U.S. patent application number 09/789584 was filed with the patent office on 2003-04-03 for sports equipment holder.
Invention is credited to Millard, Dave.
Application Number | 20030062328 09/789584 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26880796 |
Filed Date | 2003-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030062328 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Millard, Dave |
April 3, 2003 |
Sports equipment holder
Abstract
The present invention a sports equipment holder comprises a
flexible bag for placement of sports equipment therein; and a
device for releasably attaching said flexible bag to a chain link
wherein said attaching device includes at least one hanger
connected to said flexible bag for releasably latching said sports
equipment holder onto a chain link fence. The attaching device may
also include two hangers connected to said flexible bag for
releasably latching said sports equipment holder onto a chain link
fence. Further the hangers include a top hooked portion for
engagement with a chain link fence. Preferably the flexible bag
includes a left edge and a right edge and said hooks connected to
said bag proximate said left and right edges and a bag opening
proximate a top edge for placing of articles there through.
Inventors: |
Millard, Dave; (Hamilton,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Mark A. Koch
866 Main Street East
Hamilton
ON
L8M 1L9
CA
|
Family ID: |
26880796 |
Appl. No.: |
09/789584 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60185101 |
Feb 25, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
211/85.7 ;
211/87.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2102/18 20151001;
A63B 2209/10 20130101; A63B 2210/50 20130101; A63B 71/0045
20130101; A63B 60/60 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/85.7 ;
211/87.01 |
International
Class: |
A47F 007/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A sports equipment holder comprising: a) a flexible bag for
placement of sports equipment therein; and b) a means for
releasably attaching said flexible bag to a chain link fence.
2. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 1 wherein said
attaching means includes at least one hanger connected to said
flexible bag for releasably latching said sports equipment holder
onto a chain link fence.
3. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 1 wherein said
attaching means includes two hangers connected to said flexible bag
for releasably latching said sports equipment holder onto a chain
link fence.
4. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 3, wherein said
hangers including a top hooked portion for engagement with a chain
link fence.
5. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 4, wherein said
flexible bag including a left edge and a right edge and said hooks
connected to said bag proximate said left and right edges.
6. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 5, wherein said
flexible bag having a bag opening proximate a top edge for placing
of articles there through.
7. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 6, wherein said
flexible bag further including a means for closing said bag
opening.
8. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 7, wherein said
closing means includes a flap for closing said bag opening.
9. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 5, wherein said
hooks further including a bottom hook portion projecting from a
bottom edge of said bag, for hooking of sports equipment
thereon.
10. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 9 further
including a rack spanning across and mounted on said bottom
hooks.
11. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 10, wherein said
rack including apertures for co-operatively receiving said bottom
hooks there through thereby said rack being supported by said
bottom hooks of said hangers.
12. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 11, wherein said
rack including means for releasably fastening sports equipment
items thereon.
13. The sports equipment holder claimed in claim 12, wherein said
fastening means includes flexible ties connected to said rack for
temporarily and releasably tying off sports equipment items.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to apparatus for storing sport
equipment and more particularly the present invention is directed
to a sports equipment holder that is portable, easily assembled,
and disassembled, and is especially well suited for holding sports
equipment such as baseball gloves, baseball bats, safety helmets,
gloves, etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention pertains to a portable sports
equipment holder for temporary storage of baseball equipment and
other sports equipment during competitive games as well as practice
sessions. This particular sports equipment holder is designed to be
hung on to a chain link fence and is adapted for holding balls,
bats, gloves, helmets, shoes, and any other sports equipment that a
player may bring to a playing site. Equipment when not in use at a
playing site is often times strewn along the side lines of the
playing field. Such disorganization is undesirable for a variety of
reasons including misplacing of equipment and potential damage to
the equipment.
[0003] The present invention contemplates a holder to temporarily
store items of sports equipment at the playing or practice site.
For example, when a softball or baseball team assembles to play a
game, a lot of equipment is required including at least one
fielding glove for each player, a number of batting helmets of
different sizes, a large number of bats of various sizes, and a
number of balls. Most amateur ball parks do not have adequate
facilities for temporary and convenient storage of such during
games. Further, it is essential that such storage facility be
capable of keeping equipment in an organized and orderly fashion so
that the players can quickly find the piece of equipment they
require. It is also very important that any such storage system can
be readily assembled and disassembled or taken down because another
team is usually ready to take the field for another game as soon as
one game has concluded. The teams that have just finished a game
must leave the field and the dug-out area as quickly as
possible.
[0004] The present invention can also be used with other outdoor
field sports such as soccer or cricket which requires an outdoor
playing field, and normally has chain link fences in the
vicinity.
THE PRIOR ART
[0005] Different systems of shelves racking and the like have been
developed in the past including some directed to this or a similar
problem. Some of the patents issued in this art are listed
below:
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,244 titled Bat Rack For Chain Link Fence
invented by Larry DeMezna et al. and issued May 6, 1997.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,005 titled Portable Modular Sports
Equipment Rack Specially Suited For Use At Games invented by Robert
S. Hedges and issued Mar. 15, 1994.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,065 titled Baseball Equipment Holder
issued to Donald L. Braaten on Dec. 16, 1986.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,495 titled Portable Sports Equipment
Organizer invented by Ronald Keeley and issued on Mar. 18,
1980.
