US2860681A - Bowling bag - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 18, 1958 L. H. LE GOFF BOWLING BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 12, 1957 .Zrbman .H.Le-Gaff INVENTOR.

' 1.. H. LE G OFF Nov. 18, 1958 BOWLING BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1957 .50 man .[i ..L e Goff IN VEN TOR.

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wuuw i NW United States Patent 2,860,681 BOWLING BAG Loman H. Le Golf, Lawrenceville, N. J. Application December 12, 1957, Serial No. 702,358 8 Claims. (Cl. 150-52) This invention relates to hand bags, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a bag of special design and construction for carrying bowling balls and shoes in a more convenient and advantageous manner than has been afiorded by bags of previous types for such purposes.

Certain previous types of bags designed for carrying bowling balls and shoes require that the bowling shoes be crammed into the bag with the bowling ball, which tends not only to distort the shoes, but also to scuff the highly polished surface of the bowling ball. In other previous bags for the purpose mentioned the bag is provided with a compartment in its upper portion for the bowling ball and a separate compartment inthe lower portion of the bag for the bowling shoes.

In my improved bag for carrying a bowling ball and bowling shoes, I have provideda central seat in the bottom of the bag and a stiff, but resilient, flat board extending longitudinally in a plane slightly below that of the upper periphery of the ball and rigidly secured to the end walls of the bag, this board not only forming a compartment above the ball for containing the bowling shoes in undistorted condition but also functions as a spring member for clamping the ball into its seat in the bottom of 'the bag.

This construction provides several distinct advantages over previous bags designed for the purpose mentioned, among them being (1) that the ball compartment being in the bottom portion of the bag and the shoe compartment in the upper portion defines a natural shape for the bag of an attractive design particularly well adapted for convenience in carrying; (2) the complement of the heavier ball in the bottom portion and the lighter shoes in the top portion of the bag places the center of gravity of the load substantially in the natural center of the bag, thus further enhancing the convenience in carrying the bag; and (3) the spring partition member bearing on the ball tends to keep the walls of the bag in a stretched condition and prevents sagging of the walls when the bag is at rest on a floor, this feature being of particular advantage when, for example, a number of the bags are placed together in storage or transportation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a special frame member consisting of a resilient wire within a tubular plastic casing having a continuous radial flange, and with the projecting ends of the wire adapted for insertion in the free ends of the plastic casing in frictional engagement with the body of the wire to form a continuous ring, with the walls of the bag folded over the edges of the flange and secured by U-shaped binding strips stitched through the flange, by means of which two transversely opposed frame members constitute a complete resilient frame for the entire bag.

Other objects and advantages of my improved hand bag will be apparent or pointed out in the following specification in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one embodiment of my improved hand bag;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of one of the frame members, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the frame member partly in section;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section corresponding to Fig. 1 taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, but showing the ball and shoes in elevation;

Fig. 7 is a transverse section corresponding to Fig. 2 taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. l with the ball and shoes shown in elevation;

Fig. 8 is a detail section taken on the line 8-8 0 Fig. l; r

Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of one end of the shoe supporting board or partition;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail section corresponding to the lower right hand corner of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts in the several views, the ernbodiment of my improved hand bag illustrated is designated generally by the numeral 10 and is'constructed upon two transversely opposite, resilient frame members 12 of continuous ring-like formation, each of which comprises a resilient wire 14 inclosed in a tubular plastic casing 16 having a continuous integral, radial flange 18, illustrated in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. In the construction of the bag 10 the casing is cut in two at its free ends so that the free end portions 20 of the wire normally project some distance beyond the adjacent ends of the casing. As shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5 the free ends of the wire are inserted inthe opposed ends of the casing in overlapping.

relation with the main body of the wire until the free ends of the casing abut, as indicated at 22, thereby defining the corners of the bag with a continuous ring. The plastic material of the casing is deformable, as shown in Fig. 4 so that the end portions 20 of the wire 14 can be forced into the casing 16 in overlapping relation with the body portion of the wire 14 and firmly held in frictional engagement therewith.

