Carrying Case For Golfers

Abstract

An article adapted to be worn on a trouser or shirt pocket both as a protector for the pocket against wear and soiling, and as a convenient carrying case for golf accessories such as a scorecard, pencil, divot fork, tees, ball markers, and the like. The article comprises a body portion having a compartment for holding a scorecard and pencil, for example, and an accessory supporting portion for holding tees and ball markers. The body portion is adapted to be carried in a pocket of a wearer, while the accessory supporting portion lies on the outside of the pocket.

Description

The present invention relates to an article which functions both as a pocket protector and a carrying case for golf accessories such as a scorecard, pencil, divot fork, tees, ball markers, and the like.

Items such as scorecards, pencils, divot forks, tees and ball markers, more often than not, are carried on the person of a golfer in one or more pockets of his or her wearing apparel. These items invariably are used by a player on every hole in a typical round of golf. During a normal 18 hole round of golf, therefore, a player's hand may come into contact with a trouser or shirt pocket used to hold such items well over 100 times. This repeated contact between the hand of the player and the pocket of the garment, depending upon the color and texture of the fabric from which the garment is made, and depending further upon skin secretions and skin balms, if used, as well as warm and/or humid temperature conditions, can result not only in unsightly soiling or staining of the fabric in and around the pocket, but, also, can result in accelerated deterioration of the fabric, and the concomitant shortening of the useful life of the garment, due to the necessity for cleaning, or washing, the garment after each round of golf.

In accordance with the present invention an article is provided which affords effective protection for a garment on which it is worn while serving as a convenient carrying case for golf accessories of the type mentioned above. The article does not require fastening means to maintain it in position on a garment, and can be worn either on a trouser or shirt pocket, or on the waist band of trousers, or on a belt, to suit the convenience of the wearer. The article supports tees and ball markers, for example, on the outside of the garment on which it is worn, and enables such items to be readily removed, or replaced, as desired without dislodging the article from its position on a garment. The article, furthermore, can be manufactured inexpensively from readily available dirt-, stain- and wear-resistant materials utilizing conventional equipment.

The article of this invention, in brief, comprises a body portion having a front panel and a back panel joined along their opposed margins to form an open topped compartment for holding a scorecard, pencil, divot fork, or the like. The back panel of the body portion advantageously is longer than the front panel thereof to provide an extension which both affords protection for the fabric above the opening of a pocket, for example, and serves as a smooth, low-friction surface which facilitates removal from and replacement of items into the compartment of the body portion. A golf accessory supporting portion is joined to the front panel of the body portion. This portion of the article has openings formed therein for holding items such as tees and ball markers. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the openings in the golf accessory supporting portion comprise laterally spaced pairs of vertically aligned and spaced holes for supporting tees, and a pair of spaced slits which define a backing strip and a pair of tabs or ears which cooperate with a small tab for supporting a ball marker on said portion of the article. In use, the body portion of the article is inserted into a pocket, for instance, of a garment on which the article is worn. The golf accessory supporting portion is adapted to lie on the outside of the pocket. The frictional forces resulting from the contact between the outer surfaces of the body portion and the fabric on the inside of the pocket, and the inner surface of the accessory supporting portion and the fabric on the outside of the pocket, are sufficient to maintain the article in position on the pocket both when golf accessories are being removed from and inserted into the body portion and the accessory supporting portion of the article. The article can be fabricated from a single sheet of a flexible plastic material with, as stated, conventional equipment.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an embodiment of the article of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front elevational view showing said embodiment mounted on a trouser pocket;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of said embodiment taken substantially along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of said embodiment taken substantially along line 4--4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of said embodiment taken substantially along line 5--5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the tabs or ears and backing strip formed by the slits in the golf accessory supporting portion of said embodiment of the article for holding a ball marker.

Referring, now in greater detail to FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawing, the illustrated embodiment of the article, designated generally by reference numeral 10, comprises a body portion 12 and an accessory supporting portion 14 advantageously fabricated of a flexible, soil-, stain- and tear-resistant plastic material such a polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like. The body portion 12 has a front panel 12a and a back panel 12b, and is sealed, as by electronic or heat sealing, along its side margins 12c--12c and its bottom margin 12d to provide an open topped accessory receiving pocket or compartment 16 between the panels 12a and 12b. As shown, the back panel 12b is longer than the front panel 12a to provide an extension 12e which serves as a protective shield for the fabric of a garment above the top of a pocket 20 (see FIG. 2) on which the article 10 is worn, and, in addition, provides a smooth, low-friction surface which facilitates the removal from, and the replacement into, the compartment 16 of items such as a scorecard 22 and a pencil 24, for example.

