Patent Application
20200338380
The present invention is in the field of trampoline panel systems.
A variety of different angled trampolines have been created in the past. For example, as seen in United States patent publication 2013/0310223 inventor Canales, entitled Half-Pipe Trampoline published Nov. 21, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a trampoline has angled surfaces. Also as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 9,446,274, same inventor Samuel Chen invented a Trampoline Court With Pulldown Springs, issued Sep. 20, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
A variety of different elastic cords have been developed for providing elastic coupling. For example, an elastic cord construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,794 entitled A Reinforced Bungee Cord Tiedown by inventor Mc Coy, issued Jan. 18, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
An angled trampoline panel system includes a trampoline bed including a middle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angled bed is mounted at an angle to the middle bed. A right lower frame horizontal member has a right frame footing extending from and supporting the right angled bed. A right pulldown frame footing supports the right angle bed and the middle bed. A left pulldown frame footing supports the middle bed. A pulldown panel net is formed between the trampoline bed and the right pulldown frame footing. The pulldown panel net demarcates the middle bed from the right angle bed. The pulldown panel net further has an elastic cord attached to the right lower frame horizontal member.
The pulldown panel net also has a tab loop attached to the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed and a tension rod. The tab loop receives the tension rod, so that the tension rod and tab loop form an upper loop.
The tension rod can be formed in sections that overlie and overlap each other. The tension rod includes a first tension rod section that is overlaid with a second tension rod section. The first tension rod section can be laid adjacent to and parallel to a second tension rod section so that the first tension rod and the second tension rod have same height.
The elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has an opening revealing a socket for receiving the cord end. The cord end socket is a plastic barrel shaped member. The elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding. The cord molding has a hook configured to fit through the loop opening.
The pulldown panel net should have a series of tab loops attached to the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed. The series of tab loops are linearly arranged. The series of tab loops receives the tension rod. The tension rod and series of tab loops form a series of upper loops. The right lower frame horizontal member also has a series of lower loops. The series of lower loops has a series of lower loop openings. The series of lower loops is offset to the series of upper loops. The elastic cord is mounted in a zigzag alternating pattern between the series of lower loops and the series of upper loops.
The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide in referencing the element numbers of the drawings.
As seen in
As seen in
The loop tab 48 is preferably a fabric loop having a loop opening for receiving the tension rod 46. The tension rod 46 slides through each successive loop tab beginning from an end of the pulldown panel net 40. The loop tab 48 defines an upper boundary of the pulldown panel net 40. An upper loop 47 is formed between the tension rod 46 and the trampoline bed such as a right angle bed 10. The upper loop 47 receives successive windings of the elastic cord 50. As a user passes the elastic cord through the upper loop 47, the user then passes the elastic cord 50 through a lower loop 45. The user alternates between engaging the upper loop 47 and the lower loop 45 to form a zigzag alternating profile. The lower loop 45 can be a metal link welded to the lower frame horizontal member 43.
The lower frame vertical member 44 extends from the lower frame horizontal member 43. The lower frame horizontal member 43 can form the right pull down frame footing 42. A similar structure can be implemented with the left pulldown frame footing 41 having a lower frame horizontal member 43. The lower frame vertical member 44 extends upwardly at an angle to form a plane with the lower frame horizontal member 43. The pulldown panel net 40 preferably is aligned to the plane formed between the lower frame vertical member 44 and the lower frame horizontal member 43.
As seen in
The tension rod can be formed in a pair of sections that overlie each other. For example, a first tension rod section 55 can be overlaid with a second tension rod section 56 to provide a less stiff response. When the first tension rod section 55 is laid parallel to the second tension rod section 56, preferably, the first tension rod section 55 is adjacent to the second tension rod section 56 so that they are at the same height. The tab loops 48 can be rectangular shaped to have a fabric sleeve structure for retaining portions of the tension rod 46 which can be made in multiple sections. The sections of the tension rod 46 are preferably several meters in length.
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The elastic cord 50 is also called bungee cord or shock cord and may have a rubber core with a sheathing. The elastic cord 50 can stretch to 100% of original length. The single elastic cord 50 can be long enough to comprise the entire elastic panel. Alternatively, the elastic cord 50 can be implemented in multiple sections such as four sections, each with three to five spans from the trampoline bed to the right or left pulldown frame footings. The angle of the elastic cord is preferably between 5 to 25 degrees.
