AU592764B2 - Spring mounting - Google Patents

Description

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t6247/85 lo. 592764 16.08.84 zh that the Support and )itch angle here is a Ler means tween and whereby to acement of port, and T winding COMMONWEALTH OF AU S T RA L I A kllllllrC ~1 ;i PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 1 (.riginal) FOR OFFICE USE Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: 6 68Accepted: Published: 00oIriority 00 0 ,iRelated Art: .0 Oame of Applicant: o e 00 A. ddress of Applicant: 4.

GLENWEOOD PL3AY SYS PTY LS- 410 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading 3131, Victoria, Commonwealth of Australia Kenneth Robert Goddard

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:4c: ictual Inventor(s) Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

Complete specification for the invention entitled: "SPRING MOUNTING" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us -1o o 4 o 4.

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Pp 5 0* This invention relates generally to spring mountings and in one particular application to heavy coil spring mountings for playground structures such as seesaws and rocker seats.

5 A potential hazard with structures of the aforementioned kind is the wedge shaped space formed between the terminal winding and penultimate winding at each end of the spring. The spring mounting is intended to provide both up and down and sideways movement for 10 the element mounted atop the spring and it can occur that the wedge shaped space between the last two windings can vary, especially where a heavier child is on the structure. There is thus a risk that a finger or other body appendage, for example of another child such 15 as a toddler playing on the ground near the mounting, will become jammed in the spring and perhaps seriously injured.

one proposed approach to the problem has been to provide a shield about each end of the spring but the hazard may well still remain between the spring and the edge of the shield. A further proposal is disclosed in

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P. P 0 C P 2 1 Australian Patent 508,206 to Berg et al, wherein a co- 2 operative combination of a spacer between the last two 3 windings and an associated U-bolt defines a wedge shaped 4 space of fixed dimensions in which jamming of a finger is thereby rendered impossible.

6 It has also been found that the heavy coil springs of 7 the type usually used to support playground devices are 8 subject to a certain incidence of breakage which appears to 9 generally occur in one or other of the penultimate windings of the spring. This is thought to indicate a stress 11 concentration in that winding where the end winding is fixed 12 hard against a mounting plate and there is therefore a 13 varying winding pitch towards the ends of the spring.

tws| 14 It is an object of the invention to provide a novel spring mounting which at least in part is able to meet each S 16 of the aforementioned problems with heavy coiled spring 17 mountings for playground devices.

18 The invention accordingly provides a spring mounting 19 comprising: a spring and a support for the spring; and 21 means securing the spring to the support such that the S22 spring includes a terminal winding overlying the support and 23 a following winding of increased or increasing pitch angle 24 compared with the terminal winding so that there is a *$Stec tapered space between the windings; 26 wherein said securing means includes spacer means i27 extending laterally of the terminal winding between and 23 abutting said following winding and said support whereby to 27 sxedn aaid y oftetra saidin ewe 29 define at the spacer means a minimum finite displacement of said following winding with respect to the support, and 31 fastener means for retaining said following winding 32 substantially in contact with said spacer means.

33 34 36 3 following Winding custantially in cotc it aid spaocr means.

The fastener means preferably comprises an incompressible U-bolt which extends about both the terminal winding and the following winding and is secured to the support. The spacer means may then comprise a plate received on the U-bolt and a pair of longitudinally incompressible sleeves on the respective arms of the U-bolt between the support and the plate.

1 0 The U-bolt is then tightened down in use to clamp the following winding between the head of the bolt and the 0 oo plate and the sleeves between the plate and the support.

S The arrangement may be such that the terminal winding passes between the sleeves but is not in contact with them.

The invention will be further described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in o o. which: structure supported by a heavy coil spring mounting in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of part of the structure of Figure 1 showing one of the two fastener assemblies by which the spring is fixed to the ground plate; and Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 in Figure 2.

The structure 10 illustrated in Figure 1 includes a child's seat 12 which carries a contoured typically recognizable metal plate shape (not shown). Seat 12 is secured by underside brackets 13 to a channel plate 14.

