CA2226282A1 - Movable wall for ball court - Google Patents
Movable wall for ball court Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2226282A1 CA2226282A1 CA002226282A CA2226282A CA2226282A1 CA 2226282 A1 CA2226282 A1 CA 2226282A1 CA 002226282 A CA002226282 A CA 002226282A CA 2226282 A CA2226282 A CA 2226282A CA 2226282 A1 CA2226282 A1 CA 2226282A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- wheels
- wall
- tracks
- frame
- pair
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000005096 rolling process Methods 0.000 abstract description 3
- 241000282472 Canis lupus familiaris Species 0.000 description 7
- 235000009854 Cucurbita moschata Nutrition 0.000 description 6
- 240000001980 Cucurbita pepo Species 0.000 description 6
- 235000009852 Cucurbita pepo Nutrition 0.000 description 6
- 235000020354 squash Nutrition 0.000 description 6
- 238000009432 framing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003491 array Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002131 composite material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229920002635 polyurethane Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000004814 polyurethane Substances 0.000 description 1
- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 description 1
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000005341 toughened glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000003466 welding Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002023 wood Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04H—BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
- E04H3/00—Buildings or groups of buildings for public or similar purposes; Institutions, e.g. infirmaries or prisons
- E04H3/10—Buildings or groups of buildings for public or similar purposes; Institutions, e.g. infirmaries or prisons for meetings, entertainments, or sports
- E04H3/14—Gymnasiums; Other sporting buildings
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Architecture (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Handcart (AREA)
Abstract
The size of a walled ball-court's playing area is changed by moving a wall into and out of one side thereof (e.g., the end of an elongate court). The wall moves on wheels rolling in horizontal tracks inset into the floor of the court. The movable wall is mounted on one end of a frame extending outwards from the ball-court, and the weight of the wall is balanced with counterweights so that the wall does not tip when moved. A mechanical drive, which may be manually powered by a single operator, applies horizontal forces to the wall in order to move it back and forth along the tracks. In a preferred embodiment, two sets of wheels, spaced out along the movable wall, are used. In this configuration the spacing between the two sets of wheels is adjustable to allow an installer to select an optimal spacing.
Additional safety is provided in a preferred embodiment by providing a safety dog fixedly attached to the frame, extending into the track, and engaging the side of the track whenever the wall tilts forward toward an unstable and unsafe attitude.
Additional safety is provided in a preferred embodiment by providing a safety dog fixedly attached to the frame, extending into the track, and engaging the side of the track whenever the wall tilts forward toward an unstable and unsafe attitude.
Description
TITLE OF THE INVENTION: Movable Wall for Ball Court TECHNICAL FELD:
5 The invention relates to a movable wall usable for ~ ng."g the size of a ball-court or other room BACKGROUND ART:
Racquetball, h~nllhqll squash, wallyball and several other games may be played in enclosed ball-10 courts having walls that a ball in play may be hit against, but that vary in their layout and size. Because ofthe similarity of the courts, court operators have long desired to ~cconr~ rable courts that could be altered to suit the req-lir~m~ntc of wl-atcvcr game was to be played next. Of particular interest to the present invention are two popular games, racquetball and squash, that are played in courts that differ in their length and in the provision of a "tin" section at the base of the front wall of a squash court. Although the "tin" is 15 relatively easy to install or remove, ch~ngng the length of the court between the forty foot length m~n~l~t~d for racquetball and the thirty two length used for squash, has been a serious problem.
The various approaches to making a dua.-use court have focused on providing a movable back wall - i.e., the wall opposite to the one against which the ball is served, and have generally used a 20 combination of ~r. . .r~. rd glass panels and aluminum framing, with the base of the framing mounted on rollers to permit the movable wall to be t.~n~ d along the length of the court between the two desired limits. In order to provide a flat playing surface, the rollers are generally situated behind the glass panels.
Because most of the weight of the movable wall is associated with the glass panels, this arr~nglom.ont provides an unstable, "front-heavy" structure, ~v~ighillg app~ cly half a ton and tending to fall 25 forward onto the court. Although such a wa l can be restrained by bolting its frame to the side wall at either playing position, the act of moving such a wall has required the efforts of several people to hold the wall upright and reposition it after other members of the crew have removed the .cl~ g bolts.
Several illlpluvc-l-ellLs to the basic movable wall have made the wall repositioning process safer 30 and have reduced the size of the crew needed to move the wall to two people. A movable wall sold by Continental Racquet Sports features a second set of rollers spind ed to the wa;l at its two upper comers and riding in respective tracks recessed into the fixed side walls of the ball court. This wall can be moved by two operators, one walking along each of the fixed side walls, a though if the two ope.dlu-~ walk at di[~c.cnt speeds, the wall can twist about a vertical axis and "rack" or become wedged between the side 35 walls. A movable wall made by A Best Company employs e~rt~oncihl~ "scissors" gate ~rr~ePm~ntc on each side of the back surface of the movable wall to prevent both tipping and modifying the playing surfaces by adding tracks in the side walls. Moving this wall also requires two operators walking at the same rate to avoid racking the wall. Two other m~n~1f~rtl1r~rc (W&W Glass - Ellis Pearson, Inc.; and Bower Systems, Inc.) have ~ lrPcced the movable wall problem by p~uviding a dolly for moving the wall. As with the other known moving walls, this ~mPnt requires two ope.dLul~ moving at the sarne speed to avoid racking the wall.
