The present invention relates to a multifunctional protection system for a sports ground, and in particular to a simple and quick device that is suitable for spreading out a protection cover over a sports ground in order to protect it from bad weather.
Protecting sports grounds is a constant concern and various systems are known in the existing state of the art.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,972 describes the assembly in situ of a covering for sports grounds, consisting in unrolling rolls of sheets of plastic materials that are mounted on spaced vehicles. The axles of the rolls are parallel and offset so that the sheets overlap and can be sealingly joined together as they are unrolled.
Documents EP 0 236 983, EP 0 427 677 and DE 4137295 also disclose various means for rolling and unrolling a protection cover for a sports ground.
In international patent application WO 95/09681, the covering of a sports ground is achieved by an assembly of panels telescopically linked so as to shift from a position covering the surface to a position uncovering it.
International patent application WO 88/05678 discloses an automatic device for covering sports grounds, comprising a series of modular strips that can slide over each other and are operated by a unrolling or rolling means.
Lastly, document WO 99/01187 discloses a motorized device for spreading out a protection cover over a sports ground, that can move across the ground in order to fold or unfold a cover. This motorized device comprises a frame equipped with wheels or rollers and a transmission system for its motion across the sports ground; it also comprises a cover arranged like a accordion in its folded position and a means for spreading out and folding back up the cover synchronously with a transmission system for moving the frame. One of the difficulties encountered with this device lies in the synchronisation of the motion speed of the various attached modular elements of the frame-chest required to cover the entire width of sports grounds. This difficulty is connected to the surface state of the ground which is not even and therefore offers different levels of resistance to the wheels or rollers at different spots and hence does not allow optimum synchronisation when the various bearing elements (attached to each other) are driven by individual motors. Moreover, the guiding ropes in this system are not efficiently collected when the cover is being folded up and the rings or buckles are not efficiently guided to ensure the correct folding of the cover.
The present invention aims to provide a protection system for a sports ground that does not have the drawbacks of the state of the art and that not only allows to spread out a protection cover over a sports ground in the simplest and quickest manner but also allows to fold this cover back up without problems.
The present invention discloses a protection system for a sports ground comprising a frame-chest with a protection cover, said frame being able to move across the entire length of the ground whilst unfolding or folding said protection cover by means of an unfolding and folding mechanism, wherein said frame-chest is connected to a network of cables spread out in advance over the sports ground, said cables being driven by motorized pulleys, in order to ensure the motion of said frame-chest over said sports ground.
According to particular embodiments, the invention comprises one or more of the following features:
The term “cable” in the expression “network of cables” must be interpreted in the widest sense and may of course mean “wire” or even “rope.” The nature of the material used is not relevant as long as sufficient mechanical strength and the result sought are achieved.
The term “cover” should also be understood in the widest sense and as a general covering, it may for example mean “canvas.”
The term “rope” or “guiding rope” is also to be understood in the widest sense and in the system for rolling up the cover by means of the buckles attached to the cover, “rope” may mean “string” or “wire.”
The term “frame-chest” is also to be understood in the widest sense and in fact means that this is a trolley comprising a frame with support axles having wheels and/or rollers and a chest allowing to store the cover.
The present invention discloses a multifunctional protection system for a sports ground, in particular football, rugby and hockey grounds, tennis courts and others, against the risks of bad weather such as torrential rain, long periods of frost or snow, . . . .
The system as in the invention has numerous advantages that are not restricted to the simple protection of sports grounds. Mention may be made of the following elements without restricting the possibilities:
The protection system as in the present invention comprises two essential elements, on the one hand a network of cables 3 that must be spread out by operators on the sports ground and on the other a frame-chest 1 capable of folding and unfolding the cover 2. These cables, to which the frame-chest is attached, will serve to move the frame-chest 1 in the manner of a cable car, which spreads out or folds up the protection cover over the ground. This frame-chest normally comprises several modular elements 22 for covering the entire width of the ground. Each modular element of the frame-chest 1 preferably has a width of from 4 to 10 meters (13.1 feet to 32.8 feet) and preferably from 5 to 8 meters (16.4 feet to 26.2 feet) and, as a particular preference, 6 meters (19.7 feet). For a football ground, twelve 6-meters (19.7 feet) elements will thus be required to achieve a width of 72 meters (236.2 feet) in total. The modular elements 22 will have to move perfectly synchronously to ensure the correct spreading out of the protection cover 2. The elements are connected to each other by linking parts 21 that are shown in
It turned out that equipping each individual element with a motor did not optimally ensure this synchronized motion for the reasons explained above (condition of the ground). To solve this problem, the present invention discloses a network of cables 3, to which the frame-chest 1 is attached, which will drive and guide its various elements like a cable car with motorized pulleys 4 incorporated to the edge of the ground.
