Playground Equipment

Abstract

First and second frame supports (12, 13) with each including a frame support body (21a, 13a) and a frame support base (12b, 13b). The frame support bodies are substantially A-frames and the frame support bases are substantially C-shaped cylindrical rods connecting to the ends of a respective one of the A-frame frame support bodies (12a, 13a) to form outwardly extending frame support bases. The cross beam (15) sized or extended by addition of extension beam (16) to protrude beyond the connection points (17) and to substantially overly the extension of the frame support base (12b, or 13b). This allows a further swing or climbing means or the like to be connected therebetween. Alterable suspension means (51) includes a cleat plate (53) with a plurality of holes (54) to allow the rope (52) or other elongated flexible cord to be woven through the plurality of the cleat holes (54) to provide a frictional hold of the rope or other elongated flexible cord.

Description

This invention relates to playground equipment and to component parts that can interchangeably form part of the playground equipment or can be separately mounted. The invention particularly relates to a readily do-it-yourself assembly form of playground equipment, which can include a number of swing elements but is not limited to such arrangement.

Playground sets are typically a framework onto which various children's play accessories (e.g., swings, slides, climbing structures, basketball rings, etc.) are secured. The children's accessories are attached to the playground sets in any number of configurations.

Playground sets are commonly sold to consumers as a conglomeration of unassembled parts in order to facilitate packing, shipping and handling. As a result, the ultimate user at the desired location assembles the playground sets. The number, size, and complexity of the parts can make assembly of conventional playground sets extremely cumbersome.

Typical playground sets include one or more horizontal cross-beams that are supported by two spaced support structures. The cross-beams are usually either metal such as tubular metal or wood as a single beam or two parallel interengaging lengths. The support structures can include one or more supports, or legs commonly placed in an A-frame configuration and joined together at the top by the cross beam therebetween. Although playground equipments are known there are a number of inherent problems in their structure.

One of the problems associated with conventional playground sets is that they are not particularly stable and require pegging to retain them in position. However the pegging can work loose upon constant or excessive swinging or the ground might be too soft to provide a strong hold. Although there can be some splaying of opposing A-frame configurations the playground set is not overly safe. In particular, the stability allowed by the amount of splaying is in opposition to the vertical weight supporting strength of the framework. Therefore such a structure cannot allow splaying beyond about a 10 to 15 degree angle.

Children's swings, glide rides, gymnastic rings and the like usually include some kind of a seating platform or holding means suspended by suspension means such as chains, cables, tubes or the like from the horizontal cross beam. The suspension means are invariably connected to the top cross beam or other raised support by means allowing the suspension means to pivot. In one known example, a pair of eye bolts are mounted at spaced-apart locations along the cross beam and the uppermost links of a pair of chains supporting the swing seat are connected to the eye bolts by closed S-hooks. To provide safe connection to the chain the other end of the S-hook is closed around the chain to provide a fixed length. That type of connection is disadvantageous in that the chains cannot be readily adjusted to accommodate different height of children and therefore different height requirements of the swing seat or gymnastic bars. If the S-hooks are not fixed it is a requirement to provide a clip to prevent disengagement of the S-hook from the chain. However such a system allows fingers to be caught in the connection, which can cause serious injury if the chain is supporting the child's weight and the child is swinging.

Another aspect of known playground sets is that the swing seat is generally a planar platform connected between two suspension chains and such an open structure is not suitable for very young children under about two or three years old and needs to be replaced by a swing chair. The consumer usually needs to buy a separate swing chair, which has a seat with supporting back and sides, and often includes a safety strap for strapping in the child. There are a number of problems with such a system. Apart from the consumer clearly needing to purchase two seats within a short time as the child grows out of the swing chair, there is also the problem of siblings of different ages such that a swing seat and a swing chair is required to accommodate both children. To only mount these two articles on playground set does not provide either child with a choice of swing means and loses the interest of playground set.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide improved playground equipment and component parts therefore which overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems of the prior art.

It is also an object of the invention to provide playground set which is substantially more stable than known structures and would only require pegging to the ground as an added precaution.

