Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6402662
-
Patent Number
6,402,662
-
Date Filed
Thursday, February 22, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 11, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 482 51
- 482 27
- 482 28
- 482 29
- 482 35
- 182 139
- 182 140
-
International Classifications
-
-
Disclaimer
Terminal disclaimer Term Extension
8
Abstract
A trampoline pad assembly for securement to a trampoline of the type including a rebound surface suspended by springs from an elevated ring includes an annular top wall and an annular bottom wall secured together at congruent inner and outer edges to form an annular enclosure defining an interior pocket. At least one radial opening is formed in the bottom wall adjacent to the outer edge thereof which opening extends into the pocket. Resilient material is introduced into the pocket through the opening and an annular flexible skirt is secured to top wall adjacent to the outer edge thereof so that the skirt lies flat against the top wall. The skirt has a free edge and is foldable around those outer edges so that the skirt closes the opening thereby protectively enclosing the resilient material within the pocket and secures the pad assembly to the ring.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional trampolines are usually provided with an annular pad to cover the outer edge margin of the trampoline's rebound surface and the resilient connections of that surface to the ring which supports the rebound surface. Present day trampoline pad assemblies, which may or may not be filled with a resilient insert such as foam, usually include a gusset or skirt which is attached perpendicular to the plane of the pad surface. The circumference of the pad around the points of attachment to the trampoline frame is usually equal to the circumference of the bottom edge of the gusset. To install a pad on a trampoline, the pad is dropped down over the trampoline frame so that the gusset hangs downward around the perimeter of the ring which supports the trampoline's rebound surface. Sometimes, a draw cord is installed at the bottom edge of the gusset to reduce the circumference of that edge to a degree that prevents the cover from being lifted up from the trampoline frame.
Alternatively, the trampoline pads may incorporate straps or ties which are used to attach the pad directly to various parts of the trampoline frame.
We are also aware of a foam-filled pad whose pad skirt or gusset is engaged around the frame and attached by ties to the underside of the pad. That pad is disclosed in application Ser. No. 09/337,244 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,632 owned by the assignee of the present application.
While that pad has definite advantages, the assembly of the pad is somewhat difficult for the customer because of the relatively large foam inserts that have to be fitted into pockets in the pad. That is, the customer has to fold up each insert in order to fit the insert through the entrance of its pocket which entrance is located at the outer edge of the pad adjacent to the gusset. Once inserted into the pocket, the insert has to be manipulated until it lays flat within the pocket. Since a typical trampoline pad may have eight or more insert-containing pockets, the pad assembly process can be time consuming for the customer.
Another disadvantage of that prior pad is that locating the pocket entrances at the outer edge of the pad requires special cutting and stitching operations in order to connect the gusset to the upper and lower walls of the pad in such a way as to form the pocket entrances.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to offer a trampoline pad which has the advantages of the pad described in the above application, yet which is easier to make and to assemble.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pad for a trampoline.
Another object of the invention is to provide a trampoline pad assembly which includes thin foam inserts which can be installed at the factory and thicker replaceable foam inserts which can be installed easily by the customer.
A further object of the invention is to provide a trampoline pad assembly incorporating foam inserts which may be packed compactly for shipping and storage purposes.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a trampoline pad assembly which, when installed on a trampoline, cannot be lifted up from the trampoline frame and thus automatically secures the replaceable foam inserts within their pockets.
A further object of the invention is to provide a trampoline pad which can be manufactured and assembled relatively easily at relatively low cost.
Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the following detailed description, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
Briefly, my trampoline pad assembly, when properly dimensioned, can be installed on more or less any conventional trampoline having an elevated, flexible rebound surface resiliently connected to a rigid frame surrounding the rebound surface. The pad is positioned on the trampoline so that it covers the edge margin of the rebound surface and its connections to the frame. The pad includes an annular, flexible cover composed of upper and lower walls which are secured together at their inner and outer edges to form an annular enclosure for containing a resilient filler material such as foam. Superimposed on, and parallel to, the cover top wall is an annular skirt whose outer edge margin is secured to the cover top wall at the same time the top wall is secured to the cover bottom wall. Also, at least one radial opening is provided in the cover bottom wall so that filler material can be inserted through that opening into the cover interior after the cover has been assembled.