Winches 5 are provided along the sides for tidying away at the edge of the ground the relatively heavy cables 3 and they are used to draw in the network of cables 3 and gather it up. These winches 5 can be seen in
On the lower side of the ground are located tanks 6 for the run-off water that would stagnate on the cover. These are intended to take the water from excess rain and may be equipped with a cellar-drainage pump or connected to the drain.
The cover 2 may be made of a single piece or made up of a patchwork of rectangular or square pieces (strips of technical textiles or canvas, of fixed width and continuous length). It is generally translucent and is placed directly on the ground, but it may also be raised if it is intended to blow air under the cover 2. On its lower side, the cover 2 comprises threading buckles 12 for the guiding ropes 11. These buckles 12 allow to create the folds in the canvas/cover 2 when it is being folded up in the frame-chest 1. For a football ground, for example, there will be “x” times 73 buckles under the canvas/cover, (=73 buckles times “x” strips of canvas required to make up the more than 7,000 meters squared (75,347.4 square feet) of a cover to go over a football ground).
The guiding ropes 11 have an important function since they allow the even spreading out of the cover 2 over the entire width of the ground. The guiding ropes 11 are attached to the edge of the ground and when the cover is being spread out over the ground by the motion of the frame-chest 1, they progressively come out of their case 16 where they are retained by a winding spring 18 so as to always have a certain tension, this is achieved like a dog's lead unwinding from its case. If one guiding rope is envisaged per meter of width of a football ground, 73 reels/cases will be required for the 72 meters (236.2 feet) of length of the frame-chest. When the cover is being folded up, the guiding ropes pass through the tubes 17 and are progressively rolled into the reels/cases 16 at the same time as the buckles 12 are threaded into these tubes 17.
In order to fold up the cover 2 when the frame-chest 1 moves, the motorized canvas-nipping rollers 8 start up. The nipping force is adjusted by a traction spring exerting a force on an arm, on which a pressure roller 13 is located. The rollers 8 and 13 are usually equipped with a clinging surface to aid nipping the cover 2. There is usually about one motor 23 per element of the frame-chest 1 for the nipping rollers 8, which are connected to each other by bearings. This can be seen in
When the cover is being folded up, the guiding rope II and the buckles 12 are threaded into or over a threading tube 17. The ropes passing through the tube 17 and the buckles 12 moving to the outside around the tube 17 allow the cover 2 to be folded into a perfect accordion shape in the frame-chest 1. These various functions are shown in
The system of the present invention, and in particular the frame-chest 1, may be equipped with a whole series of options. Besides the advertising function mentioned earlier and shown in
Other options are of course possible such as for example a mechanism 40 that allows to sow grass seeds on the ground (shown schematically at
The frame-chest as in the invention is built as a mechanical device by assembling parts that can easily be replaced in the event of wear. All these elements may easily be removed and reinstalled.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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06447100 | Sep 2006 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/BE2007/000099 | 8/28/2008 | WO | 00 | 2/24/2009 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2008/025104 | 3/6/2008 | WO | A |
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1088407 | Derr | Feb 1914 | A |
1528375 | Hampden et al. | Mar 1925 | A |
1966687 | Scott et al. | Jul 1934 | A |
2578135 | Hoigaard et al. | Dec 1951 | A |
2848233 | Wynn | Aug 1958 | A |
3108804 | Wagner | Oct 1963 | A |
3300211 | Maring | Jan 1967 | A |
3395918 | Scoville | Aug 1968 | A |
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4641600 | Halvorsen | Feb 1987 | A |
6435443 | Lauritzen | Aug 2002 | B1 |
7195572 | Swain | Mar 2007 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
41 37 295 | Apr 1993 | DE |
0 236 983 | Sep 1987 | EP |
0 427 677 | May 1991 | EP |
WO 8805678 | Aug 1988 | WO |
WO 9509681 | Apr 1995 | WO |
WO 9901187 | Jan 1999 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20100004076 A1 | Jan 2010 | US |