GB2202755A - Child' slide - Google Patents

Abstract

A sliding surface for a child's slide having tubular steel support members 8 may be made from an appropriate length of a resilient plastics extrusion 10 of constant thickness presenting a sliding surface 12 midway between its lateral edges, semi-circular portions for resting upon the support tubes, and terminating laterally in edges 22 which engage the underside of the support tubes in a direction normal to the contacted surface, whereby the extrusion is clamped to the support tubes without the need for fasteners such as bolts. <IMAGE>

Description

Children's Slide The invention relates to a method of construction of chutes and in particular of chutes in the form of children's slides.

Conventionally, children's slides are constructed on a framework of metal, for strength, but in recent years plastics materials have become commonly used for the plates defining the sliding surfaces because of their cheapness and resistance to weather. Thus it is known to vacuum form a rectangular sheet of plastics material in a mould so as to form a slide plate in a shallow dished section, and then to bolt the moulded plate onto an inclined metal framework so as to present a suitably concave downward sliding surface. Whether a slide is made of a single long slide plate or of a plurality of plates arranged end to end, the use of a single size of plate is restrictive of the length of the slide that can be produced and, conversely, if the design of the slides is not to be unduly restricted, a plurality of expensive moulds is going to be required.

Although the plastics slide plates, when made of plastics materials, are resistant to weather, the same may not be true of the bolts by which they are secured to the framework, and the protruding ends of the bolts may in some circumstances cause injury to the users of the slides and damage to their clothing. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a slide in which the above disadvantages are avoided.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a chute, especially for a child's slide, comprising a spaced pair of inclined support members and an elongate plastics extrusion spanning the space between the support members and comprising support portions by which the extrusion is supported on the support members and an intermediate portion presenting a sliding surface, said extrusion terminating laterally under the respective support members to secure the extrusion to the support members.

The extrusion may be of substantially constant thickness, and each of the lateral edges thereof is preferably so positioned relative to the associated support portion, that the extrusion has to be elastically distorted to release it from the support members. The support members may be parallel tubes of mild steel or other suitable material and preferably each of the lateral edges of the extrusion bears against the underside of the associated support member.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 is a side view of a child's slide; and Figure 2 is a transverse section of the chute portion of the slide of Figure 1.

The general structure of the slide as shown in Figure 1 is conventional inasmuch as it comprises an inclined chute 2 and a ladder 4 giving access to the upper end of the chute, and safety rails 6.

The chute of which the inclination varies from its upper end to the lower end as can be seen from Figure 1 is nevertheless of constant transverse section as can be seen from Figure 2. As can be seen from Figure 2 the chute comprises a pair of round mild steel tubes of 1.25 inch outside diameter and of 18 gauge, reference 8. These are slightly bent to give the chute the varied inclination as shown in Figure 1, and they are secured to the top of the ladder 4 and to the safety rails 6.

The only other component of the chute is a uPVC extrusion 10. The extrusion is of substantially the same length as the tubes 8 and is wide enough partially to encircle the tubes 8 and to span, by a substantially flat sliding portion 12 the space between the tubes 8.

To each side of the sliding portion 12, the extrusion is formed with a 900 upward curve 14 followed by a semi-circular portion 16 of radius corresponding to that of the tube 8. From the extreme outside edge of the tube 8 the extrusion continues vertically downwardly over the portion 18 and then curves inwardly and upwardly over semi-circular portion 20. The portion 20 has a radius of curvature approximately half of that of the tubes 8 so that each of the edges 22 of the extrusion bears against one of the tubes 8 at its lowermost portion and normally to the surface thereof.

The uPVC of which the extrusion is made is substantially rigid and is extruded with the profile as shown in Figure 2. However, the material has some elasticity, and whilst it will be observed from Figure 2 that the gap 24 between the free end 22 and the 900 curve iLl of the extrusion 10 is narrower than the diameter of the tube 8, the extrusion can be bent between the end 22 and the curve 1Ll so as to widen the gap 2rl to allow the removal of the extrusion from the or each tube 8 and, conversely, during construction, of applying the extrusion about the two tubes 8.

To construct a slide according to the invention, two tubes 8 are cut to length as required and bent slightly as and where required to provide the necessary angles of inclination of the chute. A length of plastics extrusion corresponding in length to that of the tubes 8 is then treated by conventional means such as heating where and as required so as slightly to bend the extrusion in its length direction to a form corresponding to that of the tubes 8. The gaps 24 at the lateral edges of the extrusion are then widened by exerting pressure in the direction shown by arrow 26 to allow the introduction of one of the tubes 8 under each semi-circular portion 16; after the release of the pressure the gap ?4 returns to the size indicated in Figure 2, entrapping the tube 8 and enabling the end 22 of the extrusion to bear upon the underside of the tube.

The construction thus described thus provides that the slide plate 10 is effectively secured to the tubes 8 and the free edges 22, which might otherwise constitute dangerous cutting surfaces, are kept out of harms way.

Claims (2)

1. I. , A chute, especially for a child's slide, comprising a

   spaced pair of inclined support members and an elongate plastics extrusion spanning the space between the support members, comprising support portions by which the extrusion is supported on the support members and an intermediate portion presenting a sliding surface, and terminating laterally under the respective support members to secure the extrusion to the support members.
2. 2. A chute according to Claim 1 wherein each of the lateral edges of the extrusion is so positioned relative to the associated support portion that the extrusion has to be distorted to release it from the support members.

   3 A chute according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the lateral edges of the extrusion engage the underside of the support members.

   4 A chute according to Claim 3 wherein the lateral edges engage the surface of the support members normally to the said surface.

   5 A chute according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the support members are of tubular metal.

   6 A chute according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the extrusion is of constant thickness.

   7 A chute, especially for a child's slide, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.