Preferably the pad assembly is composed of a plurality of arcuate pad segments secured together end to end to form a ring or annulus. Each segment defines a pocket for containing a foam insert which can be inserted into the pocket through an annular opening in the bottom wall of that segment.
After the cover has been filled with filler material, the pad may be installed on a trampoline by centering the pad on the trampoline and folding the skirt down around the ring on the trampoline frame. While the outer edge of the skirt is large enough to fit over the frame ring, the inner edge is not with a result that when the skirt is folded down over the frame ring, its free edge margin does not hang downward but rather extends inward under tension toward the center of the trampoline. The skirt thus not only prevents the pad assembly from inadvertently lifting from the trampoline, it also closes the openings into the pockets containing the filler material.
To positively secure the pad in place, ties are provided at the ends of the skirt segments. By lacing the ties through loops secured to the cover bottom wall, the lower or inner edge of the skirt may be secured to the bottom wall so that the trampoline ring is positively captured by the skirt.
As we shall see presently, the trampoline pad assembly is composed of relatively few parts which can be made and assembled quite easily. Therefore, the pad assembly should not add appreciably to the overall cost of the trampoline.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view with parts broken away showing the trampoline pad assembly installed on a conventional trampoline;
FIG. 2
is a fragmentary top plan view on a larger scale showing in greater detail the trampoline pad assembly illustrated in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is an exploded perspective view on a still larger scale showing the components of the
FIG. 2
pad assembly;
FIG. 4
is a fragmentary perspective view further illustrating the pad components and their assembly;
FIG. 5
is a sectional view taken along line
5
—
5
of
FIG. 2
on a still larger scale showing the pad assembly installed on a trampoline, and
FIG. 6
is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the securement of the pad to the trampoline frame.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT
Refer to
FIG. 1
of the drawings which shows a trampoline pad assembly incorporating the invention shown generally at
10
installed on a more or less conventional trampoline indicated generally at
12
. Trampoline
12
comprises a rigid frame consisting of a ring
14
supported at an elevated position above the floor or ground by a plurality of legs
16
extending down from the ring. Centered within the ring is a flexible rebound surface
18
whose edge margin is secured to the ring by an array of coil springs
22
. As shown in
FIG. 5
, one end of each spring
22
is hooked through a hole
24
in the ring while the opposite end of that spring is hooked through a grommet or eye
26
present adjacent the edge of rebound surface
18
. When a person jumps up and down on the rebound surface, the springs flex making that surface highly resilient.
Referring now to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the pad
10
is an annular assembly that covers the ring
14
, springs
22
and the spring connections to the rebound surface
18
. While a pad assembly could be a single round structure, it is preferably composed of a plurality of identical arcuate segments
10
a
secured together end to end. For a typical trampoline whose ring
14
has a diameter of 13 feet, pad
10
may be composed of eight pad segments
10
a
, each segment being about
5
feet long from end to end.
As best seen in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, each pad segment
10
a
comprises a flexible, arcuate upper wall
32
of a suitable flexible, weather-resistant sheet material such as vinyl plastic. Wall
32
has a radially inner edge
32
a
, a radially outer edge
32
b
and a pair of end edges
32
c
. The pad assembly also includes a more or less arcuate lower wall
34
having a radially inner edge
34
a
, an outer edge
34
b
and end edges
34
c
. The bottom wall
34
differs from top wall
32
in that it is formed midway along its length with an elongated radial slot or notch
36
extending from its outer edge
34
b
about half way toward inner edge
34
a.