[0010] The use of a rod, pole or the like to suspend a variety of
hooks has naturally been used and disclosed on some of the above
references mentioned.
[0011] Not shown in the references and discussed here is a Portable
Sports Equipment Holder Specially Adapted to be easily set up and
taken down and put into convenient storage if desired. In addition,
the prior art is expensive to manufacture, difficult to assemble,
and not convenient enough to use and to set up at a particular
playing site.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention a sports equipment holder
comprises
[0013] a) a flexible bag for placement of sports equipment therein;
and
[0014] b) a means for releasably attaching said flexible bag to a
chain link fence.
[0015] Preferably said attaching means includes at least one hanger
connected to said flexible bag for releasably latching said sports
equipment holder onto a chain link fence.
[0016] Preferably said attaching means includes two hangers
connected to said flexible bag for releasably latching said sports
equipment holder onto a chain link fence.
[0017] Preferably said hangers including a top hooked portion for
engagement with a chain link fence.
[0018] Preferably said flexible bag including a left edge and a
right edge and said hooks connected to said bag proximate said left
and right edges.
[0019] Preferably said flexible bag having a bag opening proximate
a top edge for placing of articles there through.
[0020] Preferably said flexible bag further including a means for
closing said bag opening.
[0021] Preferably said closing means includes a flap for closing
said bag opening.
[0022] Preferably said hooks further including a bottom hook
portion projecting from a bottom edge of said bag, for hooking of
sports equipment thereon.
[0023] Preferably further including a rack spanning across and
mounted on said bottom hooks.
[0024] Preferably said rack including apertures for co-operatively
receiving said bottom hooks there through thereby said rack being
supported by said bottom hooks of said hangers.
[0025] Preferably said rack including means for releasably
fastening sports equipment items thereon.
[0026] Preferably said fastening means includes flexible ties
connected to said rack for temporarily and releasably tying off
sports equipment items.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] The invention will now be described by way of example only
with references to the following drawings in which:
[0028] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the present invention a Sports
Equipment Holder shown in FIG. 3.
[0029] FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the Sports Equipment Holder
shown in FIG. 3.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the Sports Equipment
Holder.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the Sports Equipment Holder
shown in FIG. 3.
[0032] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the Sports Equipment
Holder shown the flap in the open position.
[0033] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the Sports Equipment
Holder shown with the flap in the open position.
[0034] FIG. 7 is the side plan view of the hanging member shown in
FIG. 9.
[0035] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the hanging member shown in
FIG. 9.
[0036] FIG. 9 is a front plan view of the hanging member.
[0037] FIG. 10 is a side plan view of the hanging member shown in
FIG. 11.
[0038] FIG. 11 is a side plan view of the hanging member.
[0039] FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the hanging member shown in
FIG. 12.
[0040] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the hanging member.
[0041] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the hanging member.
[0042] FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of the Sports Equipment
Holder shown together with the hanging members.
[0043] FIG. 16 is a rear perspective view of the Sports Equipment
Holder shown together with the hanging members.
[0044] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the Equipment Rack.
[0045] FIG. 18 is a front perspective view of the entire Sports
Equipment Holder assembled together including the hanging members
and the equipment rack.
[0046] FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the Sports Equipment Holder
shown together deployed on a chain link fence and holding some
baseball bats.
[0047] FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of the Sports Equipment
Holder deployed on a chain link fence shown with the flap partially
closed, a logo imprinted on the front of the equipment holder bag,
and two baseball bats shown on the equipment rack.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0048] Definitions:
[0049] "Sports equipment" items include but are not limited to:
bats, sport gloves, sport shoes, mits, sport socks, sport shirts,
helmets and the like.
[0050] The present invention, a Sports Equipment Holder, shown
generally as 30 in FIG. 18 includes the following major components:
flexible bag 32, hangers 34, and rack 36.
[0051] Flexible bag 32 has a front cover 40, a rear cover 42, and
Velcro.TM. tabs 44 attached to both front cover 40 and rear cover
42 in approximate locations as shown in FIG. 18. In addition, front
cover 40 and rear cover 42 also have eyelets 46 defining apertures
through front cover 40 and rear cover 42 as shown in FIG. 18.
[0052] Flexible bag 32 has a right edge 48, a left edge 50, a
bottom edge 52, and a top edge 54 as shown in FIG. 18. Flexible bag
32 has an opening along top edge 54 designated as bag opening 56
wherein articles can be placed where they are disposed between
front cover 40 and rear cover 42 within flexible bag 32.
[0053] In addition, flexible bag 32 has a flap 58 which in effect
is an extension of rear cover 42 beyond top edge 54 such that flap
58 can be curled over and VelcroT.TM. tabs 44, located on rear
cover 42, can then make contact with Velcro.TM. tabs 44 on front
cover 40 thereby locking in place flap 58 over bag opening 56.