It is an object of the invention to provide a system, which allows for adjustment of the length of suspended play equipment with such system being easy to assemble and safe in use.

Further it is an object of the invention to provide an improved swing seat chair for use in playground equipment.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel swing means for attachment on playground equipment.

Each aspect of the invention substantially provides at least one of the above objects or at least ameliorates one or more of the problems of the prior art.

In accordance with the invention there is provided playground equipment comprising a frame structure having first and second frame supports arranged in opposing manner and connected at respective upper connecting points to a cross beam from which swing means of various types can be suspended; each of the opposing first and second frame supports including a frame support body and a frame support base; the respective frame support bodies extending substantially in a first plane in a diverging manner from a connecting point to the cross beam; the respective frame support bases extending substantially in a second plane from an outer side of, and at an angle to the first plane of the diverging frame support bodies; wherein the frame support bases respectively extend outwardly of the opposing first and second frame support bodies to provide a stable support of the playground equipment.

The frame support bases can extend from a distal end of the first and second frame support bodies from the connecting point and at an angle to the frame support bodies such that in use a substantial portion of the frame support bases are ground engaging.

The frame support bodies can be substantially A-frame and the frame support bases can be opposing curved cylindrical rods extending from the bottom of each frame support base.

The frame support bases can be a single substantially C-shaped cylindrical rod connecting the ends of a respective one of the A-frame frame support bodies.

The frame support bases can extend outwardly from the from the frame support bodies at a ratio of the extension frame support base to the height of the frame support body of at least 1:5.

It can be seen that the frame structure of the playground equipment provides a substantially more stable structure while maintaining the vertical load bearing capacity of the structure. In particular the frame support bases can provide a large footprint that substantially increases stability of playground equipment.

A further advantage is that the frame support body and frame support base provide a volume that can be used in a number of ways including forming an enclosed tee-pee type tent by extending material between the outer edges of the frame support body and frame support base. Further the volume can be used to mount a net to form a goal for receiving balls kicked or hit into the area.

However a still further advantage occurs when the cross beam is sized or can be extended to extend beyond the connection points to the first or second frame supports to provide a cantilevered suspension arm for suspending a further swing or climbing means or the like. The cross beam can be sized or can be extended to protrude beyond the connection points to the first or second frame supports and to substantially overly the extension of the frame support base and allow a further swing or climbing means or the like to be connected. Such swing or climbing means or the like can be connected at a lower end to the frame support base.

It can be seen that the structure thereby provides an improved playground equipment that can include further swing or climbing means or the like without substantially increasing the load bearing capacity of the cross beam and thereby without requiring larger load bearing piping or the like.

Also the invention provides an alterable suspension means for swing elements or climbing means or the like of playground equipment; the alterable suspension means including a cleat having a plate with a plurality of holes to allow a rope or other elongated flexible cord to be woven through a plurality of said cleat holes to provide a frictional hold of said rope or other elongated flexible cord; and the alterable suspension means further including a closable casing for enclosing the cleat holes; wherein the alterable suspension means is able to receive said rope or other elongated flexible cord and allow a selective suspended length and the alterable suspension means is able to be encased to prevent accidental access.

The cleat can be encased by two mating substantially hemispherical type bodies of circular elliptical or other shape and can be fixed together by detachable fixing means such as screw means or child proof locking catch.

The invention thereby allows selective fixing of adjustable height of swing elements or climbing means or the like to playground equipment by use of the alterable suspension means for each suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord. The children using the swing elements or climbing means or the like of the playground equipment are not able to access the cleat holes and thereby not alter the length or be able to be injured by the mechanism.

The alterable suspension means can further be used as a rope or other elongated flexible cord ending means such that a loose end after fitting around a piece of swing elements or climbing means can be connected back to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord.

Still further the invention provides an alterable swing chair which can be used for playground equipment comprising a substantially planar swing seat that can be suspended by ropes or other elongated flexible cords from playground equipment and used as a swing means; the alterable swing chair further including a swing chair waist means having an encircling structure that can be positioned between the spaced ropes or other elongated flexible cords at a position spaced above the swing seat; and the alterable swing chair further including a cage attachment means extending between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means for forming a cage like structure preventing child under the age of 3 sliding off the swing seat.

