U.S. patent application number 12/372284 was filed with the patent office on 2009-06-18 for sand bottle handle and mounting feature.
This patent application is currently assigned to Textron Inc.. Invention is credited to Richard Krall.
Application Number | 20090152425 12/372284 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38255165 |
Filed Date | 2009-06-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090152425 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Krall; Richard |
June 18, 2009 |
SAND BOTTLE HANDLE AND MOUNTING FEATURE
Abstract
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.
Inventors: |
Krall; Richard; (Augusta,
GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARNESS, DICKEY & PIERCE, P.L.C.
P.O. BOX 828
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
MI
48303
US
|
Assignee: |
Textron Inc.
Providence
RI
|
Family ID: |
38255165 |
Appl. No.: |
12/372284 |
Filed: |
February 17, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11373874 |
Mar 10, 2006 |
7490805 |
|
|
12372284 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
248/311.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2225/682 20130101;
B62K 2005/002 20130101; Y10T 16/44 20150115; A63B 57/50
20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/311.2 |
International
Class: |
A47B 96/06 20060101
A47B096/06 |
Claims
1. A sand bottle assembly on a golf car comprising: a bottle
defined by a longitudinal hollow body having an outer periphery,
the bottle defining an opening formed thereon, the bottle having an
extension portion extending parallel to the longitudinal hollow
body and outside of the outer periphery, the extension portion
defining a cavity for receiving sand; a first engaging portion
defined on the bottle; a mounting bracket adapted to be connected
to the golf car and receive the bottle in an installed position;
and a second engaging portion defined on the mounting bracket
adapted to slidably receive and retain the first engaging portion
of the bottle in an interference fit.
2. The sand bottle assembly of claim 1 wherein the second engaging
portion includes an annular protrusion on the mounting bracket.
3. The sand bottle assembly of claim 2 wherein the first engaging
portion includes a raised sidewall extending generally transverse
to a longitudinal axis of the hollow body and extending beyond the
outer periphery of the longitudinal hollow body, the raised
sidewall having a leading and trailing edge, wherein the raised
sidewall urges the annular protrusion outwardly during advancement
of the bottle to the installed position.
4. The sand bottle of claim 3 wherein the annular protrusion of the
mounting bracket contacts the trailing edge in the installed
position.
5. A sand bottle assembly on a golf car comprising: a bottle
defined by a longitudinal hollow body having an opening formed
thereon; an extension portion defining a longitudinal member
extending generally parallel to an axis defined by the longitudinal
hollow body of the bottle, the longitudinal member extending from a
first end to a second end; a raised sidewall portion that extends
beyond the longitudinal hollow body; a mounting bracket adapted to
be connected to the golf car and receive the bottle in an installed
position; and an engaging portion formed on the mounting bracket
adapted to engage and bottle in a secure position.
6. The sand bottle assembly of claim 5 wherein the raised sidewall
portion creates an interference fit with the engaging portion of
the mounting bracket in the installed position.
7. The sand bottle of claim 6 wherein the raised sidewall defines a
leading edge and a trailing edge and wherein the engaging portion
of the mounting bracket contacts the trailing edge in the installed
position.
8. A sand bottle assembly on a golf car comprising: a bottle
defined by a longitudinal hollow body having a bottom portion and a
top portion, the longitudinal hollow body defining a vertical axis;
a spout formed at the top portion and adapted to dispense sand
contained in the hollow body; an extension portion disposed along a
sidewall of the hollow body and defining a longitudinal member
extending generally parallel to the vertical axis, the longitudinal
member extending from a sloped section formed at a first end to a
second end, the extension portion having an engaging portion; and a
mounting bracket adapted to be connected to the golf car and
matingly receive the engaging portion of the bottle in an installed
position, wherein the mounting bracket defines an annular
protrusion adapted to engage and retain the engaging portion of the
extension portion in a secure position along the vertical axis in
the installed position, the mounting bracket including an upper
ring surrounding the upper portion of the bottle in the installed
position and a lower ring surrounding the bottom portion of the
bottle in the installed position.
9. The sand bottle of claim 8 wherein the longitudinal member
generally defines a radial profile in a plane transverse to the
vertical axis.
10. The sand bottle of claim 9 wherein the longitudinal member
extends from a first end at an upper portion of the bottle to a
second end at an intermediate portion of the bottle, wherein the
second end of the longitudinal member is offset from the bottom
portion of the bottle.
11. The sand bottle of claim 10 wherein the engaging portion
includes a raised sidewall portion that is formed at the second end
of the longitudinal member.
12. The sand bottle of claim 11 wherein the raised sidewall portion
creates an interference fit with the engaging portion of the
mounting bracket in the installed position.
13. The sand bottle of claim 12 wherein the raised sidewall portion
defines a leading edge and a trailing edge and wherein the engaging
portion of the mounting bracket contacts the trailing edge in the
installed position.
14. The sand bottle of claim 13 wherein the mounting bracket
generally defines a u-channel and wherein the annular protrusion is
formed thereon.
15. The sand bottle of claim 12 wherein the mounting bracket is
operable to slidably receive the raised sidewall portion in a
secure position as the bottle is advanced in a direction along the
vertical axis.