s DISCLOSURE OF THE rNVENTION
The size of a walled ball-court's playing area is changed by moving a wall into and out of one side 10 thereof (e.g., the end of an elongate court). The wall moves on wheels rolling in hnri7Ont~1 tracks inset into the floor of the court. The movable wall is mounted on one end of a frame e~rtPnl1ing outwards from the ball-court, and the weight of the wall is h~1~nced with counle.w~ L~ so that the wall does not tip when moved. A merh~nir~1 drive, which may be manually powered by a single operator, applies horizontal forces to the wall in order to move it back and forth along the tracks. In a p1Pre..~d embodiment, two sets 15 of wheels, spaced out along the movable wall, are used. In this configuration the spacing between the two sets of wheels is adjustable in order to allow an installer to select an optimal spacing for a given installation. ~f1(1ition~1 safety is provided in a p-cre--~d embodiment by providing a safety dog fixedly attached to the frame, P~tPn~ing into the track, and Png~ging the side of the track whenever the wall tilts forward toward an unstable and unsafe attitude.
It is an object of the invention to provide a movable ball-court wall that can be manually moved into and out of the court by a single operator.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a movable ball-court wall using a combination of 25 safety dogs and counte-v~gllt~ to prevent the wall from tilting away from its normal vertical oriPnt~tinn .
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a movable ball-court wall ~IP~ ni~ ~lly guided so as to not rack between two stationary walls of the ball-court between which the movable wall is traveling It is a still further object of the invention to provide a movable wall moving on two or more sets of load bearing wheels that run in tracks set into a floor, where a distance between two adjacent ones of the sets of wheels is adjustable.
Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of a movable wall of the i ~v~nLion as viewed from outside a ball-court.
Figure 2 is plan view of a movable wall installed in a ball-court so as to adjust the length of the court.
Figure 3 is a partial plan view, partially in section, of a drive ...e. l,q.,ic." used to move the wall, the plane 5 of section generally indic~t~d by the double-headed arrows 3-3 in Fig. 1. The floor and the tracks on which the flanged wheels run have been omitted from Fig. 3 in the interest of clarity of pres~ntatinn.
Figure 4 is a partial plan view, partially in section, of a slave wheel m~Ch~ticm used to move the wall, the plane of section in~ic ItPd by the double-headed arrows 4-4 in Fig. 1 Figure 5 is a partly cut away side elevational view of the drive ...~ n;c.~ of Fig. 3.
Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a preferred arr, nC~m~nt of the load bearing wheels and track, the plane of section int1ic~t(~d by the double-headed arrows 6-6 in Fig 5 Figure 7 is a rear elevational view of a wheel truck having a safety dog attached thereto, the view colllprisil1g a vertical section through the floor and track.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE rNVENTION
An upstanding movable wall 10 having a front surface 11 and a rear surface 12 is used as the back wall of a ball-court 13 that is convertible between a racquetball and a squash configuration is commonly some seven feet high by some twenty feet wide, and incorporates a court entry door 14. The door 14 and the wall panels 16 may be made of tempered glass, of a wood-based composite commnnly called "sports 25 panel" or of a number of other mqt~riqls The panels 16 are ~u~v~nlionally supported in a frame 18 made of extruded aluminum framing mPmherc, although other suitable structural ~ rri~lc, such as steel, may also be used. It may be noted that although it is commnn to move a seven foot high wall section because seven feet is the m~tYimum playable height of the rear wall in a squash court, other heights up to about twenty feet, which is the mq~rimllm playable height for a back, front, or side wall of a racquetball court, 30 may also be cnncideno(~
To change the length of a ball-court 13, the pref.orred movable wall 10 is moved along tracks 20 set into the finished floor 22 of the ball-court 13 so as to be parallel to the side walls 24 thereof. In a preferred embodiment two such tracks 20 are disposed adjacent l~spe~L v~ side walls 24, although it will be 35 understood that more tracks 20 and a variety of spacings of the tracks 20 may also be selected. Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the tracks 20 should be minimqlly intrusive.
Unobtrusive tracks would fit well enough as to not be noticed underfoot by a player who steps on them in the course of a game, and would not impart an l.n~rected trajectory, or bad bounce, to any ball that hits them. To a~ plich this goal, they should be installed so that their top surfaces are flush with the surface of the floor 22, and should be as narrow as is c~ nconqnt with their function.
The preferred movable wall 10 comp-i~es two two-wheeled trucks 26 fixedly attached to its frame 18 so that the load of the movable wall is partially bome by four flanged wheels 28 rolling upon rails 48.