The swing chair waist means and rear of the cage attachment means can further include a supporting rear surface for providing at least a partial back support for the child under the age of 3.

The swing chair waist means can include opposing rope receptacles for receiving the ropes or other elongated flexible cords or attachments on the ropes at opposite sides of the swing seat to assist retention of the swing chair waist means in position. The swing chair waist means can further include cage connection means at front and back and spaced from the opposing rope receptacles to further assist retention of the swing chair waist means in position.

The cage attachment means can include a central front narrow element extending between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means and allowing the user of the swing chair to have legs astride either side to provide a caged arrangement preventing the child under the age of 3 sliding off the front of the swing chair. The central front narrow element can connect to the swing chair waist means by the front cage connection means.

In one form of the invention there is provided an alterable swing chair which can be used for playground equipment comprising a swing seat, a swing chair waist means, and an interconnecting cage attachment means wherein the swing seat is able to be suspended by ropes or other elongated flexible cords from the playground equipment; the swing seat being substantially planar and having two spaced holes at either side and parallel grooves extending across the underside of the seat between respective side holes such that ropes or other elongated flexible cords by which the swing seat is suspended enters the side holes and fits within the parallel grooves and connects back to the suspended rope by alterable suspension means having encased cleat means; the swing chair waist means having an encircling structure with a double wall structure which is substantially closed at the top and substantially open at the bottom, and including opposing rope receptacles comprising slits in the outer of the double wall structure to receive the ropes and including shaped side cavities for allowing mounting of the rope receptacles on the encased cleat means which allows positioning of the swing chair waist means between the spaced ropes or other elongated flexible cords at a position spaced above the swing seat; and the cage attachment means including a U shape for extending around the swing seat and between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means for forming a cage like structure preventing child under the age of 3 sliding off the swing seat, the cage attachment having engagement means for engaging the swing seat and having cage connection means for mating with cage connection means on the front and rear of the swing chair waist means.

The invention also provides a method of converting a swing seat suitable for children over 3 years of age to a swing chair suitable for children under 3 years of age the method including the steps of: positioning a substantially rigid swing chair waist means forming a encircling means between opposing ropes, which are suspending a swing seat, by means of providing side rope receptacles on the swing chair waist means able to receive the rope and engage the rope or attachments; connecting a U-shaped cage able to be positioned around the swing seat and connecting to connection means at front and rear of the rigid encircling swing chair waist means to form a cage like swing chair.

The invention further provides a kit for converting a swing seat suitable for children over 3 years of age to a swing chair suitable for children under 3 years of age the kit including: a swing chair waist means having encircling means and side rope connectors able to engage or receive the rope suspending a swing seat and capture the rope or an attachment on the rope; and a U-shaped cage able to be positioned around the swing seat and connect to connection means at front and rear of the rigid encircling swing chair waist means to form a cage like swing chair.

The invention also provides a suspended see-saw which can be used on playground equipment, the suspended see-saw includes a pivot rod able to be fixedly mounted to a cross member of playground equipment and a plurality of opposing suspension bars supporting seat structures at a lower end and mounted at spaced positions at an upper end to the respective ends of each of two spaced see-saw arms which are centrally and pivotally mounted on the pivot rod at spaced positions, whereby the supported seat structures undertake a limited swing and see-saw action.

The limit of the swing and see-saw action can be limited by the lengths of the see-saw arms and their relative spacing.

The two spaced see-saw arms can be substantially parallel and equal length and pivotally mounted at central points to spaced positions on linear pivot rod with suspension bars joined at respective end points of the see-saw arms so as to form a shape between the see-saw arms and suspension bars extending therebetween moving from a rectangular to a trapezoidal shape, which results in opposing C-shape travel of the supported seat structures at the lower end of the suspension bars.

It can be seen that the invention provides a multitude of improvements to playground equipments. In particular the invention provides playground equipment that allows modular creation and expansion of the playground equipment by its inherent design features.

