The present disclosure is generally related to a universal golf cart windshield assembly.
Golf carts are motorized vehicles that are most often used by golfers when playing a round of golf. Although golf is generally played in favorable weather conditions, there are instances when additional protection from cold weather, wind or rain is needed to the occupants of the golf cart. The additional protection may be provided through the use of a windshield on the front of the golf cart. Prior art windshields for golf carts have included two panels where the top panel is adapted to open by folding down over the lower panel to provide an open area at the front of the golf cart. However, a shortcoming of the prior art golf cart windshields is the inability to easily and effectively secure the upper panel when in an open position and folded down over the lower panel. Most windshields cannot be opened or closed from inside the golf cart. You must exit the car to open or close the windshield. Current windshields use rubber clips that over time get hard and crack rendering them inoperable. Current windshields typically have a PVC hinge connecting the top and the bottom. These hinges by nature turn yellow obstructing the view from the golf cart.
Other prior art windshields are designed to be completely removed from the golf cart or are required to be stored on the roof portion of the golf cart. Thereby, making such prior art windshields inconvenient and cumbersome to maneuver. None of the prior art golf cart windshields have the ability to be adjusted to provide an opening of variable height or to accommodate various widths and configurations of vertical supports that are used to secure the windshield to the golf cart.
It is, therefore, to the effective resolution of the aforementioned problems and shortcomings of the prior art that the present invention is directed.
However, in view of the prior art at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.
In a particular embodiment, a universal golf cart windshield assembly is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the assembly includes a pair of elongated rails and a bracket secured to each rail, where each bracket is configured to clamp over a vertical support member of a golf cart. A longitudinal slot is disposed on each rail and a flange is joined along a longitudinal edge of the longitudinal slot and extends generally at a right angle to the slot. A plurality of apertures are disposed on the flange of each rail. The assembly also includes a lower windshield pane and an upper windshield pane, where opposing edges of the upper windshield pane are slidingly engaged with the respective longitudinal slot of each rail. In addition, the assembly also includes a spring loaded latch secured to the upper windshield pane, where the pin is adapted to engage a desired aperture of the flange to restrain the upper windshield pane in a desired vertical position.
One particular advantage provided by embodiments of the universal golf cart windshield assembly is the ability to vertical adjust the opening in the windshield. This is particularly advantageous to open the windshield to provide additional breeze to the occupants of the golf cart and to easily and conveniently close the opening in cooler or less favorable weather conditions. In addition, the brackets that attach the rails to the golf cart are adjustable to various widths of vertical supports and also can rotate to accommodate various angles of the vertical supports. The upper windshield pane can be raised and lowered to the desired position with only one hand from inside the golf cart. Further, the construction of typical golf cart windshields required the replacement of the entire assembly should the top or bottom pane be damages. In contrast, the universal golf cart windshield assembly is fabricated such that an individual part may be replaced without replacing the entire windshield assembly.
Other aspects, advantages, and features of the present disclosure will become apparent after review of the entire application, including the following sections: Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description, and the Claims.
Referring to
The first elongated rail 102 is configured to be secured to a first vertical support member 142 of a golf cart 140 and the second elongated rail 104 is configured to be secured to a second vertical support member 144 of the golf cart 140. Brackets 114 are used to secure the windshield assembly 100 to the golf cart 140.
The elongated rails 102, 104 may generally be square or any other shape, where the elongated rails 102, 104 are configured to fit adjacent to the vertical support member 142, 144 of the golf cart 140. The windshield panes 106, 108 are easily replaceable if damaged because they require no glue in contrast to prior art windshield assemblies.
Referring now to
The lower windshield pane 106 is secured to the elongated rails using fastening means 116, which can include bolts, screws, or adhesive, for example. The lower windshield pane 106 may have horizontally disposed slots so that the lower windshield pane 106 can be secured between vertical support members 142, 144 of various golf carts that have varying dimensions.