The third component of the pad assembly
10
a
is an arcuate skirt
52
having a radially inner edge
52
a
, and outer edge
52
b
and a pair of end edges
52
c
. The length of skirt
52
is more or less the same as that of top wall
32
but its radial extent is only about half that of top wall
32
so that it corresponds more or less to the radially outer edge margin of top wall
32
. Furthermore, as best seen in
FIG. 3
, a pair of notches
54
may be formed in the end edges of skirt
52
adjacent the radially inner edge
52
a
thereof for reasons that will be described later.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, each pad segment
10
a
is assembled by placing top wall
32
on bottom wall
34
so that the two walls are more or less congruent and then situating skirt
52
on top wall
32
so that the outer end margins of the skirt and top wall are in register. Next, the two walls
32
,
34
are stitched together midway along their widths by lengthwise stitching
56
. Then, after inserting at the factory a thin, e.g. ⅛ in. or less, arcuate or annular foam strip(s)
58
between walls
32
and
34
radially inboard stitching
56
, the radially inner edges
32
a
and
34
a
of the top and bottom walls are secured together by stitching
62
, heat welds or other suitable means. Also, the radially outer edges
32
b
,
34
b
of those walls, along with the radially outer edge
52
b
of skirt
52
, are secured together by similar means such as stitching
64
. As is evident from
FIGS. 4 and 5
, this stitching together of the top and bottom walls forms a pocket or enclosure
66
between the wall portions radially outboard stitching
56
. Moreover, because of the presence of the slot
36
in bottom wall
34
, the stitching
64
at the radially outer edge of each pad segment
10
a
does not capture bottom wall
34
at the mouth of the slot leaving a radial opening
66
a into the pocket
66
between the two walls of the pad segment
10
a.
During the same stitching operation, the ends of adjacent segments
10
a
are secured together by radial stitching
67
. Because of the notches
54
in the ends of skirt
52
, only the portions of the skirt ends radially outboard the notches are secured to the pad cover walls
32
and
34
. When all segments
10
a
are stitched end to end, they form an annulus with all of the skirts
52
together constituting a segmented annular flap.
In accordance with the invention, each pocket
66
in the pad assembly is arranged and adapted to contain resilient material such as one or more arcuate foam inserts
68
shown in
FIGS. 3
to
5
, two being shown there. Inserts
68
are slightly narrower and shorter combined than pocket
66
so that they can be slid into opposite halves of pocket
66
via opening
66
a without folding the inserts, i.e. they may be inserted in a flat condition. Preferably, inserts
68
are thicker, e.g. ½ in. or more, than the strip(s)
58
because they will overlie springs
22
.
While many conventional trampoline pad assembly assemblies require all of the filler material to be incorporated into the pad during the cover stitching operation, pad assembly
10
has a definite advantage in the thin strip(s)
58
may be installed at the factory and being thin, they will not prevent the pad from being folded compactly for shipment. On the other hand, the thicker inserts
68
can be installed into the pad segments
10
a
after the factory stitching operation at a remote location, e.g. by the customer who purchases pad assembly
10
. During shipment of the trampoline, those inserts will pack flat.
The easiest way to install the inserts
68
is to place the stitched-together walls or cover of the pad assembly on a flat surface so that the pad bottom wall
34
faces upwards exposing the pockets openings
66
a
. Then, two inserts
68
may be inserted endwise through the opening
66
a
into each half of the pocket
66
of each pad assembly segment
10
a.
Once all of the pockets
66
have been filled with inserts
68
, the pad assembly is in condition to be installed on trampoline
12
as shown in FIG.
1
. For this, the pad assembly is centered on the trampoline
10
with its lower wall
34
facing downward and with the skirts
52
of all of the pad segments
10
a
lying flat against and parallel to the assembly top walls
32
and parallel to the nominal plane of the trampoline rebound surface
18
. The pad assembly should be oriented so that the connected-together ends of the pad segments
10
a
at stitching
67
are located opposite the legs
16
as shown in FIG.
1
. It is important to appreciate that the outer circumferences of the stitched together edges of walls
32
and
34
and of skirts
52
is large enough so that those edges overlap the trampoline ring
14
. However, the total circumference of the free edges of the combined skirts is much smaller; indeed, it is smaller than the circumference of the rebound surface
18
. Thus, it is too small to fit over the trampoline ring
14
except for the fact that the skirts
52
are not secured together end-to-end radially outboard from the notches
54
as described above.
As we shall see, the end notches
54
in the skirts
52
of adjacent segments
10
a
are mirror images of one another and together form relatively large openings to provide clearance for the trampoline legs.
Once pad
10
is properly centered on trampoline
12
, the skirts
52
of the pad assembly segments
10
a
are flipped or folded downward over the trampoline ring
14
as shown in FIG.
5
. Since the diameter of the free edges
52
a
of the combined skirts is smaller than that of the ring, the combined skirts do not just drape down from the ring. Rather, they extend under tension radially inward under the ring toward the center of the trampoline as shown in that figure. Thus, they tend to retain the pad assembly
10
on trampoline
12
. They also overlap or cover all of the openings
66
a
in the pad assembly segments
10
a
thereby capturing the pad inserts
68
between walls
32
and
34
.
