Most golf bags may be in the form of a tubular fabric or leather container having a generally cylindrical configuration with a closed bottom end and an open top end through which golf clubs are inserted into and removed from the golf bag. Although golf bags are manufactured in a variety of sizes and materials so as to better suit various intended uses, golf bags are conventionally grouped into two basic classes. The first class of golf bags are relatively larger and heavier golf bags designed to be carried by a pull cart or transported by a golf cart, while the second class of golf club bags are generally smaller and lighter golf bags designed to be carried by the individual during play.
The second class of golf bags are usually referred to as “carry bags” which are carried by the individual using a carrying strap that may be used to lift and carry the golf bag. Many of these types of carry bags have an extensible bag stand devised for supporting the golf bag in a substantially upright angular position whenever the individual sets down the golf bag on a surface. A widely used and well known extensible golf bag stand has been devised for demountable attachment to the side of golf bags and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,235 which describes a golf bag stand having a pair of legs with one end pivotally attached to one portion of the golf bag and another end engaged to a retraction mechanism. The retraction mechanism is configured to operate with a toggle mechanism that causes the retraction mechanism to retract and collapse the pair of legs from a deployed position to a retracted position whenever the golf bag is lifted and carried by the individual. In addition, such carry bags having an extensible bag stand may include a stabilization system that allows the closed bottom end of the golf bag to remain substantially flat and along the same plane when the golf bag is placed from a substantially upright position when initially placed on a surface to a substantially upright angled position after the pair of legs of the extensible bag stand have been deployed. Known stabilization systems that allow the closed bottom end of the golf bag to remain on the same plane between the substantially upright position to the substantially upright angled position may include a bottom portion disposed adjacent or proximate to the closed bottom end of the golf bag and an top portion disposed adjacent or proximate to the open top end of the golf bag. The stabilization system further includes a flexible stay having a first end engaged to the top portion and a second end disposed within a pocket formed by the fabric of the golf bag adjacent or proximate to the bottom portion located along the closed bottom end of the golf bag. In addition, the stabilization system allows the closed bottom end of the golf bag to flex slightly when the golf bag is placed on a surface and the extensible bag stand is deployed such that the golf bag assumes a substantially upright angled position. However, the flexible stay can become loose or disengaged from the fabric pocket at times, which can require the individual to take the time to adjust or reinsert the flexible stay back into the fabric pocket.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the various views of the drawings. The headings used in the figures do not limit the scope of the claims.
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USPTO Backgrounds