In order that the invention is more readily understood embodiments of the playground equipment and component parts therefore will be described by way of illustration with reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of playground equipment in accordance with the invention having a single first swing means with extension mounted rotating equipment piece;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of playground equipment in accordance with the invention having two equipment pieces being first and second swing means, also with an extension mounted rotating equipment piece;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of playground equipment in accordance with the invention having an altered first swing means also with extension mounted climbing equipment piece from the playground equipment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of playground equipment in accordance with the invention having first, third and fourth three swing means pieces with extension mounted rotating equipment piece and includes a double action mechanism to form a swing see-saw;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second rotating means, which can be incorporated on the extension of the playground equipment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first climbing equipment of FIG. 3, which can be incorporated on the playground equipment;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alterable suspension means for use in suspending the swing systems and other equipment pieces of the playground equipment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a partially disassembled alterable suspension means of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the first swing means of FIG. 1 in an altered first swing means in an enclosed seat configuration as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a close-up perspective front view of the enclosed seat of the altered first swing means of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a close-up perspective rear view of the enclosed seat of the altered first swing means of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an exploded underneath perspective view of the enclosed seat of the altered first swing means of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an exploded side perspective view of the enclosed seat of the altered first swing means of FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a close-up partial side elevation of the enclosed seat of the altered first swing means of FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 is a front view of the fourth swing means, which can be incorporated on the extension of the playground equipment and includes a double action mechanism to form a swing see-saw;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are diagrammatic views of the swing see-saw of FIG. 15 showing the principle of the double action mechanism;

FIG. 18 is a partial top view of a partially disassembled swing see-saw of FIG. 15 showing the internal elements of the double action mechanism;

Looking at the invention of the playground equipment and component parts in detail and with reference to the drawings there are the following parts:

A. Frame structure;B. Alterable suspension means;C. Alterable swing chair;D. Suspended see-saw; andE. Modular system.

A. Frame Structure

The frame structure is shown particularly in FIGS. 1 to 4 comprising first and second frame supports 12, 13 with each including a frame support body 21a, 13a and a frame support base 12b 13b. The frame support bodies are substantially A-frames and the frame support bases are substantially C-shaped cylindrical rods connecting to the ends of a respective one of the A-frame frame support bodies 12a 13a to form outwardly extending frame support bases.

The first and second frame supports 12, 13 are arranged in an opposing manner such that the respective frame support bases 12b, 13b extend away from each other and the A-frame support bodies 12a, 13a are angled towards each other and connected at respective upper connecting points to a crossbeam 15. Connector covers 17 being ball like structures cover connections. The configuration of the first and second frame supports 12, 13 makes an extremely stable support structure. In particular the frame support bases 12b, 13b are ground engaging and provide a large footprint for aiding support.

Swing means of various types can be suspended from the crossbeam 15 extending between the first and second frame supports 12, 13.

These include:

• • a first swing means 41 comprising a swing seat for children over the age of 3;
  • a second swing means 42 being a two seater carriage swing comprising two seats mounted at either end of two support bars which are suspended from two spaced poles mounted to a bracket allowing spacing of the top of the poles and allowing a gentle restricted carriage swing;
  • an altered swing means 43 based on the first swing means and will be further described in detail later;
  • a third swing means 44 being a suspended combined gymnastic bar and rings; and
  • a fourth swing means 45 being a suspended see-saw mechanism and will be further described in detail later.

It should be understood that other swing means or other suspended or supported climbing structures or play equipment.

The cross beam 15 is sized or can be extended by addition of extension beam 16 to extend beyond the connection points 17 of the cross beam 15 to the first or second frame supports 12, 13. This provides a cantilevered suspension arm for suspending a further swing or climbing means or the like. However particularly favourable is to have the cross beam 15 sized or extended by addition of extension beam 16 to protrude beyond the connection points 17 and to substantially overly the extension of the frame support base 12b, or 13b. This allows a further swing or climbing means or the like to be connected therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 1 only one side of the cross beam 15 is extended collinearly by bolting extension beam 16 and to overly the frame support base 12b. A swing or climbing means or the like is connected at a lower end to the frame support base. In this case a rotating swirl means 46 having a rigid elongated swirl pole is mounted on a pivot point on the frame support base 13b and held at the top end by capturing means 19 at the distal end of the extension beam 16 to allow rotation of the swirl pole. A circular disc near the bottom of the rotating swirl means 46 is for the user to stand on and the shape of pole allows user to swivel around vertical axis.