The walls of the bag 10 consist of four principal sec- I ferent sections in contrasting colors. A relatively thick horizontal supporting board 40 is riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the inside of the bottom 30 and a resilient bowling ball support 42 having a circular cavity 44 is centrally mounted on the board 40 to receive a bowling ball 46. The upper free end portions of the lower intermediate section 28 are overlapped on the lower end portions of the upper intermediate wall section 34 and stitched or otherwise suitably secured thereto.

A stiff, but resilient, board 48 having upturned end porn tions 50 and side portions 51, is secured insidethe overlapping end wall portions in parallel relation with the bottom 30 by means of rivets 52 or other suitable means. I

The normal plane of the bottom surface of the board 48 is, preferably, slightly below the upper periphery of the,

ball 46 so that when the ball is placed in the central cav: ity 44 of the support 42 the central portion of the board 48 will be forced upwardly, thereby placing the ball under slight resilient compression between the board and the support, thus precluding displacement of the ball from the support when the bag is dropped or otherwise subjected to jolting action. It will be observed that .the

cavity 44" is so formed'thatthe'ball rests only 'on its edge..

The board 48 also defines. an upper compartment for containing apair of bowling shoes 54,. which rest upon the top surface of the board; The upper intermediate wall section 34 is split. along its ends and one side asshown at 35 to provide an. opening to the shoe compartment, and a conventional zipper 56 or other suitable fastening means is attached to the edges of the opening for holding the edges in closed relation. Also the lower portion of the frontal wall section 24 is. split in the form of an arch of greater width and height than the diameter of the ball, 46 te enable the ball to be placed in the cavity 44 andremoved therefrom, the split forming a hinged closure 58, which may be provided with a welted edge, and also having a conventional zipper 60- or other suitable fastening means for securing the closure to the opposededge of the arched opening, which also may be welted. The closure 58 may have a frame 62 attached to its outer surface for containing an identification card 64. A pair of handles 66 is attached to the upper outer surfaces of the front and rear wall sections as illustrated. A pair of'separate sheets of fabric 68 may be secured between the floor board 40 and the bottom wall portion 30 to form pockets 69 inside the end walls of the bag. It will be seen that the front and back walls 24 and 26 are spaced apart a suflicient distance so that the ball 46 fits between the walls without stretching them.

The manner in which the wall sections are attached to the resilient frame members 12 is illustrated in enlarged detail in Figs. 3, and 11. As shown in Fig. 3 the edges of the front and end sections 24 and 28 are infolded into overlapping relation with one of the sides of] the flange 18 and the intermediate section 28 is infolded into overlapping relation with the opposite side of the flange 18. The ends of the two sections are then inclosed by a U-shaped binding strip 70 and secured thereto by stitching therethrough. as shown at 72. However, the sheets forming the bag walls and the binding strips may be made of a material which can be attached together by thermal sealing, or other suitable means. It will be observed that the angle of the axis of the strip 70 when disposed as shown in section in Fig. 3' merges into vertical portions 74 extending along the front and rear sections 24 and 26, the construction being the same at both front and rear, and the change of angle of the strip is rendered possible due to the deformability of the frame members 12. As shown in Fig. 10 the flanges 18 at the lower corners. of the bag are parallel with the front and rear sections. Otherwise the manner of attachment of these sections and the bottom wall 30 to the frame memhers is. the same as above described. As shown in Fig. 11. the upper portions of the frames are twisted so that the flange 18 is disposed horizontally, but otherwise the construction is the same as shown in Figs. 3 and 10. The board 40 is secured to the bottom 30 of the bag by means of rivets 76 which are provided at their lower ends with rounded heads 78 which serve as floor supports for the bag.

It will be seen that in the completed bag the cylindrical portions of the frame members 12 surround the outside corners of the bag in continuous rings, thereby imparting an attractive finish to the bag. Because of the resiliency of the frame members the shoe compartment may easily be opened widely.

