AU2005202814A1 - Trampoline safety device - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

SPATENTS ACT 1990 o0 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD

PATENT

ORIGINAL

00 o Name of Applicant: Hills Industries Limited Actual Inventors: Peter Adams Brian Johns Address for Service: MADDERNS, 1st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: TRAMPOLINE SAFETY DEVICE Details of Associated Provisional Application No: 2004903576 dated 1 st July 2004 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

(PatAU131} iFIELD OF THE INVENTION

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OThe present invention relates to padding arrangements for a trampoline. In a particular form the invention relates to a device for preventing damage to these padding arrangements at the mounting points of the trampoline surface to the 00 N 5 external frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 00 (I Various padding arrangements are well-known to protect users of trampolines from the external frame and springing arrangement that is located on the periphery S 10 of the trampoline rebound surface. Clearly, as trampoline users are able to attain substantial heights by bouncing on the trampoline surface, they are able to cause themselves serious injury in the event of inadvertently missing the trampoline surface and impacting either the frame or springing arrangement.

To address this issue, and also as a result of various safety standards which govern trampoline use, there have been an assortment of padding designs for trampolines which typically consist of mats made of resilient material attached at selected locations about the periphery of the trampoline surface. As the relevant safety standards for trampoline use now also address specifically the scenario of a user impacting the external frame it has become apparent that a potential point of weakness for known padding arrangements is where the springs, that are attached at spaced apart intervals about the periphery of the trampoline surface, attach to the external frame. Typically coil springs are used and these are mounted at one end to the external frame by a hook arrangement which is slotted through an aperture in the external frame which is typically manufactured from steel tubing.

It has been found that one or more impacts on the padding near or directly over these mounting points can cause the padding at these locations to become damaged thereby resulting in portions of the external frame not being suitably padded.

When this occurs, direct impact at these points by the user of a trampoline may not meet the required standard. It has also been found that this problem is further exacerbated near those locations where the legs of the trampoline are attached to 0 the external frame. This is due to the external frame having very little flex at these rigidly supported locations to absorb any impact forces.

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00 S 5 One potential solution to address this problem is to employ substantially thicker padding which absorbs a greater part of the force from any impact. However, as the cost of the padding is directly related to the amount of material used, this results in N- more expensive padding arrangements. Additionally, it would be preferable that cthe profile of the padding arrangement be substantially level with the trampoline surface as any edge at the periphery of the trampoline surface will provide an additional hazard.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cost effective device to improve the safety of padding arrangements for trampolines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect the present invention accordingly provides a protective cover for a mounting point of a spring, said spring attached at a first end to an operative surface and at a second end mounted to an external frame at said mounting point, said cover including a cover region located to substantially cover said mounting point.

As the cover region covers the mounting point this prevents the overlaying padding arrangement at this location being damaged by parts of the spring mounting arrangement which may protrude from the surface of the external frame.

Preferably, said cover further includes a spring engagement region to engage an end portion of said spring proximate to said mounting point.

As there is a certain amount of movement of the spring at the mounting point this provides an extra means to ensure that the cover region stays located over the O mounting point.

SPreferably, said cover region is formed from a substantially resilient material. This further serves to absorb any impact forces.

00oO Preferably, said spring engagement region includes a pair of tabs or flaps each having securing means for securing said tabs to said end portion of said spring.

oo t This is a convenient way to secure the protective cover to the end portion of the spring.

Preferably, said end portion of said spring includes a hook and shaft arrangement to attach said spring to said mounting point, and wherein said securing means includes adhesive regions located on each tab or flap to secure said tabs or flaps together when folded inwardly about said shaft.

As the tabs adhere to each other after being folded inwardly about the shaft the protective cover is securely located with respect to the spring.

Preferably, said cover region includes an adhesive surface to adhere said cover region to said external frame.

Optionally, said end portion of said spring includes a hook and shaft arrangement to attach said spring to said mounting point and said spring engagement region includes a recess to receive said end portion of said spring.

This provides a convenient way to locate the protective cover with respect to the spring.

Preferably, said recess is cylindrical and adapted to receive a plurality of coil windings located at said end portion of said spring.

0 As most springs are of the coil spring variety this provides an extremely effective way to position the protective cover over the mounting point.

00 N 5 Preferably, said cover region includes a contoured portion located on the underside of said cover region, said contoured portion shaped to fit to said external frame.

00 N Preferably, said contoured portion provides a snap on fitting to said external frame.

Preferably, said cover region is formed from a resilient material and said cover region may be folded back to expose said hook after insertion of said end portion of said spring into said recess of said protective cover for insertion of said hook into a mounting aperture at said mounting point.

Preferably, said cover is of unitary construction.