The brackets 114 are used to removably secure the windshield assembly 100 to the golf cart 140. The brackets 114 may have a square, round or other shaped interior surface to fit around the vertical support members 142, 144. The brackets 114 slip over the vertical support members 142, 144 and then can be adjusted to clamp the windshield assembly 100 firmly in place.
A partial view of the elongated rail 104 is shown in
The upper windshield pane 108 is restrained in the desired vertical position using the spring loaded latches 110, 112, which engage apertures 122 disposed on a flange 124 of the elongated rails 102, 104. The flange 124 is orientated generally perpendicular to the upper windshield pane 108. The spring loaded latches 110, 112 are reciprocally movable between a first engaged position and a second retracted position using a finger hold 132. The apertures 122 may have a triangular contour, for example, so that an end 130 of the spring loaded latch 112 can more easily find and seat into the desired aperture 122 as the upper windshield pane 108 is moved up or down. For example, the user can move the upper windshield pane 108 upwards from one aperture 122 to the next and the sloping upper edge of the aperture 122 will cause the end 130 of the spring loaded latch 112 to move inward and release. When the upper windshield pane 108 is moved downward, the shape of the aperture 122 will grab the end 130 of the spring loaded latch 112, and secure the upper windshield pane 108 at the desired vertical location. In addition, the apertures 122 along the flange 124 may be any number and any spacing desired to accommodate the vertically adjustable upper windshield pane 108.
Referring now to
Referring now to
An exploded perspective view of the windshield assembly is shown in
As best illustrated in
The overlap between the upper windshield pane 108 and lower windshield pane 106 is clearly visible. The upper windshield pane 108 is restrained in the desired vertical position using the spring loaded latches 110, 112, which engage apertures 122 disposed on a flange 124 of the elongate rails 102, 104. As explained above, the spring loaded latches 110, 112 are reciprocally movable between a first engaged position and a second retracted position. The apertures 122 are configured so that the latches can easily find and seat into the desired aperture 122. The user can allow the windshield pane 108 to slide down from one aperture 122 to the next and the shape of the aperture 122 and the end 130 of the spring loaded latches 110, 112 will grab the respective pin 130 and secure the windshield pane 108.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope possible consistent with the principles and novel features.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4773695 | Jones | Sep 1988 | A |
4792175 | Gerber | Dec 1988 | A |
4819979 | Moglia | Apr 1989 | A |
5192109 | Roberts | Mar 1993 | A |
5195797 | Hobbs | Mar 1993 | A |
5385379 | Heavner | Jan 1995 | A |
5385380 | Heavner | Jan 1995 | A |
5568953 | Showalter | Oct 1996 | A |
5975615 | Showalter | Nov 1999 | A |
6158801 | Tucker | Dec 2000 | A |
6206447 | Nation | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6216714 | Tucker | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6302440 | Goodstein | Oct 2001 | B1 |
RE38272 | Nation | Oct 2003 | E |
6663158 | Showalter | Dec 2003 | B1 |
7311347 | Aller | Dec 2007 | B1 |
8087711 | Mauro | Jan 2012 | B1 |
20050093331 | Moskos | May 2005 | A1 |
20060091089 | Christiansen | May 2006 | A1 |
20060113817 | Gasper | Jun 2006 | A1 |
20080265611 | Flynn | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20090230714 | Reese | Sep 2009 | A1 |
20090278373 | Rouzer | Nov 2009 | A1 |
20100060027 | Marsh | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20110001331 | Hirneise | Jan 2011 | A1 |
20110260019 | Held | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20120098290 | Miller | Apr 2012 | A1 |
20130062905 | Held | Mar 2013 | A1 |
20140203588 | Tyrer | Jul 2014 | A1 |
20150043051 | Woodrow | Feb 2015 | A1 |
20150102630 | Guzzetta | Apr 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20160001639 A1 | Jan 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 14288502 | May 2014 | US |
Child | 14853474 | US |