16. The sand bottle assembly of claim 11 wherein the raised
sidewall portion defines a first width and the engaging portion
defines a second width, the first width being greater than the
second width while the bottle is retained in the secure position.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/373,874, filed on Mar. 10, 2006. The entire
disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by
reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to golf cars and more
specifically to a sand bottle mounting arrangement on a golf
car.
BACKGROUND
[0003] 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.
[0004] 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.
SUMMARY
[0005] 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.
[0006] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure
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 disclosure, are intended for purposes of illustration only and
are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The present disclosure will become more fully understood
from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sand bottle assembly
according to the present teachings;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a sand bottle and bracket of
the assembly shown in FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2
illustrating the bottle moving toward an installed position;
[0011] FIG. 4 is the sectional view of FIG. 3 shown with the
bracket deflecting outwardly to accept the bottle as the bottle is
advanced toward an installed position; and
[0012] FIG. 5 is the sectional view of FIG. 3 shown with the bottle
retained by the bracket in an installed position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The following description of the various embodiments is
merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the
disclosure, its application, or uses.
[0014] With initial reference to FIG. 1, a sand bottle assembly is
shown and generally identified at reference numeral 10. The sand
bottle assembly 10 includes a sand bottle 12 and a mounting bracket
14. The mounting bracket 14 may be mounted vertically in a secure
position to a vehicle such as a golf car (not shown). As will be
described in greater detail herein, the sand bottle 12 and mounting
bracket 14 according to various embodiments each have cooperating
features allowing the sand bottle 12 to be matingly received by the
mounting bracket 14 in a secure installed position.
[0015] With continued reference to FIG. 1 and further reference to
FIG. 2, the sand bottle 12 will be described in greater detail. The
sand bottle 12 is generally defined by a longitudinal hollow body
18 having a bottom portion 20, an intermediate portion 22, and a
top portion 24. The bottom portion 20 includes a bottom surface 26.
The top portion 24 includes an annular shoulder portion 30 leading
to a neck portion 32. In one embodiment, the top portion 24 may be
removed from the rest of the sand bottle 12 to empty or refill the
contents of the sand bottle 12. The neck portion 32 terminates at
an opening defining a spout 36. The spout 36 can be generally
oriented at a right angle with respect to the hollow body 18 of the
bottle 12. It is appreciated that the shoulder portion 30 and/or
spout 36 may be oriented differently.
[0016] With specific reference now to FIG. 2, an extension portion
38 is formed along a sidewall 40 of the hollow body 18. The
extension portion 38 extends from a first end 42 to a second end 44
defining a longitudinal member 46. The longitudinal member 46 may
define a radial profile in the longitudinal plane from the first
end 42 to the second end 44. The extension portion includes a
raised sidewall 48. As used herein, the raised sidewall 48 may be
referred to as a first engaging portion 50 for cooperating with the
mounting bracket 14 in an installed position. The first end 42
includes a generally sloped section 52 leading from the annular
shoulder portion 30 to the extension portion 38. As depicted in the
drawings, the raised sidewall 48 is formed at the second end
44.
[0017] The raised sidewall 48 is further defined by a leading edge
54 and a trailing edge 56 (FIGS. 3 and 4). It is appreciated that
the raised sidewall 48 may be formed elsewhere on the extension
portion 38. Furthermore, while the raised sidewall 48 is
illustrated as a continuous section of the longitudinal member 46
(FIGS. 3 and 4), the raised sidewall 48 may alternatively comprise
a separate component suitably attached to the longitudinal member
46. The sand bottle 12 may be formed of a rigid lightweight
material such as, but not limited to, polypropylene.
[0018] 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.
[0019] 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
FIGS. 3-5, installation of the bottle 12 in the bracket 14 will now
be described. At the outset, the bottom portion 20 of the sand
bottle 12 is substantially aligned to be received by the upper
retaining ring 62. Concurrently, the sand bottle 12 can be rotated
around its vertical axis such that the extension portion 38 is
substantially aligned to be received by the u-channel 66 of the
mounting bracket 14. As a result, the orientation of the sand
bottle 12 relative to the mounting bracket 14 may substantially
resemble the configuration shown in FIG. 2.
[0020] 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 (FIG. 4). In some embodiments, the raised
sidewall 48 alone, or alternatively, both of the annular protrusion
82 and the raised sidewall 48 may deflect slightly (the raised
sidewall 48 deflecting inwardly) to allow the raised sidewall 48 to
pass under the annular protrusion 82 (FIG. 5). A secure installed
position is attained when the trailing edge 56 of the raised
sidewall 48 is captured by the inboard radial surface 80 of the
engaging portion 82. The raised sidewall 48 of the bottle 12 and
the annular protrusion 82 of the mounting bracket 14 define an
interference fit in the installed position (FIG. 5). It is
appreciated that advancing the bottle 12 into the installed
position may provide feedback to the user during interaction
between the respective first and second engaging portions 50, 80.
In this way, the arrangement can provide positive feedback that the
bottle 12 has been secured to the mounting bracket 14 in the
installed position. As best illustrated in FIGS. 2-5, the raised
sidewall 48 formed at the second end 44 of the extension portion 38
is offset from the bottom surface 26 of the bottle 12. As a result,
the extension portion 38 is laterally spaced upward from the
platform 72 in the installed position (FIG. 5).
[0021] 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.
[0022] Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the
foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present
disclosure 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 disclosure has been described
in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of
the disclosure 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.
* * * * *