4 n 4 Plate 14 and a ground plate 16 are interconnected by a heavy coil spring 18 secured to each plate by a pair of fastener assemblies 19, 20. Plate 16 is fixed to the ground in any suitable conventional manner. At each end, one fastener assembly 19 is a simple U-bolt which clamps the end 18c of the spring and the overlying winding 18b hard against plate 14 or 16. Fastener assembly 20 is disposed diametrically opposite fastener 19: it will be seen that the penultimate winding 18b is 00 goo 10 of increased or increasing pitch angle compared with *000 °000 terminal winding 18a, so that there is a tapered space between the windings. The combination of spring 18, one 0 00 o: of the plates 14, 16 and a fastener assembly 00*0 constitutes a preferred embodiment of spring mounting in 15 accordance with the invention.

With reference to Figures 2 and 3 each fastener assembly 20, which constitutes means securing spring 18 to the respective support comprising plate 14 or 16, comprises fastener means in the form of a U-bolt 22 and S 20 spacer means 24 defining a minimum finite displacement of the penultimate winding 18b of spring 18 which o respect to plate 14 or 16. Bolt 22 has a pair of parallel arms 23 threaded at their free ends to receive nuts 21 and interconnected by a semi-circular centre 25 portion 25. Spacer means 24 is formed by a transverse o plate 26 carried by bolt 22 by way of spaced apertures 27 in the plate, and respective incompressible sleeves 28, 29 received on the bolt arms 23 between plate 14 or 16 and plate 26.

In the assembled state of the fastener arrangement, bolt 22 extends about both the terminal winding 18a and 1 i msaausncxrrrr~nn*-.--mt~Y"L~'~L'II i ij

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penultimate winding 18b of the spring. The arms 23 of bolt 22 receive plate 26 and sleeves 28, 29, extend through registering apertures 17 in plate 14 or 16 and are secured therein by application of nuts 21. The nuts are tightened until winding 18b is clamped between the semi-circular centre portion 25 of the bolt and plate 26, and sleeves 28, 29 are clamped between plate 26 and plate 14 or 16. Winding 18a is left free, in contact with plate 14 or 16 between and out of contact with sleeves 28, 29. The relative position of plate 26 and winding 18b may be maintained by providing a screw 30 in plate 26 seated in a small blind hole in the winding.

It will be seen that each fastener assembly defines a tapered space extending between fastener assemblies 19, 20 which is of fixed dimensions anu cannot practicably be varied in width. The penultimate winding 18b is restrained against movement towards plate 14 or 16 and therefore towards winding 18a and there is no force available during ordinary use of the device by 20 which winding 18a can be lifted away from plate 14 or 16. At the other side of each fastener assembly 20, the separation of the windings is sufficient for there to be no possibility for even a larger body appendage to be jammed: indeed, sleeves 28, 29 are of a selected length to ensure that this is so.

As is a secondary benefit of the arrangement of the invention, it is believed that the separate fixing of the penultimate windings to their respective plates assists in beneficially distributing stress in the spring windings and reduces the incidence of breakage at the penultimate winding.

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Claims (6)

1. A spring mounting comprising: a spring and a support for the spring; and means securing the spring to the support such that the spring includes a terminal winding overlying the support and a following winding of increased or increasing pitch angle compared with the terminal winding so that there is a tapered space between the windings; wherein said securing means includes spacer means extending laterally of the terminal winding between and abutting said following winding and said support whereby to define at the spacer means a minimum finite displacement of said following winding with respect to the support, and fastener means for retaining said following winding substantially in contact with said spacer means.

2. A spring mounting according to claim 1 wherein the fastener means comprises an incompressible U-bolt which extends about both the terminal winding and the following winding and is secured to the support.

3. A spring mounting according to claim 2 wherein the spacer means comprises a plate received on the U-bolt and a pair of longitudinally incompressible sleeves on the respective arms of the U-bolt between the support and the plate, the U-bolt being tightened down in use to clamp the following winding between the head of the bolt and the plate and the sleeves between the plate and the support. i i 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 C fgjnspe.008.glen2.spe,6 ii 7

4. A spring mounting according to claim 3 wherein the terminal winding passes between said sleeves but is not in contact with them.

A spring mounting substantially as hereinbefore desciibed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. A playground structure comprising seat or other support means mounted atop a spring mounting for the seat according to any one of claims 1 to o o *QQ O 00i 0 00 00 90 0 *000 Ob, 0 0I 4*00 -1r r r l I n. eCtop or roatuT- rieaturoa c ,i -or cmhinftn y hrn~F DATED this 15th day of August 1985 (r wn fDl r I -VV L J n.G 0 J. L0 L r JS L By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON IIl i-i: LL_ '1