In order to assure such retention even in the presence of high winds and vigorous activity on the trampoline, provision is made for positively securing the pad assembly
10
to the trampoline. This is done in such a way that the securement of the pad to the trampoline does not create undo stresses on the pad assembly.
More particularly, and referring to
FIGS. 5 and 6
, when connecting together the ends of adjacent pad segments
10
a
by stitching
67
, a loop
72
is stitched to the exposed surface of bottom wall
34
. Also, during that stitching operation, the edges of the skirt notches
54
are hemmed by stitching
74
. During that process there is secured to the free radially inner end comer at one end of skirt
52
a tie string
76
and to a similar free corner at the opposite end of the skirt, a loop
78
. Thus, when the pad assembly
10
is properly positioned on trampoline
12
, a loop
72
is present radially inboard each trampoline leg
16
and a tie string
76
and loop
78
of adjacent pad assembly segments
10
a
are located on opposite sides of a trampoline leg
16
, all is shown in FIG.
6
.
To secure the pad to the trampoline, each tie string
76
is passed through the adjacent loop
72
at the underside of wall
34
and then passed through the adjacent loop
78
and tied back on itself. Tying the ends of each segment
10
a
of the pad assembly completes the closure of a circular skirt perimeter that is much smaller than the ring
14
. Also, lacing all of the tie strings
76
as aforesaid draws the pad assembly
10
centerline down close to the plane of the rebound surface
18
. This is desirable because the thickest part of the pad rests on top of the trampoline springs
22
. Accordingly, there is a tendency for the center of the pad to be lifted up above the rebound surface. Also, of course, the lacing of the tie strings
76
enhances the security of attachment of the pad assembly
10
to trampoline
12
.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the trampoline pad assembly described above has definite advantages over existing pads of this general type in that it permits installation of the thicker foam inserts
68
into the otherwise finished pad already containing the thinner foam strip(s)
58
. This can be done by unskilled personnel at the factory after the stitching operations on the pad assembly have been completed. Of course, those inserts can also be installed by the person who purchases the pad allowing the pad to be shipped and stored in a smaller space than the space required by a pad assembled completely at the factory. This construction also allows the inserts
68
to be easily removed and replaced if need be. When the pad assembly is installed on a trampoline, it remains centered in place and is relatively unaffected by high winds and activity on the trampoline. Yet, the pad assembly is relatively easy to make and does not cost appreciably more than existing pads of this type which do not have the above advantages.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained. Also, certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the foam inserts
68
may be substituted for by padding on other filler material such as foam pieces. Therefore, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
- 1. A trampoline pad assembly for securement to a trampoline of the type including a rebound surface suspended by springs from an elevated ring, said assembly comprisingan annular top wall and an annular bottom wall secured together at congruent inner and outer edges to form an annular enclosure defining an interior annular pocket; means defining at least one radial opening in said bottom wall, said opening extending into the pocket; resilient material introduced into the pocket through said at least one opening; an annular flexible skirt secured to said top wall adjacent to the outer edge thereof so that the skirt lies flat against said top wall, said skirt having a free edge and which is foldable around said outer edges to a closing position the skirt closes said at least one opening thereby protectively enclosing said resilient material within said pocket, and means for maintaining said skirt in said closing position.
- 2. The pad assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said at least one opening extends radially inward from the outer edge of said bottom wall.
- 3. The pad assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said pocket extends from the outer edges of said walls partway along the radial extent of said walls to a line securing said walls that divides said pocket into radially inner and outer pocket sections.
- 4. The pad assembly defined in claim 1 wherein the top and bottom walls are of plastic sheet material and the resilient material is plastic foam.
- 5. The pad assembly defined in claim 4 whereinthe top and bottom walls and the skirt are composed of arcuate segments secured together end-to-end so that said pocket is composed of separate arcuate pocket segments; a said opening is present in each bottom wall segment, and said resilient material comprises one or more arcuate inserts inserted into each of said pocket segments through said opening therein.
- 6. The pad assembly defined in claim 4wherein said inserts are located in said radially outer pocket section, and, further including additional foam material in said radially inner pocket section, said additional foam material being thinner than said inserts.
US Referenced Citations (7)