In this embodiment a drive ".e. l. ~n;c." 30 is used to tum an axle 32 to which two driven ones 28A of the flanged wheels 28 are fixedly attached so as to rotate with the axle 32. A preferred axle 32 comprises a plurality of coaxial segmPntc 32A, 32B, 32C connected together with in-line couplings 34 pe....;-l;ng axial ~licplqrPm-~ntc between adjacent ones of the axle se~ nl~ so as to provide the desired selecP~'~ spacing between the tracks 20 and their l~spe~llv~ flanged wheels. The coupling 34, as depicted in Figs. 3 and 4, may comprise a sleeve tube 36 fitting over a pair of the axle segm~ntc 32A, 32B,32C, which can be shifted to and fro within the sleeve 36 in order to achieve the desired track-to-track spacing before being fixedly attached to the sleeve by means of a set screw 38. As depicted in Fig. 3, appl~,plial~ly selected spacer sleeves 40 may also be used to select the wheel-to-wheel spacing at the time of installation of the wall.
Moreover, as depicted in Fig. 4, the position of a wheel 28 along the axis of its axle 32 may be adjusted by sliding the wheel along the axle and locking it into position with a set screw 38.
In the preferred embodiment both the drive truck 26A and the slave truck 26B have an undriven wheel 28B mounted in a co-linear qrnqngem~nt with the L~pe~liv~ driven wheel 28A so that both of the wheels 28 on one of the trucks 26 ride in the same track. As is depicted in the drawing, the wheels 28 are attached to the respective trucks 26 by a conventional joumal bearing 42 a- q-ng~m~nt. In a preferred arrangement both the drive truck 26A and the slave truck 26B are adjacent l~spe~l,v~ ones of the side walls 24, and q~ iti~nql wheels (not shown) are joumaled onto the axle 32 for free rotation thereabout at int~rme~liqte positions - e.g., at about one third the length of the wall from an end dhereof. These q~lrlitionql wheels are not flanged and are pref~r~hly of polyurethane or some similar material that is soft enough to allow the q~1~1ition~l wheels to ride directly on the finished floor 22 without rlqnqqging it.
A preferred track 20, as depicted in Fig. 6, co---pnses a housing 44 having an upper surface that, at dhe time of instqllqtit-n, is preferably set even with the top of dhe finished floor 22. A rail 48 is mounted in dhe housing 44 and has a width slightly less than the intemal flange-to-flange spacing on a wheel 28, so dhat dhe wheel 28 can ride upon dhe rail 48. Selecting dhe height of dhe rail 48 so dhat its top surface 50 is co-planar with the housing's top surface 46 and sel~cting dhe widdh of slot 52 to be only slighdy greater dhat the extemal flange-to-flange spacing of a wheel 28 provide a minimqlly intrusive track 20, dhe advantages of which have been discussed supra.
The preferred housing 44 has an lln~lPrcut portion 54 PYtPnfling laterally outwards from the slot 52. As depicted in Fig. 7, a safety- dog 56 that is attached to a portion of one of the trucks distal from the panel, and that fits within the undercut portion 54, can be used to prevent the top of the wall 10 from tilting for~ard into the ball-court 13. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the lcaLwdLd P~rtPncion 5 of the truck 26, which is rigidly attached to the panel 16 (e.g., by being welding to bottom portion of the frame 18 into which the panel members are clamped), serves to prevent the wall 10 from tilting in the opposite dirPctinn. The safety dog 56, which is pLcl~-dbly cut from an appr~phdLe metal sheet that is thinner than the lateral flange rlParq~ce between the rail 48 and the housing 44, can be conveniently installed after its truck is mounted on the rail by inserting the dog 56 into the flange rlparance slot and then lO tuming the dog 56 a quarter tum about a vertical axis and bolting it to the truck in the configuration depicted in Fig. 7.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a relatively small range of selection (e.g., about two inches) in the spacing between the tracks 20 is provided so that at the time of installation the tracks can fit 15 into lcspe~L ve spaces created by removing sections of floorboards 25 that are often two and one quarters inches wide, but that may have other widths in app...~ ly the same range. If this small adjustment were not provided, an installer would have to rip-cut or chisel into two floorboards 25 to create a channel in which a track 20 could be mounted. This adjustable spacing feature, of course, requires that one of the two pairs of flanged wheels 28 is attached to the frame 18 by means allowing that pair of wheels to be tranclatPd in a direction perpen~lirlllar to the tracks so that the spacing between the tracks selected by an installer can be matched with the same spacing between the wheels that ride along those tracks.
An qt1f~itinn~1 feature of the pr~PferrPd embodiment is a stahili~ing weight or counlerw~iglll 60 that is ~(Jllvcnicntly attached to the rear of each of the trucks 26, as depicted in Fig 5. The weight of this coulllc1~ight 60 can be selected to balance the weight of the wall panels 16 so that each of the two wheels 28A, 28B on a truck 26 carries substantially the same load. It will be recognized that other mounting ~rrangPmPntc for a counLc.~ ht (e.g., suspending a weight from an amm cytpn~ing Lca.wa..lly from a portion of the frame adjacent a top of the wall) could also be used, but the p.crP..cd conhguration places the coulllc~ ;gllL~ near the ends of the wall 10 where people are least likely to bump into them. As is 30 known in the art, dense mqtPriqlc, such as lead, are p~crc..cd for the COUlllc.~ t 60 in order to ..~ .e its size.