The portion 14 is in the form of a flap, the upper margin 14a of which is joined to the upper margin 12f of the front panel 12a of the body portion 12. In order to reinforce the bond between the portion 14 and the portion 12, the portion 14 is formed to provide short, side margins 14b-14b which are joined to the side margins 12c--12c of the body portion 12 at the opening of the compartment 16. This arrangement also serves to enhance the holding action of the inner surface of the portion 14 in relation to the fabric on the outside of the pocket 20.

The portion 14 has a plurality of laterally spaced pairs of vertically aligned and spaced openings or holes 30--30 formed therein for receiving and supporting golf tees 32. While a tee 32 can be securely held in one of the holes 30, as best seen in FIG. 3 of the drawing, insertion of the shaft of the tees 32 through both of the vertically aligned openings or holes 30--30 in the flexible portion 14 causes the area 14c thereof, between the openings or holes 30--30, to bulge or curve outwardly. The curvature of the area 14c of the portion 14 has the effect of imparting a somewhat ovate configuration to the openings or holes 30--30 enabling the flexible material from which the portion 14 is fabricated to engage the shaft of each tee 32 in different spaced planes. This distortion of the openings or holes 30--30 enhances the holding action of the flexible material of the portion 14 at the openings or holes 30--30 which is in edge contact with the shaft of each tee 32.

In the preferred embodiment of the article 10 illustrated, the portion 14 has a pair of spaced, angular slits, and a curved slit 35, formed therein. As best seen in FIG. 6 of the drawing, the slits form a pair of tabs or ears 36-36 on each side of a narrow, elongated central backing strip 38. The slit 35 provides a curved tab 39 positioned above and in spaced relation to the ears 36-36 and the strip 38. The ears 36--36 and the strip 38, together with the tab 39, cooperatively support and retain a ball marker 40 on the portion 14. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ears 36--36 overlie a substantial portion of the surface of the marker 40, and the lower edge portion of the marker 40 is wedged between the base of the strip 38 and the lower margins of the slits. The tab 39, in turn, engages the upper edge portion of the marker 40. This arrangement effectively prevents inadvertent dislodgement of the marker 40 from the portion 14 while enabling a player to readily remove the marker from, and replace it on, the portion 14 during play.

While for purposes of illustration a preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, other forms thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to this disclosure and, therefore, it should be understood that any such departures from the specific embodiment shown and described are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An article adapted to be worn on a trouser or shirt pocket both as a protector for the pocket against wear and soiling and as a convenient carrying case for golf accessories such as a scorecard, pencil, divot fork, tees, ball markers, and the like, comprising a body portion having a front panel and a back panel joined along their opposed margins to form an open topped compartment for receiving a scorecard, a pencil, or the like, the back panel being longer than the front panel to provide a protective extension on the body portion, and a golf accessory supporting portion for holding golf tees, ball markers, or the like, joined to the front panel of the body portion along the upper margin thereof, said accessory supporting portion having at least one opening therethrough for engaging the shaft of a golf tee and having spaced slits therein for supporting at least one golf ball marker, the body portion of the article in use being adapted to be inserted into a trouser or shirt pocket and the accessory supporting portion being adapted to lie on the outside of the pocket, the frictional forces resulting from the contact between the outer surfaces of the body portion and the fabric on the inside of the pocket and the inner surface of the accessory supporting portion and the fabric on the outside of the pocket being sufficient to maintain the article in position on a pocket both when golf accessories are being removed from and inserted into the body portion and the accessory supporting portion of the article.

2. An article according to claim 1 wherein the spaced slits form a pair of spaced ears and a backing strip therebetween, said accessory supporting portion being further provided with a curved slit therethrough which forms a tab adjacent to the spaced ears formed by the spaced slits, the tab acting in cooperation with the spaced ears and the backing strip to support and retain a ball marker on the accessory supporting portion.