Patent Application
20230285791
The invention relates to a trampoline comprising a substantially rectangular rebounding mat, a plurality of frame members, a plurality of spring elements arranged between the rebounding mat and the frame members, and a support arrangement underlying the rebounding mat and the frame members.
Trampolines are commonly used in outdoor and indoor activities. Trampolines comprise a frame and a rebounding mat connected to the frame with stretching elements such as springs or similar. Further trampolines comprise legs or a frame support structure that is connected to the frame to rise it above the ground.
There are different types of trampolines for different use. Outdoor trampolines have a diameter of 3 to 5 meters and the mat of said devices is located at least 60 to 100 centimeters above the ground and are generally used at home on backyards for jumping exercises and stunts on the said devices. Mini trampolines have a diameter of 100 to 150 centimeters and the mat of said devices is positioned 20 to 35 centimeters above the ground and are generally used at home or in gyms for rocking, swinging and slight jumping exercises.
In addition to the outdoor trampolines (it must be noted that outdoor trampolines can be used indoors if the facility is suitable, i.e. large enough) and mini trampolines, there are so called gymnastic trampolines, which are high performance rebounders used for gymnastic jumps and stunt jumps. The rebounding mat of said devices is generally substantially rectangular or square with a diameter of 1 to 2 meters and the mat is positioned 30 to 80 centimeters above the ground. Unlike outdoor trampolines and mini trampolines that are used for jumping on the device, the gymnastic trampolines are generally used for jump on and off the said device.
In some gymnastic trampolines the frame support structure can be adjusted to tilt the angle of the rebounding mat towards the front side of the trampoline. The angle of the rebounding mat is generally tiltable to angles between 0 to 25 degrees. As the device is used for jump on and off, the tilting of the mat is advantageous and is used to direct the rebound direction of a jump.
Patent publications U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,225,131A, 6,162,061A and US20130210590A1 disclose mini trampolines with adjustable frame support structure in order to tilt the angle of the rebounding mat. The adjustment is arranged with telescoping adjustable extensions or telescoping legs. However, the structures that the publications describe are not suitable for gymnastic trampolines and for jumping on and off, because they are not stable enough and lack required durability and rigidity.
Utility model publication CN203577218U discloses a gymnastic trampoline with substantial square frame for a rebounding mat and adjustable frame support structure in order to tilt the angle of the rebounding mat. The frame support structure that the publication describes comprises front and rear support pedestals that are pivotally coupled to the frame of the mat and are separately tiltable in order to tilt the angle of the mat. The adjustment is arranged with telescoping regulating shafts. The telescoping regulating shafts for the front support pedestal are pivotally coupled to the front bar of the frame of the mat and the telescoping regulating shafts for rear support pedestal are pivotally coupled to the rear bar of the frame of the mat. The structure that the publication describes may be suitable for gymnastic trampolines, but the adjustment process of four separate telescoping regulating shafts is quite cumbersome by one person in practice. In addition, the front and rear bars of the frame of the mat, which are required for the coupling of the telescoping regulating shafts, are safety risks when a device is used for jumping on and off for paced stunts.
There is a clear need for a simple, reliable and easy to use, tiltable trampoline frame support structure.
The object of the invention is a solution that can significantly reduce the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. In particular, the object of the invention is a solution where a device is trampoline structure that is stable, durable, safe and easy to adjust for various rebound angles.
The objects of the invention are attained with a device that is characterized by what is stated in the independent patent claim. Some advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
The invention is a tiltable trampoline frame support structure that comprises a front support member, a rear support member, two elongated link members and two elongated adjusting link members. The front support member and the rear support member are pivotally coupled to a frame of a rebounding mat and are pivotal about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the front line of the trampoline. The horizontal link members are pivotally coupled between the front support member and the rear support member. The upper ends of the adjusting link members are pivotally coupled to the upper ends of the front support member and the lower ends of the adjusting link members are movable coupled to the horizontal link members. The front support member, the rear support member, the horizontal link members and the adjusting link members are configured in a such way that the tilt angle of the rebounding mat shifts when the coupling place of the adjustable link members to the horizontal link members is adjusted.
When reference is made in the text to the upper or the lower parts or respective directions such as down or up, or vertical or horizontal directions, a situation is described in which the trampoline according to the invention is in use. Also, when reference is made to the front, rear or side parts or directions, the trampoline is placed similarly and such a way that the front side is generally used to jump on the trampoline.