Examples of swing or climbing means or the like other than the rotating swirl means 46 which can be connected between the extension bar 16 and at a lower end to the frame support base 13b are:

• • a second rotating means 47 as shown in FIG. 5 comprising a flexible rope mounted between the extension bar and frame support base and adjustable by alterable suspension means as will be further described later. The bottom of the second rotating means 47 includes a disc fixed around a pole that can rotate around the rope with a handle at waist level to assist the user to stand on the disc and sway and swivel;
  • a climbing means 48 as shown in FIG. 6 comprising similar rope structure as the second rotating means connected between the extension bar and frame support base and having an intermediately mounted pole with spaced projections on alternating sides to form a climbing structure.

Other devices that can be mounted on playground equipment include a ball return chute 49 such as fitted to the end of the cross beam 15 distal to the crossbeam extension 16, and a goal net 50 which fits within the frame support 12.

The frame support body and frame support base also can provide a volume that can be used in a number of ways including forming an enclosed tee-pee type tent by extending material between the outer edges of the frame support body and frame support base.

It can be seen that the structure thereby provides an improved playground equipment that can include further swing or climbing means or the like without substantially increasing the strength of the cross beam requiring larger load bearing piping or the like.

B. Alterable Suspension Means

In FIGS. 7 and 8 there is shown an embodiment of the alterable suspension means 51 for use with a rope 52 or other elongated flexible cord for suspending swing elements or climbing means or the like of playground equipment.

The alterable suspension means 51 includes a cleat plate 53 with a plurality of holes 54 to allow the rope 52 or other elongated flexible cord to be woven through the plurality of the cleat holes 54 to provide a frictional hold of the rope or other elongated flexible cord.

The alterable suspension means further includes a closable casing for enclosing the cleat holes. The cleat is encased by two mating hemispherical type bodies 55, 56 of substantially elliptical shape and is fixed together by detachable screw means 59.

In use the alterable suspension means is able to receive said rope or other elongated flexible cord and allow a selective suspended length and the alterable suspension means is able to be encased to prevent accidental access.

The invention thereby allows selective fixing of adjustable height of swing elements or climbing means or the like to playground equipment by use of the alterable suspension means for each suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord. The children using the swing elements or climbing means or the like of the playground equipment are not able to access the cleat holes and thereby not alter the length or be able to be injured by the mechanism.

The alterable suspension means can further be used as a rope or other elongated flexible cord ending means such that a loose end after fitting around a piece of swing elements or climbing means can be connected back to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord.

C. Alterable Swing Chair

The alterable swing chair is shown in FIGS. 9 to 14 and is used on a swing of playground equipment.

The alterable swing chair 61 has a substantially planar swing seat 71 that can be suspended by ropes 52 or other elongated flexible cords from playground equipment and used as a swing means. The alterable swing chair 61 further includes a swing chair waist means 81 having an encircling structure that can be positioned between the spaced ropes 52 or other elongated flexible cords at a position spaced above the swing seat 71. A cage attachment means 91 extends between the swing seat 71 and the swing chair waist means 81 for forming a cage like structure preventing a child under the age of 3 sliding off the swing seat.

The swing seat 71 is substantially planar and having two spaced holes 72, 73 at either side and parallel grooves 74, 75 extending across the underside of the seat between respective side holes 72, 73 such that the swing seat can be suspended and supported by the ropes 52 or other elongated flexible cords entering the side holes 72, 73 and fitting within the parallel grooves 74, 75 and connecting back to the suspended rope 52 by alterable suspension means 51 having encased cleat means.

The swing chair waist means 81 has an encircling structure 82 having a double wall structure 82A, 82B substantially closed at the top and substantially open at the bottom. The encircling structure 82 includes opposing rope receptacles 83 comprising slits 84 in the outer wall 82A of the double wall structure to receive the ropes 52 and further including shaped cavities 85 for allowing mounting of the rope receptacles 83 on the encased cleat means 51. This allows positioning of the swing chair waist means 81 between the spaced ropes 51 or other elongated flexible cords at a position spaced above the swing seat 71.

