The present invention relates to the field of jump training devices, in particular, to a safety jump training device for safely measuring an athlete's vertical leap when in an operating position and having a storage position wherein the device is safely and compactly stored against a wall.
In the past quarter-century athletes and coaches have come to realize that the vertical leap of an athlete is a good indicator of success in a wide variety of sports. As such, today an athlete's vertical leap is used to measure an athlete's capabilities in much the same way the 40 yard dash is used. With this recognition of the importance of the vertical leap, athletes now train to improve their vertical leap. Accordingly, devices that safely and accurately measure an athlete's vertical leap are in demand.
Prior art jump trainers have failed to incorporate adequate safety features to minimize the risk of an athlete being injured while measuring vertical leap. A common problem with early jump trainers, such as the one of U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,050 was that they were prone to tip over and cause injury to the athlete or coach. To alleviate this problem manufacturers focused on improving the base of the unit that rests on the floor.
One common solution was to add the capability of adding weights in the form of barbell plates to the base. While attempting to solve one problem, another was created. Since jump trainers are commonly located in weight rooms, athletes often remove weights from the base for use on other machines. Such removal again revealed the natural tendency of the jump trainer to tip over. Additionally, the barbell plates are often left scattered around the area of the trainer creating potential hazards for the users. After all, if an athlete measuring their vertical leap lands with a portion of a foot on a plate, even if the plate is only one-quarter to one-half inch thick, the athlete often ends up with a severely sprained, or broken, ankle. Still further, the base units outfitted to accept barbell plates generally include a six to eight inch steel post extending vertically from the corners of the base unit to accept the barbell plates. These steel posts create a potentially life threatening hazard to an athlete that has lost their balance and is falling in the vicinity of the posts.
Yet another problem with conventional jump trainers is that they consume a great deal of floor space and are not easily stored. It is common to see jump trainers scattered about a gymnasium during volleyball or basketball practice. Such jump trainers are a dangerous hazard to a player chasing a ball out of bounds.
Wall-mounted jump trainers have alleviated some of the previously mentioned safety hazards, but not all. For instance, the wall-mounted jump trainer of U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,903 addresses the safety issues surrounding the base of floor mounted units, but presents other safety issues and drawbacks. For instance, the '903 device is a fixed jump trainer that is not vertically adjustable and is permanently affixed to the wall. Rigidly attached jump trainers that extend orthogonally from the wall pose just as great a danger, if not greater, to athletes than ground mounted units. In such installations the bottom of the jump trainer is at the head height of many athletes and creates an even greater danger than the floor mounted units, because it is rigidly attached to the wall. Therefore, one can imagine that if such wall-mounted trainers were located around the perimeter of a gymnasium, an athlete chasing a loose ball could accidentally strike the device and knock themselves unconscious.
Accordingly, the art has needed a wall-mounted jump training apparatus that is easy to use, safe, and can be conveniently stored away when not in use.
In its most general configuration, the present invention advances the state of the art with a variety of new capabilities and overcomes many of the shortcomings of prior devices in new and novel ways. In its most general sense, the present invention overcomes the shortcomings and limitations of the prior art in any of a number of generally effective configurations. The instant invention demonstrates such capabilities and overcomes many of the shortcomings of prior methods in new and novel ways.
The safety jump training apparatus of the present invention is one designed for safely mounting on a wall and permits an athlete to safely measure their vertical leap. The apparatus has two positions; an operating position and a storage position. When the apparatus is in the operating position it is substantially orthogonal to the mounting wall and provides the athlete exceptional access to the apparatus. Conversely, the apparatus is substantially parallel to the wall when in the storage position, thereby removing the apparatus from areas subject to walking traffic, or other athletic events, and minimizing the risk of inadvertent contact.
The safety jump training apparatus includes a jump measurement device and a rotating support to attach the measurement device to a mounting plate, as well as numerous safety features. Briefly, the safety features include cooperating locking pin recesses and a locking pin to secure the apparatus in either the operating position or the storage position, a lock to adjustably secure the vertical height of the measurement device, a translation resistor to control the movement of the measurement device when the lock is disengaged, a safety position limiter to ensure that the measurement device is always a predetermined distance above the ground, and a safety cover to safely contain majority of the apparatus.
The jump measurement device of the present invention is that portion consisting of a plurality of vanes rotably mounted to a vane mounting post that is joined to a vertical post having a safety position limiter. In use, an athlete jumps vertically and slaps the vanes so that they rotate about the mounting post, thereby providing an indication of the maximum height that the athlete achieved. A vane stop may be incorporated to stop the vanes at a predetermined location. The vane stop provides a positive stop ensuring an athlete's hand and arm are not injured by a rapidly rotating vane.
The rotating support has at least one arm and a vertical sleeve attached to the at least one arm. The vertical sleeve is shaped to cooperate with the shape of the vertical post so that the vertical post is slidably received by the sleeve, thereby allowing adjustment of the height of the jump measuring device. The motion of the vertical post in the sleeve is limited by the safety position limiter such that the end of the vertical post is limited to a predetermined dimension above a floor surface to ensure that the end does not injure a foot of the athlete during adjustment of the post.