In a second aspect the present invention accordingly provides a protective cover for a mounting point of a trampoline spring attached at one end to a trampoline surface and at a second end mounted to an external frame at said mounting point, said spring including a hook and shaft arrangement to mount said hook to said mounting point by inserting said hook into a mounting aperture at said mounting point, said cover including: a cylindrical recess to receive a plurality of windings of said trampoline spring to locate said protective cover with respect to said mounting point; and a contoured region located on the underside of said cover region and shaped to fit said external frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIGURE 1 is a top perspective exploded view of a protective cover according to a first illustrative embodiment of the present invention; 0 FIGURE 2 is a top perspective view of the protective cover illustrated in Figure 1 Sattached to the external frame at the spring mounting point; nO FIGURE 3 is a top perspective exploded view of a protective cover according to a 00 CI 5 second illustrative embodiment of the present invention; FIGURE 4 is a top perspective view of the protective cover illustrated in Figure 3 attached to the external frame at the spring mounting point; 00 N- FIGURE 5 is a side sectional view through the sectional plane of the protective cover as indicated Figure 4; FIGURE 6 is a top perspective view of a protective cover according to a third illustrative embodiment of the present invention; FIGURE 7 is a side sectional view through the sectional plane of the protective cover as indicated in Figure 6; FIGURE 8 is a top perspective view of a protective cover according to a fourth illustrative embodiment of the present invention; and FIGURE 9 is a side sectional view through the sectional plane of the protective cover as indicated in Figure 8.

In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED

EMBODIMENT

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a protective cover 100 for the mounting point 210 of a spring 300 to the external frame 200 of a trampoline according to a first embodiment of the invention. External frame 200 is formed from tubular steel and spring 300 includes a hook 310 and shaft 320 at one end. Spring 300 is mounted on external frame 200 by inserting hook 310 into aperture 215. This is repeated for each of the springs surrounding the trampoline rebound surface.

Protective cover 100 is of unitary construction and formed from 5 mm thick polyethylene material. Cover 100 includes on its entire underside 110 double sided adhesive tape allowing the cover region 120 to be directly affixed to the external frame 200 at mounting point 210. Cover 100 also includes at one end opposed tabs 0 or flaps 130 formed by removing opposed slot sections from cover 100 to form neck region 140. These tabs 130 are folded inwardly about shaft 320 (as shown in Figure n 2) and secured together by virtue of the adhesive tape thereby engaging the spring 00 5 300 and preventing lateral movement of cover 100. As would be apparent to those skilled in the art, other means to secure the tabs 130 together such as the use of Velcro

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M surfaces or tying arrangements are contemplated to be within the scope of 00 c- the invention. Thus cover region 120 on installation of protective cover 100 forms a secondary resilient surface between mounting point 210 and the padding arrangement thereby reducing potential damage to the padding arrangement caused by impacts near the mounting point 210.

Referring now to Figures 3 to 5, there is shown a protective cover 400 according to a second embodiment of the invention. Cover 400 is once again of unitary construction and is formed from a urethane base material and includes a spring engagement region incorporating a cylindrical shaped recess 430. Hook 310 and shaft 320 are inserted through aperture 432 at the mounting point end of recess 430, with the initial winding 301 of coil spring 300 abutting against the shoulder 431 of aperture 432 thereby engaging cover 400 to spring 300 due to the walls 450 of cylindrical shaped recess 430 forming a sleeve for spring 300. Cover region 420 may then be folded back thus allowing easy insertion of hook 310 into aperture 215 with cover region 420 returned to its initial unfolded position after attachment of spring 300.

Cover region 420 includes on its underside opposed contoured portions 440 shaped to conform and fit to the shape of tubular steel portion 220 which forms part of the external frame of the trampoline. Contoured portions 440 also form the walls of a slotted recess located on the underside of cover region 420 that receives the shaft 320 and hook 310 of spring 300 (as is clearly shown in Figure Due to the combined effect of contoured regions 440 locating against steel tubing 200 and furthermore coil spring 300 abutting shoulder 431 the protective cover 400 is retained in place over mounting point 210.

SReferring now to Figures 6 and 7, there is shown a protective cover 500 according to a third embodiment of the invention. Cover 500 is again of unitary construction and 00 formed from a urethane base material. Protective cover 500 includes a cover region 520 which includes at one end an elongate slot 510 to form a generally hooded shaped spring engagement region. Hook 310 and shaft 320 of spring 300 are 00

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inserted through elongate slot 510 with hook 310 being further inserted into aperture 215 at spring mounting point 210. The shaft 320 of spring 300 abuts the 0 10 underside of cover region 520 and is able to move longitudinally in elongate slot 510 thereby allowing spring 300 to move freely up and down when the trampoline is in use.

