Patent Application
20070210227
The present invention relates to golf cars and more specifically to a sand bottle mounting arrangement on a golf car.
Golf cars provide transportation for golfers around a golf course. A golf car must also securely carry a golf bag in a location for convenient access throughout a round of golf. Typically, the rearward portion of the golf car defines a golf bag carrier area that supports the golf bag or bags in a centrally upright orientation. In some golf car arrangements, a sand container such as a bucket or bottle may be retained near the golf bag carrier area, or elsewhere on the golf car. The sand container may include grass seed for applying to areas of damaged turf such as after a golf shot.
In one arrangement, a bucket may have a closeable lid and a removable scoop. In other arrangements, a sand bottle may be selectively retained in a vertical orientation by a mounting bracket. Typically such mounting brackets may surround the bottle entirely in an installed position such that it is difficult to access how much sand is available in the bottle. In addition, typically the sand bottle may be placed into the installed position simply by dropping the bottle vertically until a bottom portion lands on a horizontal platform of the bracket. As such, there is no gripping or locking action between the bottle and the bracket when placed in the installed position. In this way, there is no perceived feedback to the user that the bottle has been sufficiently retained by the bracket.
A sand bottle assembly on a golf car includes a bottle and a mounting bracket. The bottle is defined by a longitudinal hollow body having a bottom portion and a top portion. The hollow body defines a vertical axis. A spout is formed at the top portion and is adapted to dispense sand contained in the hollow body. An extension portion is disposed along a sidewall of the hollow body. The extension portion includes a raised sidewall portion. The mounting bracket is adapted to be connected to the golf car and matingly receive the extension portion of the bottle in an installed position. The mounting bracket defines an engaging portion adapted to engage and retain the raised sidewall of the extension portion in a secure position along the vertical axis in the installed position.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the various embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
With initial reference to
With continued reference to
With specific reference now to
The raised sidewall 48 is further defined by a leading edge 54 and a trailing edge 56 (
With reference now to all the FIGS., the mounting bracket 14 will now be described. The mounting bracket 14 generally includes a receiving slot 58, a lower platform 60, an upper retaining ring 62 and a lower retaining ring 64. The receiving slot 58 generally defines a u-channel 66. The u-channel 66 includes a pair of opposing annular sections 68. The upper retaining ring 62 connects on opposite ends to the opposing annular sections 68. The lower retaining ring 64 connects on a lower edge 70 to a platform 72. A second engaging portion 80 is defined by an annular protrusion 82 formed around the annular sections 68. The annular protrusion 82 is further defined by an outboard radial surface 84 and an inboard radial surface 86. The mounting bracket 14 may be formed of a rigid material such as metal or polypropylene for example.
As will be described, the second engaging portion 80 of the mounting bracket 14 selectively mates with the first engaging portion 50 (raised sidewall 48) of the bottle 12 to retain the bottle 12 into the installed position. With specific reference to
Next, the sand bottle 12 is advanced vertically downwardly such that the bottom portion 20 is received by the upper ring 62. The sand bottle 12 is then progressively advanced downwardly until the raised sidewall 48 of the longitudinal member 46 is captured under the annular protrusion 82 of the mounting bracket 14. More specifically, the leading edge 54 of the raised sidewall 48 initially engages the outboard radial surface 84 of the annular protrusion 82. As the bottle 12 is advanced downward, the annular protrusion 82 may deflect slightly outward as the raised sidewall 48 advances therealong (
To remove the sand bottle 12 from the mounting bracket 14, the bottle 12 is advanced upwardly such that the raised sidewall 48 may pass over the annular protrusion 82 of the mounting bracket 14. The bottle 12 is then further advanced upwardly until the bottom portion 20 clears the upper ring 62 of the bracket 14.
Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms. For example, while the first and second engaging portions have been described as a raised sidewall and an annular protrusion, respectively, other configurations are contemplated for attaining an interference fit between the bottle and the mounting bracket. Furthermore, while the first engaging portion has been described as part of the longitudinal member and the second engaging portion has been described as part of the u-channel, it is appreciated that they may be formed elsewhere on the bottle and bracket. For example, the raised sidewall may be formed entirely on the hollow body and the annular protrusion formed entirely on one of the rings. In such an example, the longitudinal member and u-channel may be excluded from the assembly. Therefore, while this invention has been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.