The cage attachment means 91 includes a U shape for extending around the swing seat 71 and between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means 81 for forming a cage like structure preventing child under the age of 3 sliding off the swing seat. The cage attachment means 91 has engagement means 92 in the form of inwardly facing protrusions from the U shape and spaced from the base of the U shape to resiliently capture the swing seat 71 therebetween. Also the cage attachment means 91 has front and rear cage connection means 93, 94 for mating with cage connection means 87, 88 on the front and rear of the swing chair waist means 81. The rear cage connection means 94 includes a pivot pin 95 which fits into a slot in the mating rear cage connection means 88 to allow the U shape cage attachment means to remain attached at the rear and pivot away from the seat after it has been resiliently deformed to disconnect from the swing seat 71.

The U shape of the cage attachment means 91 provides a central front narrow element extending between the swing seat 71 and the swing chair waist means 81 and allows the user of the swing chair to have legs astride either side to provide a caged arrangement preventing the child under the age of 3 sliding off the front of the swing chair.

In use a swing seat 71 suitable for children over 3 years of age can be converted to a swing chair 61 suitable for children under 3 years of age by positioning a substantially rigid swing chair waist means 81 forming an encircling means between opposing ropes 52, which are suspending the swing seat 71. Side rope receptacles 83 on the swing chair waist means 81 enable it to receive the rope 52 and engage and capture the rope or attachments. The next step is to connect a U-shaped cage 91 around the swing seat 71 and connecting to connection means 87, 88 at front and rear of the rigid encircling swing chair waist means 81 to form a cage like swing chair 61.

The conversion means can be a kit for converting a swing seat suitable for children over 3 years of age to a swing chair suitable for children under 3 years of age the kit including the swing chair waist means 81 having the encircling means and side rope receptacles enabling it to receive the rope suspending the swing seat 71 and engage the rope or attachments. Further the kit includes the U-shaped cage 91 able to be connected around the swing seat 71 and connect to connection means 87, 88 at front and rear of the rigid encircling swing chair waist means 81 to form the cage like swing chair.

D. Suspended See-Saw

As seen in FIGS. 15 to 18 there is a shown a suspended see-saw 45, which can be used on playground equipment.

The suspended see-saw includes a pivot rod 112 able to be fixedly mounted to a cross member 15 of playground equipment. Two cross members being first see-saw arm 121 and second see-saw arm 131 mounted at their centre to spaced positions on the suspended vertically extending pivot rod 112 mountable on the cross beam 15.

The suspended see-saw 45 further includes a plurality of opposing elongated suspension bars 115, 116 supporting seat structures 117, 118 at a lower end with protruding handles 119, 120 spaced just above the seat structures for a rider to hold. The upper end of the suspension bars 115, 116 are mounted at spaced positions to respective ends of each of the two spaced see-saw arms 121131 which are centrally and pivotally mounted on the pivot rod 112.

The two spaced see-saw arms 121, 131 comprise elongated linear bars 125, 135 joined at the centre pivots 122, 132 to the pivot rod 112 and joined near their ends 123, 124, to the suspension bards 115, 116. Extended infinity shaped covers 124, 125 cover the bars 125, 135 and the connections to the suspension bars 115, 116 and provide an aesthetic look. The two spaced see-saw arms 121, 131 are substantially parallel and equal length and pivotally mounted at central points to spaced positions on linear pivot rod with suspension bars joined at respective end points of the see-saw arms so as to form a rectangular to trapezoidal shape of the see-saw arms and suspension bars extending therebetween which results in opposing C-shape travel of the supported seat structures at the lower end of the suspension bars. Thereby the supported seat structures undertake a limited swing and see-saw action.

The limit of the swing and see-saw action can be defined by the lengths of the see-saw arms and their relative spacing.