Protective cover 500 also includes resilient arms 530, 540 which are of a generally cylindrical shape and function to snap on and engage cover 500 to steel tubing 200.

This further serves to locate protective cover 500 over mounting point 210.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, there is shown a protective cover 600 according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. Protective cover 600 includes a mushroom shaped cover region 620 having an elongate slot 610 extending through and substantially bisecting cover region 620. Protective cover 600 is of solid construction whose underside 630 is cylindrical and shaped to conform to the surface of steel tubing 200. Protective cover 600 is retained in place due to the walls 611, 612 of elongate slot 610 resiliently engaging spring 300.

To install protective cover 600, hook 310 and shaft 320 are first inserted through slot 610. As the walls 611, 612 of slot 610 function to grip the already inserted parts of the spring, the protective cover 600 is thereby fixed to spring 300. Hook 310 is then mounted at mounting point 210 by insertion into aperture 215. Protective cover 600 can then be manipulated so that the underside 630 fits snugly to steel tubing 200 thereby ensuring that it remains in place over mounting point 210.

O In all of the embodiments described herein cover regions 120, 420, 520, 620 are formed from a resilient material but equally these regions may be formed from a n rigid material such as a rigid moulded plastic. This is due to the smoothly varying 00 N 5 shape of these regions 120, 420, 520, 620 which functions to distribute any impact forces and thereby minimise damage from mounting point 210 to any overlaying padding arrangement.

oO A brief consideration of the above described embodiments will indicate that the invention provides an extremely simple, economical safety device for a trampoline which is effective to prevent an overlaying padding arrangement being damaged at mounting points on the external frame thereby reducing the risk of serious injury to a person using the trampoline who may inadvertently impact the external frame at these points.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.

Claims (17)

1. A protective cover for a mounting point of a spring, said spring attached at a Z first end to an operative surface and at a second end mounted to an external frame 00 at said mounting point, said cover including a cover region located to substantially cover said mounting point. 00

2. A protective cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cover further includes a spring engagement region to engage an end portion of said spring proximate to said mounting point.

3. A protective cover as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said cover region is formed from a substantially resilient material.

4. A protective cover as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said spring engagement region includes a pair of tabs or flaps each having securing means for securing said tabs to said end portion of said spring.

A protective cover as claimed in claim 4, wherein said end portion of said spring includes a hook and shaft arrangement to attach said spring to said mounting point, and wherein said securing means includes adhesive regions located on each tab or flap to secure said tabs or flaps together when folded inwardly about said shaft.

6. A protective cover as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said cover region includes an adhesive surface to adhere said cover region to said external frame.

7. A protective cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein said end portion of said spring includes a hook and shaft arrangement to attach said spring to said mounting point and wherein said spring engagement region includes a recess to receive said end portion of said spring. tV

8. A protective cover as claimed in claim 7, wherein said recess is cylindrical O Sand adapted to receive a plurality of coil windings located at said end portion of Ssaid spring. 00 O

9. A protective cover as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein said cover region includes a contoured portion located on the underside of said cover region, said contoured portion shaped to fit to said external frame. 00 oO N,

10. A protective cover as claimed in claim 9, wherein said contoured portion Oprovides a snap on fitting to said external frame.

11. A protective cover as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein said cover region is formed from a resilient material and wherein said cover region may be folded back to expose said hook after insertion of said end portion of said spring into said recess of said protective cover for insertion of said hook into a mounting aperture at said mounting point.

12. A protective cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein said end portion of said spring includes a hook and shaft arrangement to attach said spring to said mounting point and wherein said spring engagement region includes an elongate slot to receive said hook and shaft arrangement, said slot arranged to allow vertical movement therein with respect to said external frame.

13. A protective cover as claimed in claim 12, wherein an elongate slot includes opposed inner walls to resiliently engage said shaft of said spring thereby retaining said protective cover in place with respect to said mounting point.

14. A protective cover as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein said cover region includes a contoured portion located on the underside of said cover region, said contoured portion shaped to fit to said external frame.

15. A protective cover as claimed in claim 14, wherein said contoured portion provides a snap on fitting to said external frame. 11 S

16. A protective cover as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein 0said cover is of unitary construction.

17. A protective cover for a mounting point of a trampoline spring attached at 0 one end to a trampoline surface and at a second end mounted to an external frame (N at said mounting point, said spring including a hook and shaft arrangement to mount said hook to said mounting point by inserting said hook into a mounting 00 0 aperture at said mounting point, said cover including: c- a cylindrical recess to receive a plurality of windings of said trampoline spring to locate said protective cover with respect to said mounting point; and C'4 10 a contoured region located on the underside of said cover region and shaped to fit said external frame. Dated this 28 t h day of June 2005 Hills Industries Limited By its Patent Attorneys MADDERNS