The lock is attached to the sleeve and serves to provide the adjustability of the height of the jump measurement device. The lock has an engaged position, wherein the vertical post is secured within the sleeve, and a disengaged position, wherein the vertical post is not secured by the lock. The automatic translation resistor is yet another safety improvement designed to minimize the risk of an athlete either getting their finger pinched in the apparatus or their foot injured by an uncontrolled post. The automatic translation resistor is attached to the sleeve and continuously applies a compressive force on the vertical post to counteract the gravitational force on the jump measurement device and prevent it from accidental translation within the sleeve when the lock is disengaged. The automatic translation resistor requires the athlete to disengage the lock and intentionally apply force to the vertical post in order to adjust the height of the jump measurement device.
The at least one rotational mount is attached to the mounting plate and is designed to releasably and rotationally attach the arm to the mounting plate. The at least one rotational mount permits the rotating support and the jump measurement device to rotate from the operating position to the storage position where the rotating support and jump measurement device are substantially parallel to the wall. The at least one rotational mount includes a guide plate having a plate guide pin recess that aligns with an arm guide pin recess formed in the arm such that a guide pin is received by the plate guide pin recess and the arm guide pin recess thereby releasably and rotably joining the guide plate and the at least one arm. The guide plate may include at least one auxiliary recess arranged such that a padlock may be secured through the auxiliary recess thereby preventing unauthorized users from rotating the jump measuring device from the storage position to the operating position.
In yet another embodiment, the apparatus includes a safety cover that encloses majority of the apparatus when it is in the storage position to prevent unintentional contact with such components. The safety cover may further be padded to absorb the impact of a colliding athlete. These variations, modifications, alternatives, and alterations of the various preferred embodiments may be used alone or in combination with one another as will become more readily apparent to those with skill in the art with reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying figures and drawings.
Without limiting the scope of the present invention as claimed below and referring now to the drawings and figures:
The safety jump training apparatus of the instant invention enables a significant advance in the state of the art. The preferred embodiments of the apparatus accomplish this by new and novel arrangements of elements and methods that are configured in unique and novel ways and which demonstrate previously unavailable but preferred and desirable capabilities.
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the drawings is intended merely as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the designs, functions, means, and methods of implementing the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and features may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Referring to
The safety jump training apparatus 50 includes a jump measurement device 500 and a rotating support 300 to attach the measurement device 500 to a mounting plate 100, as well as numerous safety features. Briefly, the safety features seen in
The jump measurement device 500 of the present invention is that portion consisting of a plurality of vanes 510 rotably mounted to a vane mounting post 530 that is joined to a vertical post 520 having a safety position limiter 526. In use, an athlete jumps vertically and slaps the vanes 510 so that they rotate about the mounting post 530, thereby providing an indication of the maximum height that the athlete achieved. The vanes 510 are installed such that they are under compression, thereby providing some resistance to rotation and reducing the likelihood that the vanes 510 ever rotate a full revolution. However, to ensure that over time the vanes 510 do not become loose and freely rotate, a vane stop 540 may be incorporated to stop the vanes 510 at a predetermined location. The vane stop 540 provides a positive stop ensuring an athlete's hand and arm are not injured by a rapidly rotating vane 510.
With reference now to
The motion of the vertical post 520 in the sleeve 320 is limited by the safety position limiter 526 such that a proximal end 524 of the vertical post 520 is limited to a predetermined dimension d above a floor surface to ensure that the proximal end 524 does not injure a foot of the athlete during adjustment of the post 520, as seen in
The lock 322, illustrated in
Referring again to
The mounting plate 100 is formed with a plurality of fastener openings 110 for receiving fasteners to secure the mounting plate 100 to a wall. The mounting plate 100 may be a plate having a length as long as, or longer, than the sleeve 320, as illustrated in
The at least one rotational mount 200 is attached to the mounting plate 100 and is designed to releasably and rotationally attach the proximal end 314 of the at least one arm 310 to the mounting plate 100, as seen in
The guide plate 210 may be formed with a plurality of locking pin recesses 214 to cooperate with a locking pin 318, on the at least one arm 310, sized and located to cooperate with the locking pin recesses 214, illustrated best in
In an alternative embodiment, the locking pin 318 may be a biased locking pin 318 that does not require the user to lift the rotating support 300. One such embodiment is illustrated in
In yet another embodiment, illustrated in
Numerous alterations, modifications, and variations of the preferred embodiments disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art and they are all anticipated and contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of the instant invention. For example, although specific embodiments have been described in detail, those with skill in the art will understand that the preceding embodiments and variations can be modified to incorporate various types of substitute and or additional or alternative materials, relative arrangement of elements, and dimensional configurations. Accordingly, even though only few variations of the present invention are described herein, it is to be understood that the practice of such additional modifications and variations and the equivalents thereof, are within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or acts for performing the functions in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050202935 A1 | Sep 2005 | US |