Because a movable wall 10 may weigh on the order of one ton, it is d~psirahle to provide a drive mPrh~nicm 30 to aid in moving the wall so that the wall can be moved by a single operator. Although one - 35 could readily configure a drive ~llPl l~nic~" employing an electric motor and app-~priaLe gears, a p~cr~.. cd embodiment employs a manual drive mPrh~ icm as depicted in Figs. 3 and 5. A manually tumed crank wheel 66 is used to tum a upper sprocket or pulley 68 affixed to an axle 32 joumaled for rotation within bearings 42 mounted on upstanding walls 70 of the drive truck 26A. A first flexible coupling means 72, which may be a chain 74 or l,~n~v~,~ely-ribbed belt 76, is employed to tum an intl~rm~iat~ shaft 78 having second and third sprocket or pulley wheels fixedly attached thereto and coupled, by means of as second flexible coupling 72 to a sprocket or pulley wheel attached to the axle segment 3''A on which a first of the 5 driven wheels 28A is ~tt~rhed Garing ~ ~ n~,r~ - ~e~ of this sort are well known in the m~tt~ri~lc h ~n~lling arts and are used, for ~Y~mrl-~, for moving arrays of closely stacked filing cabinets or warehouse shelves that have weights comparable to that of a movable wall. Thus, it is known that a gearing a"dnge..,en~ such as that depicted in the drawing will allow a single operator to easily move a wheeled wall 10 along a set tracks 20 by tuming a crank wheel 66 - e.g., with one hand.
5 The invention relates to a movable wall usable for ~ ng."g the size of a ball-court or other room BACKGROUND ART:
Racquetball, h~nllhqll squash, wallyball and several other games may be played in enclosed ball-10 courts having walls that a ball in play may be hit against, but that vary in their layout and size. Because ofthe similarity of the courts, court operators have long desired to ~cconr~ rable courts that could be altered to suit the req-lir~m~ntc of wl-atcvcr game was to be played next. Of particular interest to the present invention are two popular games, racquetball and squash, that are played in courts that differ in their length and in the provision of a "tin" section at the base of the front wall of a squash court. Although the "tin" is 15 relatively easy to install or remove, ch~ngng the length of the court between the forty foot length m~n~l~t~d for racquetball and the thirty two length used for squash, has been a serious problem.
The various approaches to making a dua.-use court have focused on providing a movable back wall - i.e., the wall opposite to the one against which the ball is served, and have generally used a 20 combination of ~r. . .r~. rd glass panels and aluminum framing, with the base of the framing mounted on rollers to permit the movable wall to be t.~n~ d along the length of the court between the two desired limits. In order to provide a flat playing surface, the rollers are generally situated behind the glass panels.
Because most of the weight of the movable wall is associated with the glass panels, this arr~nglom.ont provides an unstable, "front-heavy" structure, ~v~ighillg app~ cly half a ton and tending to fall 25 forward onto the court. Although such a wa l can be restrained by bolting its frame to the side wall at either playing position, the act of moving such a wall has required the efforts of several people to hold the wall upright and reposition it after other members of the crew have removed the .cl~ g bolts.
Several illlpluvc-l-ellLs to the basic movable wall have made the wall repositioning process safer 30 and have reduced the size of the crew needed to move the wall to two people. A movable wall sold by Continental Racquet Sports features a second set of rollers spind ed to the wa;l at its two upper comers and riding in respective tracks recessed into the fixed side walls of the ball court. This wall can be moved by two operators, one walking along each of the fixed side walls, a though if the two ope.dlu-~ walk at di[~c.cnt speeds, the wall can twist about a vertical axis and "rack" or become wedged between the side 35 walls. A movable wall made by A Best Company employs e~rt~oncihl~ "scissors" gate ~rr~ePm~ntc on each side of the back surface of the movable wall to prevent both tipping and modifying the playing surfaces by adding tracks in the side walls. Moving this wall also requires two operators walking at the same rate to avoid racking the wall. Two other m~n~1f~rtl1r~rc (W&W Glass - Ellis Pearson, Inc.; and Bower Systems, Inc.) have ~ lrPcced the movable wall problem by p~uviding a dolly for moving the wall. As with the other known moving walls, this ~mPnt requires two ope.dLul~ moving at the sarne speed to avoid racking the wall.
s DISCLOSURE OF THE rNVENTION
The size of a walled ball-court's playing area is changed by moving a wall into and out of one side 10 thereof (e.g., the end of an elongate court). The wall moves on wheels rolling in hnri7Ont~1 tracks inset into the floor of the court. The movable wall is mounted on one end of a frame e~rtPnl1ing outwards from the ball-court, and the weight of the wall is h~1~nced with counle.w~ L~ so that the wall does not tip when moved. A merh~nir~1 drive, which may be manually powered by a single operator, applies horizontal forces to the wall in order to move it back and forth along the tracks. In a p1Pre..~d embodiment, two sets 15 of wheels, spaced out along the movable wall, are used. In this configuration the spacing between the two sets of wheels is adjustable in order to allow an installer to select an optimal spacing for a given installation. ~f1(1ition~1 safety is provided in a p-cre--~d embodiment by providing a safety dog fixedly attached to the frame, P~tPn~ing into the track, and Png~ging the side of the track whenever the wall tilts forward toward an unstable and unsafe attitude.
