1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a protective canopy for attachment to a golf cart to protect the clubs in golf bags carried at the rear of a golf cart. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a canopy that is easily deployed in inclement weather and in the deployed position, allows easy access through the canopy to individual clubs in the golf bag.
2. Description of Related Art
It is not uncommon for golfers to use a golf cart while playing a round of golf. In fact, many golf courses require that the players use a golf cart in order to speed play. In a typical arrangement, the golf cart has seating to accommodate two players (a driver and a rider) and a rear rack to carry two golf bags side-by-side.
A golf cart generally has a rigid or fabric roof to protect the riders from both sun and rain. In the event of inclement weather, provision is made to protect the golf bags and particularly the golf clubs retained in the bag. For example, protective curtains at the rear of the cart can be unfurled from the sides of the golf cart. The ends of the curtains are brought together and closed over the golf bags to protect the clubs and the bags. In many cases a zipper or snaps that hold the curtains closed can be undone to permit access the clubs if play continues during rain.
Other protective systems include an awning arrangement wherein a canopy attached along the rear roofline of the golf cart can pivot down and over the heads of the golf clubs in the two golf bags. The canopy is raised to allow simultaneous access to the clubs in both bags.
While these protective systems accomplish the intended purpose of protecting the heads of the golf clubs in the bags, they suffer from several drawbacks. For example, some systems are clumsy and difficult to deploy. In others, access to the clubs is gained only by reversing the steps followed in deploying the covering. Another drawback is that once the protective canopy is deployed, access to the clubs in either of the bags carried at the rear of the cart requires that both golf bags be exposed to the elements.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rain cover attachable to a golf cart wherein the rain cover is easily deployed in inclement weather.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rain cover that is retracted as easily as it is deployed.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a retractable rain cover allows separate access to adjacent golf bags covered by a deployed rain cover.
In accordance with the present invention a retractable rain cover is provided that includes a generally open framework that is attachable to a golf cart. The frame is attachable to the roof support columns of the golf cart or to the roof itself or to both. The frame is fixed and has an aft end portion that extends rearward from the rear roofline of the cart and is sized to encompass at least the upper end portions of golf bags carried on a rear platform of the golf cart. In this respect the frame has structural elements that overlie a golf bag carried on the cart and extend below at least an upper portion of the bag. Preferably these structural elements of the aft end portion include a guide track for purposes set out hereinbelow.
The open framework supports a flexible canopy that is movable relative to the frame between a stowed position and a deployed position. The canopy normally is in its stowed position such that it is reefed or retracted relative to the aft end portion of the frame. When the canopy is stowed, open framework exposes the golf bags to the elements. In a stowed position the canopy may be rolled up on a reel that extends along the rear roofline of the cart. As an alternative, the stowed canopy can be in a stretched flat condition that lies within the footprint of the golf cart roof.
When rain protection is needed the canopy is deployed by unfurling it from the reel or extending it out from under the footprint of the cart roof. In its extended position, the canopy is coextensive with the portion of the frame that encompasses at least the top portions of the bags so it overlies the bags to provide a shelter for the golf clubs.
The canopy has two closable openings. When the canopy is deployed and overlies the golf bags at the rear of the golf cart, the two openings will align with the tops of the bags. Flaps secured by a hook and loop fastener, snap or other suitable fastener close the openings. Accordingly, when the canopy is in its extended or deployed position, lifting one or the other of these flaps and reaching through the opening allows access to individual clubs in either of the two bags without exposing the clubs in the adjacent bag.
Accordingly, the present invention may be characterized in one aspect thereof by a retractable rain cover for a golf cart comprising
a) a fixed frame attachable to a golf cart, the frame having an aft end portion sized to encompass at least an upper end of a golf bag carried on the cart including a section extending below an upper end of the golf bag; and
b) a flexible canopy carried by the frame and movable relative to the frame between a stowed position and a deployed position, the canopy in the deployed position being disposed along the aft end portion and overlying the golf bag.
In another aspect, the present invention may be characterized by a retractable rain cover for a golf cart comprising:
a) a fixed frame attachable to a golf cart, the frame having an aft end portion sized to encompass at least an upper end of a golf bag carried on the cart including a section extending below an upper end of the golf bag;
b) a flexible canopy carried by the frame and movable relative to the frame between a stowed position and a deployed position, the canopy in the deployed position being disposed along the aft end portion and overlying the golf bag; and
c) the canopy having a closable opening and in the extended position the opening being located over and in alignment with the upper end of the golf bag to permit access to any golf club in the bag when the canopy is in the extended position.
Referring to the drawings,
The open framework is formed by rigid structural elements wherein each of the side members 14 includes an upright piece 18, a horizontal piece 22 extending out (rearward or in an aft direction) from the bottom of the upright piece and a curved piece 24 that connects the outer end of the horizontal piece to the top of the upright piece at a dogleg 20.
Each curved piece 24 has a rear facing catch 26 near where the curved piece 24 connects to the dogleg 20. A similar, but opposite (forward) facing catch 28 is located preferably on the horizontal piece 22 near where the horizontal and curved pieces 22, 24 connect.