In one embodiment of the invention is a trampoline comprising a substantially rectangular rebounding mat, a plurality of frame members, a plurality of spring elements arranged between the rebounding mat and the frame members, and a support arrangement underlying the rebounding mat and the frame members. In one advantageous embodiment of the invention the support arrangement comprises a front support member, a rear support member, which support members each comprise two support member shafts having upper ends and lower ends of the support member shafts and an intermediate bar between said support member shafts. The support arrangement further comprises two horizontal link members and two adjusting link members having an upper end of the adjusting link member and a lower end of the adjusting link member, and the upper ends of support member shafts of the front support member and the rear support member are pivotally coupled to the frame members. The horizontal link members are pivotally coupled between the front support member and the rear support member. The upper ends of the adjusting link members are pivotally coupled to the upper ends of the support member shafts of the front support member and the lower ends of the adjusting link members are movable coupled to the horizontal link members. The front support member, the rear support member, the horizontal link members and the adjusting link members are configured in a such way that the tilt angle of the rebounding mat shifts when the coupling place of the adjustable link members to the horizontal link members is adjusted.
In a second embodiment of the trampoline, the coupling arrangement between the adjustable link member and the horizontal link member is a mounting bracket that is pivotally coupled to the lower end of the adjusting link member and is movable coupled on the horizontal link member.
In a third embodiment of the trampoline, the horizontal link members comprise multiple holes and the mounting brackets are locked up to the horizontal link members with locking pins that are fitted into the holes on the horizontal link members to set the tilt angle of the rebounding mat to desired predefined angles. The plurality of holes that are used to lock up the mounting brackets to predefined coupling places and to set the tilt angle of the frame and the rebounding mat to predefined angles. In some embodiment of the invention, the predefined tilt angles are 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 degrees towards the front side of the trampoline. This feature makes it easier to set the desired tilt angle of the rebounding mat.
In a fourth embodiment of the trampoline, the mounting bracket comprises an elastic element that drives the locking drop-in pin into the hole on the horizontal link member and ensures that the locking drop-in pin is in its locking position. This feature ensures that the trampoline frame support structure is locked up and safe to use.
In a fifth embodiment of the trampoline, the mounting bracket comprises a recess, and the locking drop-in pin comprises an elongated pin, a circular base collar with a substantially spiral raised surface perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pin comprising at least two chamfered surfaces. The locking drop-in pin is fitted in to the recess and the mounting bracket further comprises a substantially spiral raised surface corresponding to the spiral raised surface of the base collar, and the spiral raised surfaces of the recess and the base collar are configured in such a way that, when the locking drop-in pin is rotated in the recess, the chamfered surfaces of the recess and the locking drop-in pin force the locking drop-in pin to move outward from the recess and release the locking drop-in pin from its locking position. The locking drop-in pin is fitted in to a recess on one side of the mounting bracket and the recess has a circular inner wall and a spiral raised bottom surface that correspond to the shape of the base collar. The spiral raised surfaces of the recess and the base collar are configured in such a way that when the locking drop-in pin is rotated in the recess the locking drop-in pin moves perpendicular to its longitudinal axis out of the hole on the horizontal link member and the mounting bracket is unlocked up to the horizontal link member.
In a sixth embodiment of the trampoline, the planar chamfered surfaces have chamfering direction opposite each other and the angle of chamfering is between 15 and 30 degrees.
In a seventh embodiment of the trampoline, the angle of chamfering is between 20 and 25 degrees. This feature makes it easier to unlock the mounting bracket from the horizontal link member to be able to adjust the tilt angle of the rebounding mat.
In an eight embodiment of the trampoline, the locking drop-in pin is released from its locking position by pulling a handle that is coupled to the front end of the frame member and connected by a cable to the level member coupled to the base collar of the locking drop-in pin. This feature makes it easier to adjust the tilt angle of the rebounding mat and the adjustment can be easily made by one person.
In a ninth embodiment of the trampoline, the horizontal link member comprises locking slots and locking members on its both ends and the locking member comprises an L-shape slot configured in such a way that when the locking members are moved a certain distance outward from the horizontal link member, the locking slots open so that the horizontal link member can be decoupled from the front support member and the rear support member. The locking slot opens, and the horizontal link member can be detached from the front support member and the rear support member when the locking member is moved outward from the horizontal link member to the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis the horizontal link member. When the horizontal link members are detached from the front support member and the rear support member, the trampoline frame support structure can be folded down so that it takes less space. This feature makes it easier to store or transport the trampoline.
