Golf bag with pivoting hinge for carry strap

Abstract

A pivoting hinge assembly for a golf bag has a rotable arm connected to a boss on the diver, and a cam mechanism that moves between a deployed and a stowed state. A carry strap has opposite ends attached to the rotable arm and the flat. When the cam engages the first detent, the carry strap is placed in a deployed state in which it protrudes away from the bag to facilitate grasping when the bag is placed on the ground. When the cam engages the second detent, the carry strap is placed in a stowed state wherein the carry strap nests with the bag, creating a compact footprint that facilitates stowing.

1 . A golf bag, comprising;
 a base, a flat, a divider, and a pivoting hinge assembly;
 the pivoting hinge assembly comprises: 
 a boss coupled to the divider comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, an arcuate surface extending between the top surface and the bottom surface, a boss aperture that extends from a boss first end to a boss second end, a first indent in the arcuate surface, and a second indent in the bottom surface; 
 an arm rotatably coupled to the boss having a first bracket with a first hole, a second bracket with a second hole, and a cross support extending between the first bracket and the second bracket and comprising a cam, and a tongue coupled to the cross support;
 wherein the cam is configured to mechanically engage the first indent in a deployed state and the second indent in a stowed state; and 
 
 a carry strap having a first end coupled to the tongue and a second end coupled to the flat, wherein the carry strap has a stowed state when the cam engages the first detent and a deployed state when the cam engages the second detent. 
   
     
     
         2 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , further comprising a pin coupling the arm to the boss, wherein the tongue is coupled to the first end of the carry strap. 
     
     
         3 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the first indent is positioned on the boss such that when the cam engages the first indent, the tongue creates about a 90 degree angle with the flat. 
     
     
         4 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the second indent is positioned on the boss such that when the cam engages the second indent, the tongue is approximately parallel with the flat. 
     
     
         5 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the first end of the carry strap is coupled to the tongue by stitching. 
     
     
         6 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the boss is integrally formed with the divider. 
     
     
         7 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue comprises a tongue length measured in a vertical direction from a tongue bottom end to a togue top end. 
     
     
         8 . The golf bag of  claim 7 , wherein the tongue length is between 2.0 and 10.0 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the boss comprises a boss length defined as the distance from the boss first end to the boss second end. 
     
     
         10 . The golf bag of  claim 8 , wherein the boss length is between 1.0 and 3.5 inches. 
     
     
         11 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , wherein the first indent comprises a first sloped contour including a first central region that forms a first concave depression configured to receive and form a first friction fit with the cam. 
     
     
         12 . The golf bag of  claim 11 , wherein the second indent comprises a second sloped contour including a second central region that forms a second concave depression configured to receive and form a second friction fit with the cam. 
     
     
         13 . The golf bag of  claim 12 , wherein the cam comprises a complimentary cylindrical mating geometry that aligns with the sloped contours of the first indent and the second indent. 
     
     
         14 . The golf bag of  claim 13 , wherein the cam mechanically couples with each of the first and second indents. 
     
     
         15 . The golf bag of  claim 1 , further comprising having a handle having a handle first end fixed to the flat and a handle second end slidably coupled to the flat. 
     
     
         16 . The golf bag of  claim 15 , wherein the handle is aligned with the carry strap such that the carry strap in the stowed state, closely overlies the handle.