Extending between the side members 14 is a generally cylindrical housing 30. The housing is connected at its ends in the doglegs 20 and contains a rewind reel (not shown). The housing provides storage for a length of a flexible canopy that is wound onto the reel. The canopy, a portion of which is shown at 32, preferably is made of a flexible rain proof or rain repellant material such as canvas, plastic or the like. Preferably the rewind reel in the housing 30 is spring loaded so that when the canopy material is pulled out from the housing, a rewind force is created that tends to retract the canopy into the housing.
The trailing edge (not shown) of the canopy material is fixed within the housing 30 to the rewind reel and the leading edge 33 of the canopy material is attached to a rod 34. The engagement of this rod with the rear facing catch 26 as shown in
In addition, or as an alternative method of having the canopy material conform to the shape of the side members,
Referring again to
The horizontal pieces 22 extend in an aft direction from the golf cart (
Since the curved pieces 24 arch over the bags, the heads 58 of the clubs extending from the bag are encompassed by a combination of the deployed canopy material 32 that overlies the club heads and by the side panels 46 that close off the open sides of the frame. In this fashion the club heads are protected from rain.
The canopy material may be deployed as needed and in fair weather, it is simply retracted to a stowed position in the housing 30 as shown in
The rigid structural elements forming each side member 114 include an upright piece 118, a horizontal piece 122 and a curved piece 124. In this case however, the dogleg connection of the upright piece 118 to the curved piece is missing. Instead there are two rails 60 that attach to or comprise a continuation of each curved piece 124 and extend in a forward direction. Each rail 60 has a channel 62 that continues into the curved piece 124.
At the forward most end of each rail is an axel 64. The axel is journaled at its ends to each of the rails. Fixed to the axel is a pair of spaced pulleys 66. A cord 68 is wound on each pulley, the free end of each cord being attached to a trailing edge 63 of the canopy material 132. Preferably the rotation of the axel 64 (or of the pulleys 66) is biased so there is a rewind force on the chords.
The canopy material 132 lies between the rails and its leading edge is attached to a rod 134. As shown in
To deploy the canopy material, one simply pulls the rod 134 so the flat canopy moves along the channel 62 out from under the golf cart roof and follows the curved pieces 124 to the position shown in
As shown in
To retract the canopy material to a stowed position, the rod 134 is unlatched from the catch 128 to allow a spring bias to rewind the pulleys 66 and reel up the chords 68. This returns the canopy material to its stowed position within the footprint of the golf cart roof.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to
In this embodiment, the retractable rain cover assembly 210 is formed substantially as according to the previously-described embodiments of the invention. More particularly, the assembly 210 preferably includes an open frame including opposite side members 214 having curved pieces 224. Channels may be formed in the curved pieces similar to those shown in
The assembly 210 according to this invention also may have a cylindrical housing 230 (shown in phantom in
In each of these just-described configurations, the pulleys or the cylindrical housing preferably have an inherent bias to return the canopy to the stowed position. For example, the pulleys or housing may be spring-loaded or reverse-biased to bias the canopy into the opening of the roof. In use, a user standing behind the golf cart grasps the leading edge of the canopy and pulls the canopy to a deployed position with sufficient force to overcome the inherent bias. One or more catches similar to those used in the embodiment described with reference to
In the deployed position, the canopy is substantially in the same position as illustrated in
When the canopy is no longer needed, the user preferably unlatches the leading edge of the canopy and the is returned to the stowed position. Preferably, the leading edge of the canopy is prohibited from entering the opening 258 in the stowed position. To this end, a catch may be used to inhibit motion of the canopy in a direction toward the stowing position beyond a predetermined position, the position being proximate to or contacting the rear edge of the roof. Although the invention has been described as employing a return bias for biasing the canopy to a stowed position, such is not necessary. For example, the user may have to manually manipulate the canopy into the stowed position. Or, automatic means, such as a motor or the like may be used to extend and retract the canopy.
A channel or the like also may be formed in the roof to guide the canopy as it is deployed from and retracted into the opening 258 in the roof 252. Preferably, two channels are formed on facing inner surfaces of the sides of the roof, the channels facing the opening 258. A mating bead or similar structure is disposed on the canopy and received within the channel to maintain the canopy in communication with the channel. One will appreciate that such a configuration may alleviate the need for the cylindrical housing and/or the pulley(s) and may, for example, be particularly well-suited with a roof such as that illustrated in
Other mechanisms, such as pressure rollers, guides, and the like also may be used to maintain the orientation of the canopy within the opening, and/or to prevent bunching or misalignment of the canopy. Such bunching or misalignment may also be more likely with a more flexible canopy.
Another configuration for effectuating stowing and deployment of the canopy 232 is illustrated in
Another embodiment of the invention now will be described with reference to
The invention has been described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments. As should be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, features of each of the embodiments may be used in other embodiments to perform similar functions. Numerous combinations of the components and features described above will be readily ascertained from the foregoing description of the invention, and each of these combinations and variations is understood to be a part of the invention.
Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the present invention accomplishes its intended objects in providing a retractable rain cover attachable to the roof of a golf cart wherein the rain cover is easily deployed in inclement weather and is retracted as easily as it is deployed. When in the deployed position, the rain cover allows separate access to adjacent golf bags so the clubs in one bag need not be exposed to the rain when selecting a club from another bag.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/753,240, which issued on May 1, 2007, as U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,492.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10753240 | Jan 2004 | US |
Child | 11743098 | May 2007 | US |