Patent Application
20120244996
Trampolines typically have substantially planar jump surfaces. These substantially planar surfaces provide for a consistent and predictable bounce. Trampolines may be put together to form trampoline courts. Some trampoline courts have planar trampolines that are substantially horizontal. These trampolines are intersected by other planar trampolines that are not horizontal. However, all the trampolines are substantially planar.
An embodiment of a wave-shaped trampoline 100 is shown in
The sides 104, 106 of the trampoline 100 are wave-shaped or at least partially wave-shaped. For example, when the sides 104, 106 are viewed from the side, they are wave-shaped. In some embodiments, the sides 104, 106 are sinusoidal. A wave-shaped trampoline includes one that when viewed from the side has a crest and/or a trough. In some embodiments, a radius is associated with a trough and/or a crest. In some embodiments, the troughs and crests are parabolic and may not have specific radii associated with them. In other embodiments, the crests and/or troughs are at least partially sinusoidal. When moving along a side 104, 105, the wave shape has high points and low points. A trough is a low point and a crest is a high point. In some embodiments, the crests and troughs are referred to as portions of the side or portions of the mat 114.
The wave-shaped trampoline of
The trampoline 100 has a length 140 extending between the first end 108 and the second end 110. The length 140 may be long enough to accommodate several users or jumpers on the trampoline 100. In one embodiment, the length 140 is approximately eighty-six feet. The length 140 is a design choice and may be varied depending on the application of the trampoline 100.
The sides 104, 106 and ends 108, 110 of the trampoline 100 may include rigid structures such as steel members that serve to counter the forces exerted by the mat 114 when a user is bouncing on the mat 114. As described above, springs or spring devices connect between the mat 114 and the sides 104, 106 and ends 108, 110. Accordingly, the springs may be connected between the mat 114 and the rigid structures. An embodiment of such a configuration is shown in
The rails 142, 144 may be steel rails that extend the length of the trampoline 100. Rails may also be associated with the ends 108, 110 of the trampoline. The rails 142, 144 may be wave-shaped in order to provide the wave shape of the trampoline 100 as shown in
The rails 142, 144 each have hooks 146 attached thereto. Springs 148 are connected between the hooks 146 and the mat 114 and provide the bounce for the users of the trampoline 100. Although coil springs are shown in
As shown in
The floor 152 may be recessed from a user floor 158. A first wall 160 and a second wall 162 extend between the user floor 158 and the floor 152. The recessed floor scheme enables users of the trampoline 100 to walk from the user floor 158 onto portions of the trampoline 100 without having to climb a ladder or other device. The user floor 158 may be the same height as a certain portion of the trampoline 100. For example, it may be the same height as a trough or horizontal portion in order to enable users to walk onto the trampoline 100. Although not shown, netting or other devices may be used to prevent users from falling from a portion of the trampoline 100, such as a crest portion of the trampoline 100, onto the user floor 158.
The walls 160, 162 may be substantially rigid so as to maintain the rails 142, 144 from moving side to side as described below. More specifically, a first member 166 may be connected between the first wall 160 and the first rail 142 and a second member 168 may be connected between the second wall 162 and the second rail 144. When a user bounces on the mat 114, a force acts on the first rail 142 and first support 154 in a direction 170. An opposite force in the direction 172 acts on the second rail 144 and second support 156. These forces are countered by the members 166, 168 so that the supports 154, 156 remain stable. In turn, the rails 142, 144 remain stable. Without the members 166, 168 a tremendous torque would be applied between the supports 154, 156 and the floor 152. Costly reinforcements would be required to anchor the supports 154, 156 to the floor 152.
Having described the trampoline 100 as a stand alone device, it will now be described as being used in a trampoline court.
A side cutaway view of a trampoline court 182 is shown in
As with the trampoline 100 described above, the trampolines 180 have mats that connect to the rails via springs or spring devices. The first trampoline 186 has a mat 206 that is connected via springs 208 to the first and second rails 194, 196. It is noted that the springs 208 may connect to the rails 194, 196 by way of hooks or other devices attached to the rails 194, 196 and as described with the trampoline 100 above. The second trampoline 188 has a mat 210 that is connected via springs 212 to the second rail 196 and the third rail 198. The third trampoline 190 has a mat 216 that is connected to the third rail 198 and the fourth rail 200 via springs 218. It is noted that the use of the term springs implies various springs or spring devices that may be used in trampolines. Cushions or the like may be used to cover the rails and the springs in order to minimize injuries caused to users should they land on the springs or rails during the bouncing.
The rails are supported by a plurality of supports 222. A first support 224 supports the first rail 194, a second support 226 supports the second rail 196, a third support 228 supports the third rail 198, and a fourth support 230 supports the fourth rail 200. The supports 222 may be made of steel or other rigid materials that are strong enough to support the trampolines 180 and the respective users.
As with the trampoline 100, the trampoline court 182 may be recessed. A portion of the trampolines 180 may be the same height as a user floor 158 and the trampolines 180 may sit on a floor 152. A first wall 160 and a second wall 162 exist between the floor 152 and the user floor 158. As with the trampoline 100, a member 232 may secure the first rail 192 to the first wall 160 and a member 234 may secure the fourth rail 200 to the second wall 162.
By sharing a single rail between adjacent trampolines, the cost of the trampoline court 182 is reduced and fewer structural components are required relative to a trampoline court that does not share rails. For example, the first trampoline 186 and the second trampoline 188 share the second rail 196. Therefore, only one rail (the second rail 196) has to be manufactured for the two trampolines 186, 188 instead of two rails.
All of the trampolines 180 pull on the rails by way of their springs 208, 212, 218. Because the trampolines 180 share the rails, the forces exerted by the springs are in equilibrium. Accordingly, there is no torque or very little torque applied between the supports 222 and the floor 152. It follows that the forces are not in equalibrium when a user bounces on one of the trampolines 180. The trampoline court 182 has to be structurally able to counter those forces caused by the bouncing. However, the forces applied to the trampoline court 182 when no users are bouncing is minimal. For example, forces 236 are applied to the supports 222. These forces 236 are the weight of the trampoline court 182 in addition to downward vectors as a result of users bouncing on the trampolines 180. Very little torque between the supports 222 and the floor 152 exists.
Having described the structure of the trampoline 100,
Referring briefly to
Another embodiment of a trampoline 250 is shown in
The wave-shaped portion 264 of the trampoline 250 extends between the first deck 260 and the second deck 262. The wave-shaped portion 264 may include a wave shape, a sinusoidal shape, a parabolic shape, or a shape that is curved when viewed from the side as shown in
The trampoline 250 has a plurality of supports 280 that hold the side 251 above the floor 152 so as to form the crests 266, 268 and trough 270. As with the previous trampolines, the side 251 may have a rail or the like associated therewith which defines the contour of the side 251. The spacing of the supports 280 is made to offer structural integrity without excessive costs. In the embodiment of
It is noted that other embodiments of the trampolines may exists. For example, at least one deck may be above the center line 274. In some embodiments, there may be more than one trough and/or decks may be located throughout the trampoline. In the embodiments, however, at least a portion of the trampoline is wave-shaped when viewed from the side as shown in
While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