It is an object of the invention to provide a movable ball-court wall that can be manually moved into and out of the court by a single operator.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a movable ball-court wall using a combination of 25 safety dogs and counte-v~gllt~ to prevent the wall from tilting away from its normal vertical oriPnt~tinn .
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a movable ball-court wall ~IP~ ni~ ~lly guided so as to not rack between two stationary walls of the ball-court between which the movable wall is traveling It is a still further object of the invention to provide a movable wall moving on two or more sets of load bearing wheels that run in tracks set into a floor, where a distance between two adjacent ones of the sets of wheels is adjustable.
Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of a movable wall of the i ~v~nLion as viewed from outside a ball-court.
Figure 2 is plan view of a movable wall installed in a ball-court so as to adjust the length of the court.
Figure 3 is a partial plan view, partially in section, of a drive ...e. l,q.,ic." used to move the wall, the plane 5 of section generally indic~t~d by the double-headed arrows 3-3 in Fig. 1. The floor and the tracks on which the flanged wheels run have been omitted from Fig. 3 in the interest of clarity of pres~ntatinn.
Figure 4 is a partial plan view, partially in section, of a slave wheel m~Ch~ticm used to move the wall, the plane of section in~ic ItPd by the double-headed arrows 4-4 in Fig. 1 Figure 5 is a partly cut away side elevational view of the drive ...~ n;c.~ of Fig. 3.
Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a preferred arr, nC~m~nt of the load bearing wheels and track, the plane of section int1ic~t(~d by the double-headed arrows 6-6 in Fig 5 Figure 7 is a rear elevational view of a wheel truck having a safety dog attached thereto, the view colllprisil1g a vertical section through the floor and track.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE rNVENTION
An upstanding movable wall 10 having a front surface 11 and a rear surface 12 is used as the back wall of a ball-court 13 that is convertible between a racquetball and a squash configuration is commonly some seven feet high by some twenty feet wide, and incorporates a court entry door 14. The door 14 and the wall panels 16 may be made of tempered glass, of a wood-based composite commnnly called "sports 25 panel" or of a number of other mqt~riqls The panels 16 are ~u~v~nlionally supported in a frame 18 made of extruded aluminum framing mPmherc, although other suitable structural ~ rri~lc, such as steel, may also be used. It may be noted that although it is commnn to move a seven foot high wall section because seven feet is the m~tYimum playable height of the rear wall in a squash court, other heights up to about twenty feet, which is the mq~rimllm playable height for a back, front, or side wall of a racquetball court, 30 may also be cnncideno(~
To change the length of a ball-court 13, the pref.orred movable wall 10 is moved along tracks 20 set into the finished floor 22 of the ball-court 13 so as to be parallel to the side walls 24 thereof. In a preferred embodiment two such tracks 20 are disposed adjacent l~spe~L v~ side walls 24, although it will be 35 understood that more tracks 20 and a variety of spacings of the tracks 20 may also be selected. Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the tracks 20 should be minimqlly intrusive.
Unobtrusive tracks would fit well enough as to not be noticed underfoot by a player who steps on them in the course of a game, and would not impart an l.n~rected trajectory, or bad bounce, to any ball that hits them. To a~ plich this goal, they should be installed so that their top surfaces are flush with the surface of the floor 22, and should be as narrow as is c~ nconqnt with their function.
The preferred movable wall 10 comp-i~es two two-wheeled trucks 26 fixedly attached to its frame 18 so that the load of the movable wall is partially bome by four flanged wheels 28 rolling upon rails 48.
In this embodiment a drive ".e. l. ~n;c." 30 is used to tum an axle 32 to which two driven ones 28A of the flanged wheels 28 are fixedly attached so as to rotate with the axle 32. A preferred axle 32 comprises a plurality of coaxial segmPntc 32A, 32B, 32C connected together with in-line couplings 34 pe....;-l;ng axial ~licplqrPm-~ntc between adjacent ones of the axle se~ nl~ so as to provide the desired selecP~'~ spacing between the tracks 20 and their l~spe~llv~ flanged wheels. The coupling 34, as depicted in Figs. 3 and 4, may comprise a sleeve tube 36 fitting over a pair of the axle segm~ntc 32A, 32B,32C, which can be shifted to and fro within the sleeve 36 in order to achieve the desired track-to-track spacing before being fixedly attached to the sleeve by means of a set screw 38. As depicted in Fig. 3, appl~,plial~ly selected spacer sleeves 40 may also be used to select the wheel-to-wheel spacing at the time of installation of the wall.
Moreover, as depicted in Fig. 4, the position of a wheel 28 along the axis of its axle 32 may be adjusted by sliding the wheel along the axle and locking it into position with a set screw 38.
In the preferred embodiment both the drive truck 26A and the slave truck 26B have an undriven wheel 28B mounted in a co-linear qrnqngem~nt with the L~pe~liv~ driven wheel 28A so that both of the wheels 28 on one of the trucks 26 ride in the same track. As is depicted in the drawing, the wheels 28 are attached to the respective trucks 26 by a conventional joumal bearing 42 a- q-ng~m~nt. In a preferred arrangement both the drive truck 26A and the slave truck 26B are adjacent l~spe~l,v~ ones of the side walls 24, and q~ iti~nql wheels (not shown) are joumaled onto the axle 32 for free rotation thereabout at int~rme~liqte positions - e.g., at about one third the length of the wall from an end dhereof. These q~lrlitionql wheels are not flanged and are pref~r~hly of polyurethane or some similar material that is soft enough to allow the q~1~1ition~l wheels to ride directly on the finished floor 22 without rlqnqqging it.