E. Modular System.

It can be seen from all of the Figures that the invention provides the invention provides a multitude of improvements to playground equipments. In particular the invention provides playground equipment that allows modular creation and expansion of the playground equipment by its inherent design features

It should be understood that the above description is of preferred embodiments and included as illustration only. It is not limiting of the invention. Clearly a person skilled in the art without any inventiveness would understand variations of the playground equipment and component parts and such variations are included within the scope of this invention

Claims

1: Playground equipment comprising a frame structure having first and second frame supports arranged in opposing manner and connected at respective upper connecting points to a cross beam from which swing means of various types can be suspended;each of the opposing first and second frame supports including a frame support body and a frame support base;the respective frame support bodies extending substantially in a first plane in a diverging manner from a top connecting point to the cross beam;the respective frame support bases extending substantially in a second plane from an outer side of, and at an angle to, the first plane of the diverging frame support bodies;wherein the frame support bases respectively extend outwardly of the opposing first and second frame support bodies to provide a stable support of the playground equipment.

2: Playground equipment according to claim 1 wherein the frame support bases extend from a distal end of the first and second frame support bodies from the connecting point and at an angle to the frame support bodies such that in use a substantial portion of the frame support bases are ground engaging.

3: Playground equipment according to claim 2 wherein the frame support bodies are substantially A-frame and the frame support bases are opposing curved cylindrical rods extending from the bottom of each frame support base.

4: Playground equipment according to claim 3 wherein the frame support bases comprise a substantially C-shaped cylindrical rod connecting the ends of a respective one of the A-frame frame support bodies.

5: Playground equipment according to claim 1 wherein the frame support bases extend outwardly from the from the frame support bodies at a ratio of the extension frame support base to the height of the frame support body of at least 1:5.

6: Playground equipment according to claim 1 wherein the cross beam is sized to extend beyond the connection points to the first or second frame supports to provide a cantilevered suspension arm and to substantially overly the extension of the frame support base and allow a further swing or climbing means or the like to be connected therebetween.

7: Playground equipment according to claim 1 including one or more alterable suspension means for use in supporting swing elements or climbing means or the like of playground equipment; the alterable suspension means including a rope or other elongated flexible cord and a cleat having a plate with a plurality of holes to allow the rope or other elongated flexible cord to be woven through a plurality of said cleat holes to provide a frictional hold of said rope or other elongated flexible cord;and the alterable suspension means further including a closable casing for enclosing the cleat holes;wherein the alterable suspension means is able to receive said rope or other elongated flexible cord and allow a selective supporting suspended length and the alterable suspension means is encased.

8: Playground equipment according to claim 7 wherein the cleat is encased by two mating substantially hemispherical type bodies of circular, elliptical or other curved shape and is fixed together by detachable fixing means such as screw means or child proof locking catch.

9: Playground equipment according to claim 7 having a rope or other elongated flexible cord and two alterable suspension means wherein the first allows adjustable length of suspension along rope or other elongated flexible cord suspended from the cross beam and the second is used as a rope or other elongated flexible cord ending means such that a loose end after fitting around a piece of swing elements or climbing means can be connected back to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord to attach the swing elements or climbing means to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord.

10: Playground equipment according to claim 7 having a rope or other elongated flexible cord and an alterable suspension means, and the attachable swing elements or climbing means having an attachment engagement body portion which is shaped complementary to at least a top portion of the alterable suspension to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord wherein the attachment engagement body portion is used to rest and support the swing elements or climbing means on the alterable suspension means to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord.

11: Playground equipment according to claim 7 wherein the attachment engagement body portion of the swing elements or climbing means includes a cup shape with a vertical cutaway extending from a side to a top portion to allow the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord to be received in the vertical cutaway and allow mounting of the swing or climbing means while the alterable suspension means is attached to the suspended rope or other elongated flexible cord.

12: Playground equipment according to claim 7 including an alterable swing chair comprising a substantially planar swing seat that is suspended by ropes or other elongated flexible cords from the cross beam; the alterable swing chair further including a swing chair waist means having an encircling structure that can be positioned between the spaced ropes or other elongated flexible cords at a position spaced above the swing seat; and the alterable swing chair further including a cage attachment means extending between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means for forming a cage like structure preventing child under the age of 3 sliding off the swing seat.