[0054] Hangers 34 include an upper curved section shown as top hook
60 and a lower curved section shown as bottom hook 62. Hangers 34
are received through hanger pockets 70 as best shown in FIG. 16 to
removably fasten hangers 34 to flexible bag 32. Hanger pockets 70
are preferably made of the same flexible material as bag 32. Hanger
pockets 70 are strips of material fastened along each of the
longitudinal edges 75 to define longitudinal channels 71 running
parallel and along right edge 48 and left edge 50 of bag 32.
Increasing the width 73 of hanger pockets 70 increases the width of
the longitudinal channel 71 defined by the hanger pocket 70.
[0055] Sports equipment holder 30 further includes rack 36 which
has defined therein hook apertures 64 for receiving there through
bottom hooks 62. In addition, rack 36 also has apertures 67 for
receiving there through ties 66 which have tie locks 68 mounted
thereon for tying off ties 66.
[0056] In use, sports equipment holder 30 is removably attached to
a chain link fence 82 which is best shown in FIGS. 19 and 20.
[0057] In FIG. 19, for example, sports equipment holder 30 is shown
in use in an environment whereby top hooks 60 of hanger 34 are
shown hooked onto a chain link fence 82 which is commonly found at
sports playing sites. FIG. 19 shows a bat 80 attached using ties 66
and tie locks 68 for attaching bats 80 to rack 36. In this way
items are conveniently stored on the sports equipment holder 30 for
use at some future time. Ties 66, which can be any material known
in the art for this type of tie such as braided nylon, cotton
Dacron, or hemp roping, can be suitably used for ties 66. Tie lock
68 are the type known in the art which have a spring biasing
mechanism for locking off and preventing the movement of tie 66
through tie lock 68.
[0058] Referring now to FIG. 20, chain link fence 82 is shown in
dashed lines to indicate to the reader that sports equipment holder
30 is preferably mounted to a chain link fence 82 as shown in FIGS.
19 and 20. Once a player has arrived at a playing site and has
mounted his sports equipment holder 30 via top hook 60 of hanger 34
to an existing chain link fence 82 at a playing site, flap 58 can
be opened in order to allow access through bag opening 56 to
storage compartment 90. Storage compartment 90 is defined on the
front side by front cover 40 and on the rear side by rear cover 42.
Preferably, flexible bag 32 is made of a flexible cloth like
material such as nylon, polyester, canvas, or cotton and is made
from a single rectangular sheet of material which is folded over at
bottom edge 52 as shown in FIG. 18, and is stitched and/or glued
and/or otherwise fastened together at right edge 48 and left edge
50.
[0059] Along top edge 54 the front cover 40 and the rear cover 42
are not attached together allowing the flexible bag 32 to be opened
to provide for bag opening 56 which allows placements of articles
into the storage compartment 90. For example, baseballs, snacks,
glasses, safety glasses, lunches, and any other articles which a
player brings to playing site can be stored within storage
compartment 90.
[0060] Storage compartment 90 is closed off by folding down flap 58
over onto front cover 40 such that Velcro.TM. tabs 44 on rear cover
42 mate with Velcro.TM. tabs 44 on front cover 40 in a male/female
fashion thereby locking and closing off bag opening 56. In
addition, ties 66, passing through eyelets 46 in rear cover 42 and
front cover 40, can be used with a tie lock 68 for additional
closing action of flap 58 over front cover 40.
[0061] As shown in FIG. 20, a team logo 84 can be displayed on the
front cover 40 of flexible bag 32 and other logos such as sponsors
logos and/or other graphics can be displayed on front cover 40 as
well as rear cover 42.
[0062] In addition to bats 80, being releasably attached to and
stored on rack 36, other items such as gloves, helmets, and other
articles can be releasably attached to rack 36 either by using ties
66 as shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 19, or using bottom hooks 62 to
temporarily hook a safety helmet thereon, for example.
[0063] Further, by using flexible material for flexible bag 32, the
sports equipment holder 30 when not in use can be collapsed to a
very small size by removing rack 36 from bottom hooks 62, thereby
enabling one to completely collapse or partially fold-up sports
equipment holder 30 by simply rolling flexible bag 32 into a small
roll shape.
[0064] The user of sports equipment holder 30 can collapse sports
equipment holder 30 in stages, namely: one can leave hanger 34
positioned through hanger pockets 70 and only remove rack 36
thereby collapsing sports equipment holder 30, leaving hangers 34
in place and/or one can completely remove hangers 34 from hanger
pocket 70 and also remove rack 36 from bottom hook 62, and
therefore, collapse and disassemble sports equipment holder 30 into
four discrete components, namely: two hangers, one rack, and one
flexible bag.
[0065] It should be apparent to persons skilled in the art that
various modifications and adaptation of this structure described
above are possible without departure from the spirit of the
invention the scope of which defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *