Patent Grant
7058994
The present invention is directed generally to starting platforms and, more specifically, to a starting platform incorporating an improved anchor system which is easy to install and virtually eliminates the need for shims to stabilize the platform within the anchor.
Starting platforms for swimming races are well known in the art. Various systems have been employed for anchoring starting platforms to a pool deck. Since very few swimming pools are dedicated exclusively to racing, it is desirable for the starting platforms to be mounted on the deck in a manner which makes them easily removable, but ensures the stability of the starting platform. Conventionally, support posts for a starting platform are provided with an anchor plate which is bolted to a corresponding fitting that is set in concrete material of a pool deck. However, bolting and unbolting of such platforms is a cumbersome operation. Also, when such platforms are removed, an ancillary cover is required for the complementary deck member.
In order to facilitate the quick installation and removal of starting platforms, socket members formed by hollow rectangular tubing are known which are set in the concrete deck of a pool. Such rectangular socket members have a complementary cross-sectional configuration relative to the cross-sectional configuration of supporting posts for associated starting platforms. While this type of system provides much faster installation and removal operations, in practice it has proved to be extremely difficult to provide the close tolerances necessary to prevent wobbling of the starting platforms. This wobbling is largely due to the need to separately mill each of the four sides of the rectangular tubing to within a very small tolerance.
Various attempts have been made to address this problem by providing wedges which can be driven between the socket and the support post. However, but these procedures met with mixed results. If the wedges are driven tight enough to eliminate all wobble, it becomes extremely difficult to remove the platform post from the anchor socket when removal of the starting platform is desired.
It would be advantageous to provide a starting platform anchor system that allows the starting platform to be easily installed and removed when not in use and that is less prone to wobbling during use without employing shims or wedges.
The present invention is directed to a swimmer's starting platform assembly including a cylindrical anchor/post mating system having a keyed angular positioning device. Preferably, a starting platform has a cylindrical support post sized for mating engagement within a cylindrical bore of an anchor. The cylindrical support post has a mating key element configured to mate with an anchor key element when the cylindrical support post is inserted into the cylindrical bore to maintain a fixed angular orientation between the cylindrical support post and the cylindrical bore so that the starting platform is fixed with a desired orientation relative to the anchor.
The present invention is also directed to a method for deploying a swimmer's starting platform assembly having an anchor portion and a removable starting platform portion for use during swimming events. The anchor portion and the starting platform portion are provided with respective cylindrical mating elements for initial engagement at any arbitrary angular orientation. The anchor portion and the starting platform portion are also provided with respective mating key elements for fixing their mating engagement at a desired angular orientation when fully engaged. The anchor portion is secured at a selected location proximate a swimming area such that the anchor has a selected orientation relative to the swimming area. The cylindrical mating elements of the anchor portion and starting platform portion are initially engage. Thereafter, the mating key elements of the anchor portion and starting platform portion are engaged to provide a fully engaged position whereby the starting platform portion is securely positioned for use with a desired orientation relative to the swimming area based on the selected orientation of the anchor.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For purposes of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings an embodiment which is presently preferred. It is understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and instrumentality shown.
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “right,” “left,” “upper,” and “lower” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the starting platform and designated parts thereof. Additionally, the words “a” and “one” are defined as including one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
Referring to
Referring to
The diving platform 12 optionally includes a backstroke bar 28. The backstroke bar 28 preferably has a generally T-shape that results in two handles 30 that can be grasped by the swimmer. The backstroke bar 28 is preferably welded to the support member 46 and further supported by a flange 48 that extends between the backstroke bar 28 and a portion of the support member 46 located above the backstroke bar 28.
The starting platform 26 preferably includes a step 36 to facilitate the climbing onto the diving platform 24 by swimmers. A step support post 34 is preferably welded to the platform post 18 such that it extends generally away from the backstroke bar 28 to support the step 36. A step mounting plate 38 is preferably welded on an upper surface the post 34. The step 36 is preferably fastened on the top of the plate 38 by use of conventional fasteners to secure the step 36 in position.
It is preferred that the starting platform 26 and its component parts are generally formed of durable, strong, corrosion resistant material, such as aluminum or the like. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the starting platform and anchor may be formed by any suitable material, such as, stainless steel, alloy, or the like, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
While a preferred starting platform 26 has been described above, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that various types of starting platforms, platform features, and aspects of construction (such as molding the entire starting platform support as a single piece) can be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The starting platform 26 is removably engageable with the anchor 14. The anchor 14 is preferably embeddedly mounted in a selected fixed position within a pool deck so that it does not protrude above the deck surface. The positioned is selected such that when the starting platform 26 is properly mated with the anchor in a keyed orientation, the dive platform 24 and the backstroke bar 28 are positioned so that a swimmer preparing to begin a race can take an appropriate pre-race position.
The starting platform post 18 is preferably secured within the cylindrical bore 50 of the anchor 14 within an acceptably small tolerance such that wobbling of the starting platform 26 does not occur during use. The preferred circular cross-section of the platform post 18 reduces the tolerance errors that occur during manufacturing and, thus reduces the manufacturing cost of the starting platform significantly.
The outer circumference of the platform post 18 can be selectively sized by a single milling operation or like procedure. This simplifies the forming of the cylindrical support member 18 with a uniform radius along the entire perimeter of the portion of the platform post 18 which mates with the anchor 14. Thus, the use of a cylindrical support post 18 eliminates many of the tolerance errors resulting from using tubular members having a generally rectangular, or polygonal, cross-section. Manufacturing tubing having a polygonal shape requires multiple milling operations to be performed during the manufacturing process which increases the likelihood of manufacturing errors occurring.
Similarly the bore 50 of the anchor 14 can be formed using a single milling operation or the like. Accordingly, the relative the sizing of the cylindrical components can be precisely controlled such that the platform post 18 fits precisely within a bore 50 in the anchor 14. The ability to precisely fit the platform post 18 within the anchor 14 eliminates the need for wedges or shims to be used to prevent the starting platform 12 from wobbling within the anchor 14 during use.
Preferably the outer diameter of the support post 18 is within approximately ±0.003 inches (+0.0762 mm) of the inner diameter of the anchor bore 50. Due to the close fit, the lower edge of the post 18 may be slightly beveled and/or the upper edge of the anchor bore 50 may be slightly flared to make insertion of the post into the bore easier.
The keying assembly to fix the starting platform 26 in a selected angular position relative to the anchor 14 preferably includes at least one pin 20 that functions as a key element and an associated mating slot 22. As best seen in to
Referring to
Preferably, the depth of the bore 50, length of the slots 22 and the location of the pins 20 up the mating end 16 of the support post 18 are selected such that the end of the post 18 engages the bottom of the anchor bore 50 only when the pins 20 are disposed within the slots 22. In such position, the starting platform is in its selected keyed mating position with the anchor 14. Preferably, the pins 20 do not rest on the bottom of the slots 22 without the bottom of the post 18 resting on the bottom of the anchor 14 to avoid the pins from bearing the entire weight of the platform 26 and, when used, its occupant.
Those of ordinary skill the art will appreciate that the pins 20 may be welded or otherwise attached to the outside of the platform post 18 without departing from the scope of the present invention. While the pins 20 are shown as being generally cylindrical, the pins 20 may have any cross-sectional shape without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For concrete deck installations, a desired number of anchors 14 are selectively positioned in the wet concrete used to form the pool deck, either before during or after the concrete is poured. As shown in
Referring to
As best shown in
One embodiment of the present invention operates as follows, an anchor 14 is embedded within a pool deck. The anchor 14 preferably has a bore 50 defined by an inner anchor wall 58 having a generally circular cross-section. The anchor 14 preferably has at least one groove 22 in an upper lip 54 thereof. The starting platform 12 has a cylindrical support member 18 having a preferably generally circular cross-section that is complementarily sized to precisely fit within the bore 50 of the anchor 14. At least one pin 20 preferably extends generally outwardly from the cylindrical support member 18 and is adapted to engage the groove 22 in the anchor 14. Thus, the mating key element 20 is configured to be engageable with the anchor key element 22 when the cylindrical support member 18 is inserted into a preferably cylindrical bore 50 to maintain a fixed angular relation between the cylindrical support member and the cylindrical bore so that the starting platform 12 is fixed with a desired orientation relative to the anchor 14. The precise fit that can be achieved between the cylindrical support member 18 and the anchor 14 without resort to expensive and inefficient manufacturing methods results in a thoroughly satisfactory starting platform 12 that is relatively efficient to assemble and disassemble and does not wobble or move during use.
It is recognized by those skilled in the art, that changes may be made to the above described embodiment of the invention without departing from the broad invention concept thereof. For example, while the pin 20 and groove 22 are used to key the position of the starting platform 12 within the anchor 14, any suitable keying mechanism (such as having a shaped member that extends downwardly from the cylindrical support member 18 which mates with a recess inside the anchor 14) can be employed to prevent the starting platform 12 from rotating within the anchor 14. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but is intended to cover all modifications which are within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and shown in the attached drawings.
This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent 60/461,443, filed Apr. 9, 2003, and entitled “Starting Platform and Anchor System,” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as if fully set forth.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| D202546 | French | Oct 1965 | S |
| 3390740 | Brandel et al. | Jul 1968 | A |
| D216502 | Meyer | Jan 1970 | S |
| 3809392 | Kral, Jr. | May 1974 | A |
| 3813703 | Beaudin, Jr. | Jun 1974 | A |
| 3916214 | Coble, Jr. et al. | Oct 1975 | A |
| D240811 | Beall, Jr. | Aug 1976 | S |
| 4495883 | Hoy | Jan 1985 | A |
| 4780085 | Malone | Oct 1988 | A |
| 4907674 | Miller | Mar 1990 | A |
| 5014370 | Stark, Sr. | May 1991 | A |
| 5040251 | Hanford | Aug 1991 | A |
| 5660013 | Saldarelli et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5916031 | Casillan | Jun 1999 | A |
| 6209147 | Wheaton | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6247935 | Martin et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| D464699 | Brice | Oct 2002 | S |
| D464700 | Kiefer et al. | Oct 2002 | S |
| D464701 | Kiefer et al. | Oct 2002 | S |
| 6461018 | Chanslor | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6523188 | Kiefer et al. | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6532606 | Skovronski | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040199990 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60461443 | Apr 2003 | US |