Obviously, various changes and modifications of my improved bag construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiment of my invention shown and described is intended to be illustrativeonly, and restricted. by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a bag of "thecla'ss described including side, end, top and bottom walls and a central concave bowling ball support on the inside of said bottom wall, a resilient partition board having upturned end and side portions, fastening means projecting through said portions and the end and side walls of the bag, thereby attaching said board to said walls in a horizontal plane with the plane of its bottom surface. slightly below that of the upper periphery of the ball when in said support, said board forming a shoe compartment in, the upper portion of the bag and also providing means for pressing the ball against said concave support, anopening in the top wall and portions of the end walls to said shoe compartment, an opening in one of said side walls to permit the insertion into and the removal of the ball from said bag, and means for closing each of said openings.

2. A bag of the class described comprising a pair of transversely opposed resilient frame members of continuous ring-like. formation, each including a resilient wire inclosed in a tubular plastic casing having an integral, continuous radial, flange, and in which projecting ends'of the wire are inserted in said casing in overlapping and frictional engagement with the body of the wire'and with the ends of the casing in abutting rela tion to form a continuous ring-like frame, flexible sheets attached to said radial flanges by means of U-shaped binding strips inclosing infolded edge portions of adja cent sheets and the flanges, to form side, end, top and bottom walls of the bag, a central concave bowling ball support on said bottom wall, a partition board attached at its ends to the end walls of'the bag in a horizontal plane approximately coincidental with the upper periphcry of the ball when in said support, said board forming a-shoe. compartment in the upper portion of the bag, an QP U lg. n th top wa a d p ti of h nd walls to said shoecompartment, an opening in one of said side walls to permit the insertion into and the removal of the ball from said bag and means forclosing each of said openings.

3. A bag of the class described comprising a pair of transversely opposed resilient frame members of con.- tinuous ring-like formation, each including a resilient wire inclosed in a tubular plastic casing having an integral, continuous radial flange, and in which project,- ing ends of the wire are inserted in said casing in over.- lapping and frictional engagement with the body of the wire and with the ends of the casing in abutting relation to form a continuous ring-like frame, a continuous sheet attached to said radial flanges by means of U-shaped binding strips inclosing edge portions of adjacent sheets infolded against opposite sides of the flanges,

to form the bottom and a portion of the end walls of said bag, other sheets attached to said flanges in like manner to form the sides of said bag, another sheet attached in the like manner, to, said flanges and to the aforesaid continuous sheet to form thetop of said bag, a central concave bowling ball support on said bottom wall, a partition board attached at its ends to the end walls of the bag on a horizontal plane approximately coincidental with the upper periphery of the ball when in said support, said board forming a shoe compartment in the upper portion of the bag, an opening in the top wall and portions of the end walls to said shoe compartment, and an opening in one of the side walls to permit the insertion into and the removal of the ball from said bag.

4-. A bag according to claim 2 in which a reinforcing board is interposed between the bottom of the bag and the concave support.

5. A bag according to claim 2 in which infolded'edge portions of the sheets forming the walls of the bag are secured to the radial flanges of the frame members by means of U-shaped binding strips inclosing the flanges and edge portions. and stitched therethrough.

6. A bag according to claim 2 in which said partition board is provided with upturned end and sides and board is resilient and in which the bottom surface of including means for attaching said upturned ends and said board is in a plane slightly below that of the upper sides to the end and side walls of the bag. periphery of the ball when in the support.

7. A bag according to claim 2 in which the sheets 5 References Cited in the file oftthis Patellt forming the walls of the bag are attached to the flanges UNITED STATES PATENTS of the frame members by infolding the edge portions of adjacent sheets against opposite sides of the flanges, 1821806 Home Sept 1931 2,302,802 Roberts Nov. 24, 1942 lncloslng the edge portions of the sheet with U-shaped I binding strips and stitching through said sheets and 10 2463993 Mey-ers 1949 flanges 2,580,958 ROblIlSOll Jan. 1, 1952 2,754,870 Glantz et a1. July 17, 1956 8. A bag according to claim 2 in which the partition

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