A preferred track 20, as depicted in Fig. 6, co---pnses a housing 44 having an upper surface that, at dhe time of instqllqtit-n, is preferably set even with the top of dhe finished floor 22. A rail 48 is mounted in dhe housing 44 and has a width slightly less than the intemal flange-to-flange spacing on a wheel 28, so dhat dhe wheel 28 can ride upon dhe rail 48. Selecting dhe height of dhe rail 48 so dhat its top surface 50 is co-planar with the housing's top surface 46 and sel~cting dhe widdh of slot 52 to be only slighdy greater dhat the extemal flange-to-flange spacing of a wheel 28 provide a minimqlly intrusive track 20, dhe advantages of which have been discussed supra.
The preferred housing 44 has an lln~lPrcut portion 54 PYtPnfling laterally outwards from the slot 52. As depicted in Fig. 7, a safety- dog 56 that is attached to a portion of one of the trucks distal from the panel, and that fits within the undercut portion 54, can be used to prevent the top of the wall 10 from tilting for~ard into the ball-court 13. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the lcaLwdLd P~rtPncion 5 of the truck 26, which is rigidly attached to the panel 16 (e.g., by being welding to bottom portion of the frame 18 into which the panel members are clamped), serves to prevent the wall 10 from tilting in the opposite dirPctinn. The safety dog 56, which is pLcl~-dbly cut from an appr~phdLe metal sheet that is thinner than the lateral flange rlParq~ce between the rail 48 and the housing 44, can be conveniently installed after its truck is mounted on the rail by inserting the dog 56 into the flange rlparance slot and then lO tuming the dog 56 a quarter tum about a vertical axis and bolting it to the truck in the configuration depicted in Fig. 7.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a relatively small range of selection (e.g., about two inches) in the spacing between the tracks 20 is provided so that at the time of installation the tracks can fit 15 into lcspe~L ve spaces created by removing sections of floorboards 25 that are often two and one quarters inches wide, but that may have other widths in app...~ ly the same range. If this small adjustment were not provided, an installer would have to rip-cut or chisel into two floorboards 25 to create a channel in which a track 20 could be mounted. This adjustable spacing feature, of course, requires that one of the two pairs of flanged wheels 28 is attached to the frame 18 by means allowing that pair of wheels to be tranclatPd in a direction perpen~lirlllar to the tracks so that the spacing between the tracks selected by an installer can be matched with the same spacing between the wheels that ride along those tracks.
An qt1f~itinn~1 feature of the pr~PferrPd embodiment is a stahili~ing weight or counlerw~iglll 60 that is ~(Jllvcnicntly attached to the rear of each of the trucks 26, as depicted in Fig 5. The weight of this coulllc1~ight 60 can be selected to balance the weight of the wall panels 16 so that each of the two wheels 28A, 28B on a truck 26 carries substantially the same load. It will be recognized that other mounting ~rrangPmPntc for a counLc.~ ht (e.g., suspending a weight from an amm cytpn~ing Lca.wa..lly from a portion of the frame adjacent a top of the wall) could also be used, but the p.crP..cd conhguration places the coulllc~ ;gllL~ near the ends of the wall 10 where people are least likely to bump into them. As is 30 known in the art, dense mqtPriqlc, such as lead, are p~crc..cd for the COUlllc.~ t 60 in order to ..~ .e its size.
Because a movable wall 10 may weigh on the order of one ton, it is d~psirahle to provide a drive mPrh~nicm 30 to aid in moving the wall so that the wall can be moved by a single operator. Although one - 35 could readily configure a drive ~llPl l~nic~" employing an electric motor and app-~priaLe gears, a p~cr~.. cd embodiment employs a manual drive mPrh~ icm as depicted in Figs. 3 and 5. A manually tumed crank wheel 66 is used to tum a upper sprocket or pulley 68 affixed to an axle 32 joumaled for rotation within bearings 42 mounted on upstanding walls 70 of the drive truck 26A. A first flexible coupling means 72, which may be a chain 74 or l,~n~v~,~ely-ribbed belt 76, is employed to tum an intl~rm~iat~ shaft 78 having second and third sprocket or pulley wheels fixedly attached thereto and coupled, by means of as second flexible coupling 72 to a sprocket or pulley wheel attached to the axle segment 3''A on which a first of the 5 driven wheels 28A is ~tt~rhed Garing ~ ~ n~,r~ - ~e~ of this sort are well known in the m~tt~ri~lc h ~n~lling arts and are used, for ~Y~mrl-~, for moving arrays of closely stacked filing cabinets or warehouse shelves that have weights comparable to that of a movable wall. Thus, it is known that a gearing a"dnge..,en~ such as that depicted in the drawing will allow a single operator to easily move a wheeled wall 10 along a set tracks 20 by tuming a crank wheel 66 - e.g., with one hand.