13: Playground equipment according to claim 7 wherein the swing chair waist means and rear of the cage attachment means further includes a supporting rear surface for providing at least a partial back support for the child under the age of 3.

14: Playground equipment according to claim 7 wherein the swing chair waist means includes opposing rope receptacles for receiving the ropes or other elongated flexible cords or attachments on the ropes at opposite sides of the swing seat to assist retention of the swing chair waist means in position.

15: Playground equipment according to claim 7 wherein the swing chair waist means includes cage connection means at front and back and spaced from the opposing rope receptacles to further assist retention of the swing chair waist means in position.

16: Playground equipment according to claim 15 wherein the cage connection means includes a central front narrow element extending between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means allowing the user of the swing chair to have legs astride either side to provide a caged arrangement preventing the child under the age of 3 sliding off the front of the swing chair.

17: Playground equipment according to claim 7 wherein the central front narrow element connects to the swing chair waist means by the front cage connection means.

18: An alterable swing chair which can be used for playground equipment comprising a swing seat, a swing chair waist means, and an interconnecting cage attachment means wherein the swing seat is able to be suspended by ropes or other elongated flexible cords from the playground equipment; the swing seat being substantially planar and having two spaced bores at either side and parallel grooves extending across the underside of the seat between respective side bores such that ropes or other elongated flexible cords by which the swing seat is suspended extends through the side bores and fits within the parallel grooves and connects back to the suspended rope for connection such as by alterable suspension means having encased cleat means;the swing chair waist means having an encircling structure with a double wall structure which is substantially closed at the top and substantially open at the bottom, and including opposing rope receptacles including shaped side body cavities with slits in the outer of the double wall structure to receive the ropes or other elongated flexible cords for allowing mounting of the rope receptacles on the encased cleat means which allows positioning of the swing chair waist means between the spaced ropes or other elongated flexible cords at a position spaced above the swing seat;and the cage attachment means including a U shape for extending around the swing seat and between the swing seat and the swing chair waist means for forming a cage like structure substantially preventing child under the age of 3 sliding off the swing seat,the cage attachment further having engagement means for engaging the swing seat and having cage connection means for mating with cage connection means on the front and rear of the swing chair waist means.

19: A method of converting a swing seat suitable for children over 3 years of age to a swing chair suitable for children under 3 years of age the method including the steps of: positioning a substantially rigid swing chair waist means forming a encircling means between opposing ropes, which are suspending a swing seat, by means of providing side rope receptacles on the swing chair waist means able to receive the rope and engage the rope or attachments; connecting a U-shaped cage able to be positioned around the swing seat and connecting to connection means at front and rear of the rigid encircling swing chair waist means to form a cage like swing chair.

20: A kit for converting a swing seat suitable for children over 3 years of age to a swing chair suitable for children under 3 years of age the kit including: a swing chair waist means having encircling means and side rope connectors able to engage or receive the rope suspending a swing seat and capture the rope or an attachment on the rope; and a U-shaped cage able to be positioned around the swing seat and connect to connection means at front and rear of the rigid encircling swing chair waist means to form a cage like swing chair.

21: A suspended see-saw which for use on playground equipment, the suspended see-saw includes a pivot rod able to be fixedly mounted to a cross member of playground equipment and a plurality of opposing suspension bars supporting seat structures at a lower end and mounted at spaced positions at an upper end to the respective ends of each of two spaced see-saw arms which are centrally and pivotally mounted on the pivot rod at spaced positions, whereby the supported seat structures undertake a limited swing and see-saw action.

22: A suspended see-saw according to claim 21 wherein the limit of the swing and see-saw action is limited by the lengths of the see-saw arms and their relative spacing.

23: A suspended see-saw according to claim 21 wherein the two spaced see-saw arms are substantially parallel and equal length and pivotally mounted at central points to spaced positions on linear pivot rod with suspension bars joined at respective end points of the see-saw arms so as to form a shape between the see-saw arms and suspension bars extending therebetween moving from a rectangular to a trapezoidal shape, which results in opposing C-shape travel of the supported seat structures at the lower end of the suspension bars.