In a tenth embodiment of the trampoline, the horizontal link member is a telescopic pipe structure comprising an outer pipe, an inner pipe fitted into the outer pipe and adapted to move relative to the outer pipe, and a fixing pin that is fitted into fixing holes on the outer pipe and the inner pipe to fix the inner pipe in place. The length of the horizontal link member can be adjusted by extending the telescopic pipe structure. When the telescopic pipe structures of the horizontal link members are extended, the front support member and the rear support member are pivoted and the trampoline frame support structure is folded down so that it takes less space. This feature makes it easier to store or transport the trampoline. The inner pipe comprises multiple fixing holes so that the inner pipe can be fixed in at least two different place to set the length of the horizontal link member for the proper length for the normal operation mode and the folded mode.
In an eleventh embodiment of the trampoline, the support member shafts of the front support member and the support member shafts of the rear support member comprise elongated slots at the upper ends. The coupling between the support member shaft and the frame member can be loosen so that the coupling place of the support member shaft to the frame member can be moved away from the upper end of the support member shaft and thus in the folded mode the support member shaft can be pushed inwards to reduce the size of the trampoline frame structure. This feature makes it easier to store or transport the trampoline.
In a twelfth embodiment of the trampoline, the distance between the coupling places of the front support member and the rear support member to the horizontal link member is 60-70% longer than the distance between the coupling places of the front support member and the rear support member to the frame member and the distance between the coupling places of the frame member and the horizontal link member to the front support member is 35-45% shorter than the distance between the coupling places of the front support member and the rear support member to the frame member. This feature makes the frame support structure more stable.
In a thirteenth embodiment of the trampoline, the front support member and the rear support member comprise foot supporters that are pivotally coupled to the lower ends of the support member shafts of the front support member and the rear support member. The foot supporters have non slip such as a rubber bottom surface. This feature makes the frame support structure more stable and safer when it is used. The foot supporters of the rear support member comprise wheels that are mounted on the top side of the foot supporters. When the foot supporters are flipped the wheels can be used to help the moving of the trampoline.
In a fourteenth embodiment of the trampoline, the front support member and the rear support member are identical. This feature eases the manufacturing and logistics.
In a fifteenth embodiment of the trampoline, the trampoline comprises two elongated frame members with longitudinal axis perpendicular to the front line of the trampoline, the frame members are positioned on opposite sides of the rebounding mat and the frame members not directly coupled together. This feature makes the trampoline safer to use, because there is no frame member on the front line or the rear line of it.
In a sixteenth embodiment of the trampoline, the intermediate bars of the front support member and the rear support member comprise fixing hooks that are arranged to fit into the fixing holes on the support member shafts configured in such a way that the intermediate bar can be detached from the support member shafts and the trampoline can be collapsed in width direction. This feature makes it easier to store or transport the trampoline.
In some embodiments of the invention is a trampoline frame support structure in which the front support member, the rear support member, the horizontal link members and the adjusting link members are configured in a such way that the tilt angle of the frame and the rebounding mat shifts when the coupling place of the adjustable link members on the horizontal link members is adjusted. The coupling arrangement between the adjustable link members and the horizontal link members is a mounting bracket that is pivotally coupled to the lower end of the adjusting link member and is movable coupled on the horizontal link member. The mounting brackets are locked up to the horizontal link members with locking drop-in pins that are fitted into holes on the horizontal link members. The horizontal link members comprise a plurality of holes that are used to lock up the mounting brackets to predefined coupling places and to set the tilt angle of the frame and the rebounding mat to predefined angles. In one embodiment of the invention, the predefined tilt angles are 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 degrees towards the front side of the trampoline. This feature makes it easier to set the desired tilt angle of the rebounding mat.
In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the mounting bracket comprises an elastic element such as a spring that drives the locking drop-in pin into the hole on the horizontal link member and locks up the mounting bracket to the horizontal link member. This feature ensures that the trampoline frame support structure is locked up and safe to use. In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the locking drop-in pin comprises an elongated pin, a circular base collar with a substantially spiral raised surface perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pin and a level member coupled to the base collar. The locking drop-in pin is fitted in to a recess on one side of the mounting bracket and the recess has a circular inner wall and a spiral raised bottom surface that correspond to the shape of the base collar. The spiral raised surfaces of the recess and the base collar are configured in such a way that when the locking drop-in pin is rotated in the recess the locking drop-in pin moves perpendicular to its longitudinal axis out of the hole on the horizontal link member and the mounting bracket is unlocked up to the horizontal link member. The spiral raised surfaces of the recess and the base collar comprise two sections each having substantially planar chamfered surfaces with chamfering direction opposite each other and the angle of chamfering is between 15 and 30 degreed, preferable between 20 and 25 degrees. This feature makes it easier to unlock the mounting bracket from the horizontal link member to be able to adjust the tilt angle of the rebounding mat.
