DE68913335T2 - Portable, composite net carrier for games with a ball and / or a racket. - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a portable, collapsible net support for games with a ball and/or a racket. It is used in part, but not exclusively, for tennis nets, in particular when playing games based on lawn tennis such as short or compact tennis (trademark).

The posts that hold the tennis net or similar nets for games with rackets and balls are normally anchored to counteract (e.g. in this specific case) the bending moment that acts on the nets when they are stretched to the height required for play.

In some designs, the posts may be detachably inserted into sockets, but the entire net support is not portable. Attempts to create a portable net support for games with a ball and/or a racket have not been successful to date.

US-A-3 998 455 discloses a free-standing tennis net support comprising telescopically extendable tensioning means connecting a pair of net anchoring means. The net anchoring means are bent to provide a horizontal short arm portion, a horizontal long arm portion, a vertical portion and a vertical brace portion. The tensioning means and associated net anchoring means are mounted in an upright position on a playing surface by the use of foot means. Each of the foot means comprises a tubular member and an end flange portion. A T-shaped member allows the foot means to be slidably mounted along long arm portions between the vertical brace members. The net is tensioned by moving the upper portions of the net anchoring means toward each other, resulting in bending of the tensioning means toward the playing surface. It should be noted that the foot means "act as a pivot point in effect so that, despite its low weight, the net support is firmly anchored in relation to the playing surface".

The present invention discloses a portable, collapsible net carrier for games with a ball and/or a racket, comprising:

a pair of self-supporting posts for installation on a playground surface and bracing means connecting the posts and spaced from the playground surface;

and is characterized by the fact that from the center of the bracing means foot means hang down to contact the surface of the square so as to create a pivot point which counteracts the bending moment exerted on the uprights by the tension of a net.

The invention further discloses a portable, composable net support for games with a ball and/or a racket, comprising a portable, composable net support according to the invention and a net held by the supports and extending between them.

At least one of the posts will usually have a winch mechanism for tensioning a net between the posts.

The stands advantageously have removable feet and/or are tubular to enable them to be filled with ballast such as sand.

Advantageously, each upright has a horizontal arm abutting its lower end and supported by an inclined member connecting the upright and the arm. Typically, the horizontal arm will form part of or be connected to the bracing means.

In order to facilitate storage and transport, the bracing means are preferably collapsible and comprise two or more telescopically or otherwise axially connectable parts, in particular tubular parts. In this case, the horizontal arms can be integrated with the end parts of the collapsible connecting means, as in the present case.

Preferably, net connecting means, e.g. hooks, are attached at spatial intervals along the bracing means for securing the net to them. If the bracing means are collapsible, the net connecting means are particularly preferably attached to each of the bracing parts.

In the following description, a preferred embodiment of the invention is presented by way of example and with reference to the drawings. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a fully assembled collapsible net carrier with a net shown in dashed lines; and

Fig. 2 an exploded view of the components of the network carrier.

The net support comprises a pair of uprights (10,11) each having a vertical post (12), a horizontal arm (13) and an inclined strut (14) connecting the post and the arm.

A winch mechanism (15) (with a pawl) is mounted on one post (10) and an anchor hook (16) is attached to the other post (11). Lower net line hooks (17) are attached to the arms (13).

Each stand has a removable base (18) with a box-shaped section closed by end caps (19) and a dowel (20) wherein the dowel is frictionally received by the lower end of the upright support (12). If required, the feet (18) can be filled with ballast, for example sand.

The arms (13) are assembled by a group of six tubular parts (19 - 24) which are interconnected by matching male/female friction clutches. As shown in Fig. 1, the tubular parts are aligned with (and connected to) the arms (13) and are positioned above the pitch surface. A foot (25) is integrally formed in the tubular section (21) and contacts the pitch surface.

When a net (26) is attached to the posts (10,11) and the winch mechanism (15) is activated, the tension in an upper line (27) of the net (26) causes the upright posts (12) to be drawn inwards (and would do so if the posts were not restrained).

The rotational movement of the uprights (10,11) over the feet (18) counteracts gravitational movement when the uprights try to rotate upwards over the foot (25); the tubular parts are rigid under tension.

The net support and net are tension balanced when the net is at the correct playing height. If additional tension is applied to the net to raise it further, this will overload the tubular sections and they will tend to bend in a horizontal direction, indicating that too much tension has been applied to the net.

As stated above, the tension in the net will cause the uprights to pull up and in, but since this movement must be carried out via the foot (25) as a pivot point, the weight of the uprights (10,11) must be lifted via a relatively long lever arm, this movement will be resisted and the vertical posts will remain vertical. In this way, heavy bases or feet for the uprights are not required.

By changing the dimensions, the net support can be used for tennis, volleyball, badminton or other games with rackets and/or balls. An example of advantageous use is the tennis-based game known under the trademark "COMPACT TENNIS"; in this case the posts are 80 to 100 cm high and 6 - 8 m apart.

Since the components can be made of e.g. tubular steel, aluminum or plastic materials and the components are easily connected to each other, the net carrier can be loaded compactly for transport purposes and easily assembled on site (and disassembled and loaded for further transport).

The winch mechanism (15) may be replaced by one located inside the stand (12), in the manner of a conventional tennis net support post. In addition, hooks (17) may, and preferably are, attached to each bracing member (19-24).

Claims (8)

1. Portable, collapsible net support for games with a ball and/or a racket, comprising: a pair of self-supporting posts (10,11) for setting up on a playground surface and bracing means (19 - 24) which connect the posts (10,11) and are spaced from the playground surface; characterized, that from the centre of the bracing means (19 - 24) foot means (25) hang down to contact with the surface of the square in order to create a pivot point which counteracts the bending moment exerted on the uprights (10, 11) by the tension of a net (26). 2. Net support according to claim 1, in which the stands (10, 11) have removable, tubular feet (18) that can be filled with ballast. 3. Net support according to claim 1 or 2, in which each upright (10, 11) has at its lower end a horizontal arm (13) which is stiffened by an inclined part (14) which connects the vertical support (12) and the arm (13). 4. Net support according to one of the preceding claims, in which the bracing means (19 - 24) are collapsible and have two or more telescopically or otherwise axially connectable parts (19 - 24). 5. Net support according to claim 4, in which the uprights (10, 11) each have horizontal arms (13) which can be integrated with the end parts of the collapsible bracing means. 6. Net support according to one of the preceding claims, in which net connection means (17) are arranged at spatial intervals along the bracing means (19 - 24) in order to secure the net (26) with these means. 7. Net support according to claim 4, in which net connecting means (17) are attached to each of the bracing means (19 - 24). 8. Portable, collapsible net support for games with a ball and/or a racket, comprising a portable, collapsible net support according to any one of the preceding claims and a net held by the supports and extending between the supports.