Claims (9)
1) An upstanding movable wall having a front surface and a rear surface, the movable wall supported on a frame extending outward from the rear surface of the movable wall, the moveable wall adapted to be moved across a floor by apparatus comprising:
two tracks having respective top surfaces, the tracks adapted to be set into the floor in a parallel spaced-apart relationship so that each top surface is substantially level with the floor, and so that each of the tracks extends perpendicular to the movable wall;
a first pair of load-bearing wheels attached to the frame, each of the first pair of load-bearing wheels adapted to roll along a first of the two tracks, a driven one of the two wheels in the first pair thereof driven by a wheel-driving means controlled by an operator;
a second pair of load-bearing wheels attached to the frame, each of the second pair of load-bearing wheels adapted to roll along the second of the tracks; and a counterweight attached to the frame, the weight of the counterweight selected so that substantially the same load is borne by each of the two wheels in one of the two pairs thereof.
two tracks having respective top surfaces, the tracks adapted to be set into the floor in a parallel spaced-apart relationship so that each top surface is substantially level with the floor, and so that each of the tracks extends perpendicular to the movable wall;
a first pair of load-bearing wheels attached to the frame, each of the first pair of load-bearing wheels adapted to roll along a first of the two tracks, a driven one of the two wheels in the first pair thereof driven by a wheel-driving means controlled by an operator;
a second pair of load-bearing wheels attached to the frame, each of the second pair of load-bearing wheels adapted to roll along the second of the tracks; and a counterweight attached to the frame, the weight of the counterweight selected so that substantially the same load is borne by each of the two wheels in one of the two pairs thereof.
2) The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the driven one of the first pair of wheels and one of the second pair of wheels are fixedly attached to a single drive axle for rotation therewith, the drive axle journaled for rotation within a bearing attached to the frame.
3) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the wheel driving means comprises a manually turned crank wheel and a flexible coupling operatively connecting the crank wheel to the driven wheel.
4) The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the first and the second pairs of wheels are disposed within respective trucks, the apparatus further comprising a safety dog attached to one of the trucks, the safety dog depending from the one of the trucks into an undercut portion of the respective one of the tracks when that pair of wheels disposed within the one of the trucks rolls along the respective one of the tracks.
5) The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the movable wall comprises a portion of a back wall of a ball court.
6) The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein one pair of wheels of the first and second pairs of wheels is attached to the frame by means allowing the one pair of wheels to be translated along the moveable wall whereby the spacing between the tracks can be selected by an installer at a time of installation.
7) A moveable wall adapted to be moved across a floor in a direction perpendicular to the moveable wall by apparatus comprising:
a pair of tracks adapted to be set into the floor in a spaced apart relationship along the moveable wall so that an axis of each of the tracks is perpendicular to the moveable wall, each of the tracks comprising a rail and a housing having a slot in an upper surface thereof, the slot wider than a flanged wheel adapted to engage the rail, the housing further comprising an undercut portion extending laterally outwards from the slot;
a frame attached to the moveable wall adjacent the base thereof, the frame extending outwards from the wall;
a plurality of the flanged wheels, each flanged wheel attached about one of a plurality of axles, each of the axles attached to the frame, each flanged wheel adapted to extend through one of the slots and adapted to ride upon the respective one of the rails; and a safety dog having two ends, a first end of the dog fixedly attached to the frame, a portion of the safety dog adapted to extend downward through one of the slots, whereupon the second end of the safety dog extends laterally into the undercut portion of the respective track housing.
a pair of tracks adapted to be set into the floor in a spaced apart relationship along the moveable wall so that an axis of each of the tracks is perpendicular to the moveable wall, each of the tracks comprising a rail and a housing having a slot in an upper surface thereof, the slot wider than a flanged wheel adapted to engage the rail, the housing further comprising an undercut portion extending laterally outwards from the slot;
a frame attached to the moveable wall adjacent the base thereof, the frame extending outwards from the wall;
a plurality of the flanged wheels, each flanged wheel attached about one of a plurality of axles, each of the axles attached to the frame, each flanged wheel adapted to extend through one of the slots and adapted to ride upon the respective one of the rails; and a safety dog having two ends, a first end of the dog fixedly attached to the frame, a portion of the safety dog adapted to extend downward through one of the slots, whereupon the second end of the safety dog extends laterally into the undercut portion of the respective track housing.
8) The apparatus of Claim 7 wherein one of the axles is a drive axle and wherein a first of the flanged wheels adapted to ride upon the rail in the first of the tracks and a second of the flanged wheels adapted to ride upon the rail in the second of the tracks are fixedly attached to the drive axle for rotation therewith, the apparatus further comprising wheel-driving means operatively connected to the drive axle.
