiring the user to engage the inside portion of the pocket P.
Accordingly, by providing a lightweight tee bag device 10, that can be secured onto a user's belt, the presently described invention functions to simplify the game by providing instant access to the most commonly utilized golf accessories in a novel manner.
As to a further description of the manner and use of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
This application is a continuation-in-part to, and claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/491,211 filed on Sep. 19, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14491211 | Sep 2014 | US |
| Child | 14856617 | US |