In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the locking drop-in pin is rotated by pulling a handle that is coupled to the frame of the rebounding mat and connected by a cable to the level member.
In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the horizontal link member comprises locking slots and locking members on both ends. The locking slot opens, and the horizontal link member can be detached from the front support member and the rear support member when the locking member is moved outward from the horizontal link member to the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis the horizontal link member. When the horizontal link members are detached from the front support member and the rear support member, the trampoline frame support structure can be folded down so that it takes less space. This feature makes it easier to store or transport the trampoline.
In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the front support member and the rear support member are tilted inward and the distance between the coupling places of the front support member and the rear support member to the horizontal link member is 60-70% longer than the distance between the coupling places of the front support member and the rear support member to the frame and the distance between the coupling places of the frame and the horizontal link member to the front support member is 35-45% shorter than the distance between the coupling places of the front support member and the rear support member to the frame. This feature makes the frame support structure more stable.
In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the front support member and the rear support member comprise foot supporters that are pivotally coupled to the lower ends of the front support member and the rear support member. The foot supporters have non slip such as a rubber bottom surface. This feature makes the frame support structure more stable and safer when it is used. In some embodiments of the trampoline frame support structure, the front support member and the rear support member are identical. This feature eases the manufacturing and logistics.
One embodiment of the invention is a trampoline comprising a tiltable frame support structure. In one advantageous embodiment, the frame support structure comprises support members and link members as was described before.
In some embodiments of the trampoline, the rebounding mat is substantially rectangular and the frame of the rebounding mat comprises only two elongated frame members with longitudinal axis perpendicular to the front line of the trampoline positioned on two opposite sides of the rebounding mat and the frame members are not directly coupled together. This feature makes the trampoline safer to use, because there is no frame member on the front line or the rear line of it.
It is an advantage of the invention that it provides a trampoline that is stable, durable, safe to use and can be easily folded down for storage or transportation.
It is a further advantage of the trampoline frame support structure that it is rigid and can be easily adjusted for different tilt angles to direct the rebound direction of a jump.
Further advantages, features, and details of the various embodiments of this disclosure will become apparent from the ensuring description of a preferred exemplary embodiment and with the aid of the drawings. The features and combinations of features recited below in the description, as well as the features and feature combination shown after that in the drawing description or in the drawings alone, may be used not only in the particular combination received, but also in other combinations on their own, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
In the following, the invention is described in detail. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
As used throughout the present disclosure, unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “or” encompasses all possible combinations, except where infeasible. For example, the expression “A or B” shall mean A alone, B alone, or A and B together. If it is stated that a component includes “A, B or C”, then, unless specifically stated otherwise or infeasible, the component may include A, or B, or C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, or A and B and C. Expressions such as “at least one of” do not necessarily modify an entirety of the following list and do not necessarily modify each member of the list, such that at least one of “A, B, and C” should not be understood as including only one of A, only one of B, only one of C, or any combination of A, B, and C.
The embodiments in the following description are given as examples only and someone skilled in the art can carry out the basic idea of the invention also in some other way than what is described in the description. Though the description may refer to a certain embodiment or embodiments in several places, this does not mean that the reference would be directed towards only one described embodiment or that the described characteristic would be usable only in one described embodiment. The individual characteristics of two or more embodiments may be combined and new embodiments of the invention may thus be provided.
Some advantageous embodiments of the method and apparatus according to the invention have been described above. The invention is however not limited to the embodiments described above, but the inventive idea can be applied in numerous ways within the scope of the claims.
Since the devices and methods described in detail above are examples of embodiments, they can be modified to a wide extent by the skilled person in the usual manner without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the mechanical arrangements and the proportions of the individual elements with respect to each other are merely exemplary. Some preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention have been disclosed above. The invention is not limited to the solutions explained above, but the innovative solutions can be applied in different ways within the limits set out by the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20207157 | Sep 2020 | FI | national |
This application is a national phase of international application PCT/FI2021/000009, filed Sep. 23, 2021, which claims the benefit of priority to Finnish patent application 20207157, filed 28 Sep. 2020, the content of both applications of which are herein incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FI2021/000009 | 9/23/2021 | WO |