9) The apparatus of Claim 7 wherein two of the flanged wheels are adapted to ride upon a first of the two rails, the apparatus further comprising a counterweight having a weight selected so that each of the two wheels carries substantially the same load
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US08/780,272 US5791094A (en) | 1997-01-09 | 1997-01-09 | Movable wall for ball court |
| US08/780,272 | 1997-01-09 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2226282A1 true CA2226282A1 (en) | 1998-07-09 |
Family
ID=25119115
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002226282A Abandoned CA2226282A1 (en) | 1997-01-09 | 1998-01-07 | Movable wall for ball court |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5791094A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2226282A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP2372912A1 (en) | 2010-03-29 | 2011-10-05 | Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives | Calibration method and system, recording medium for said method |
| CN111379328A (en) * | 2020-03-26 | 2020-07-07 | 南阳理工学院 | A kind of building energy-saving exterior wall combined tooling |
Families Citing this family (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7201675B2 (en) * | 2003-12-04 | 2007-04-10 | Alexander Morrison | Game system and method with angled wall units |
| GB0615811D0 (en) * | 2006-08-09 | 2006-09-20 | Froud Robert T J | Tennis Practice Structure |
| WO2011088113A1 (en) * | 2010-01-12 | 2011-07-21 | Cabreeco Companies Llc | Movable enclosure |
| US20110308173A1 (en) * | 2009-09-04 | 2011-12-22 | Forsland Kent H | Movable building structure |
| US8336260B1 (en) * | 2011-01-14 | 2012-12-25 | Armorworks Enterprises LLC | High security blast door lock and seal |
| US10507377B2 (en) | 2017-05-02 | 2019-12-17 | Dean L. Sicking | Sports wall assembly |
| USD854104S1 (en) * | 2018-03-07 | 2019-07-16 | Michael McLeod | Squash court |
Family Cites Families (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4569164A (en) * | 1983-04-08 | 1986-02-11 | Advanced Equipment Corp. | Operable wall system |
| EP0216825B1 (en) * | 1985-04-04 | 1989-11-02 | DE POTTER d'INDOYE, Eric Anne-Henri Marie Ghislain | Extensible construction |
| EP0199578B1 (en) * | 1985-04-22 | 1989-09-20 | Click Systems Limited | A structure having a movable panel |
| DE3619393A1 (en) * | 1986-06-09 | 1987-12-10 | Hueppe Gmbh | DOUBLE-SHELL TELESCOPIC ELEMENT FOR A MOVABLE PARTITION |
| DE3619392A1 (en) * | 1986-06-09 | 1987-12-10 | Hueppe Gmbh | TWO-TONE TELESCOPIC ELEMENT OF A MOVABLE PARTITION |
| US4844109A (en) * | 1988-03-21 | 1989-07-04 | Pablo Navarro | Motor vehicle shelter |
| US5254040A (en) * | 1991-10-11 | 1993-10-19 | Eller James D | Handball - squash court conversion system |
| US5297368A (en) * | 1992-05-11 | 1994-03-29 | Okada Paul M | Movable wall system |
| DE59400492D1 (en) * | 1993-05-25 | 1996-09-19 | Rosconi Ag | Mobile partition |
| US5577348A (en) * | 1993-05-25 | 1996-11-26 | Rosconi Ag | Partition wall with sliding termination panel |
-
1997
- 1997-01-09 US US08/780,272 patent/US5791094A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1998
- 1998-01-07 CA CA002226282A patent/CA2226282A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP2372912A1 (en) | 2010-03-29 | 2011-10-05 | Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives | Calibration method and system, recording medium for said method |
| CN111379328A (en) * | 2020-03-26 | 2020-07-07 | 南阳理工学院 | A kind of building energy-saving exterior wall combined tooling |
| CN111379328B (en) * | 2020-03-26 | 2021-04-27 | 南阳理工学院 | A kind of building energy-saving exterior wall combined tooling |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US5791094A (en) | 1998-08-11 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US5203800A (en) | Treadmill with peripheral belt support | |
| US6287240B1 (en) | Variable resistance treadmill for simultaneously simulating a rolling and sliding resistance, and a moving inertia | |
| CA2226282A1 (en) | Movable wall for ball court | |
| EP0561493B1 (en) | Apparatus for teaching downhill skiing on a simulated ski slope | |
| US4984810A (en) | Treadmill | |
| JP2936222B2 (en) | Roller coaster | |
| CA2867514C (en) | Amusement and leisure slide | |
| US5203751A (en) | Exercise mechanism | |
| US4456252A (en) | Tennis service practice court with recovering and collecting means | |
| US6044766A (en) | Playground carriage | |
| CN101229426B (en) | Horizontal driving trundle return board | |
| US20030144091A1 (en) | Adjustable field goal post apparatus | |
| US20030155707A1 (en) | Board game | |
| US7854689B2 (en) | Ice skating training device | |
| JP2729773B2 (en) | Hanging structure for mobile display panels | |
| CN111957021B (en) | A kind of swing arm type hanging line table sports equipment | |
| US8784223B2 (en) | Skating training system | |
| CN223324011U (en) | A gaming device with a scoring function | |
| CN209038808U (en) | A kind of flat side wheel guide shoe of villa elevator | |
| DE3106135A1 (en) | Practice wall for ball games | |
| KR200344464Y1 (en) | Conveyor of career method | |
| WO2003008252A1 (en) | Sliding construction for guiding a sliding wagon | |
| CN220263979U (en) | Adjustable automatic goods shelf | |
| KR102407376B1 (en) | Device for boarding receiving and release | |
| GB2348376A (en) | A roller coaster with freely rotating seats |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |