GB2576113A

GB2576113A - Sports goal wheel assembly, sports goal wheel system and sports goal

Info

Publication number: GB2576113A
Application number: GB1910717.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harrod Mark; Harrod Matthew; Somers Jack
Original assignee: Mh Goals Ltd
Current assignee: Mh Goals Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-27
Filing date: 2019-07-26
Publication date: 2020-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 2039-07-26
Also published as: GB201812267D0; GB201910717D0; GB2576113B

Abstract

A sports goal wheel assembly 200 for moving a sports goal is described. The assembly comprises a housing 202; a lifting member 222; a wheel (230, figure 3) attached to the lifting member 222, and a rotatable member 220. The rotatable member 220 is contained within the housing 202 and coupled with the lifting member 222, such that rotation of the rotatable member 220 causes the lifting member 222 to move linearly in relation to the housing 202 between a raised position and a lowered position, thereby raising and lowering the housing 202 relative to the wheel (230, figure 3). The resulting assembly improves safety by reducing shearing and trap hazards. The sports goal wheel assembly 200 may form part of, or be attached to, a sports goal (100, figure 1), such as a football goal. Examples with fixed wheels (230, figure 3), wheels mounted on castors (340, figure 10) and offset/inline positioning (see figures 4 and 14 respectively) of the wheel with respect to a frame of a goal are described.

Description

SPORTS GOAL WHEEL ASSEMBLY, SPORTS GOAL WHEEL SYSTEM AND

SPORTS GOAL

Technical Field

The present invention relates to sports goals, for example football goals, and a wheel assembly for moving a sports goal.

Background

Goals are an essential element to sports, such as football. Whilst many goals are fixed into the ground and do not require moving, there are also moveable goals that may be moved on to the sports pitch in use, and then moved back into storage afterwards. Some of these moveable goals include wheels to enable the goals to be wheeled into the desired position.

However, a problem with using wheels to transport the goals to the correct position is that the bottom of the goals will be located off the ground due to the clearance required for the wheels to move the goals to the correct position. Thus, the goal may move in use, for example following an impact from a ball, which is undesirable.

Wheels for sports goals that can be raised and lower have proposed. In one product, a lever mechanism is used to adjust the level of the goal relative to the wheel once the goal has been moved into the position. A lever handle is moved to raise and lower the wheels relative to the goal by rotating the wheel about a pivot point so that the wheel moves in an arc between the raised and the lowered position. It would be desirable to provide an improved way of raising and lowering wheels for sports goals.

Summary

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheel assembly for moving a sports goal. The assembly comprises: a housing; a lifting member; a wheel attached to the lifting member; and a rotatable member contained within the housing and coupled with the lifting member, such that rotation of the rotatable member causes the lifting member to move linearly in relation to the housing between a raised position and a lowered position, thereby raising and lowering the housing relative to the wheel in use.

Such a wheel assembly may be suitable for moving the wheel relative to the housing with a reduced trap hazard compared to systems using a lever and/or moving wheels in an arc around a pivot point because there is reduced access to shearing parts that could trap a user’s digit in use.

A handle may be coupled with the rotatable member. This can provide a convenient and safe way of operating raising and lowering the wheel. The handle may be directly or indirectly coupled with the rotatable member.

The handle may comprise a substantially circular member. In this context “substantially circular member” includes cylindrical members which have a diameter greater than their height, more preferably a diameter which is at least two times greater than their height, still more preferably at least three times greater than their height. A substantially circular member may have a reduced shear hazard compared to a crank, where a user’s digits may catch between the crank and other parts of the assembly. The substantially circular member may be coaxial with the axis of the rotatable member.

The rotatable member may comprise a threaded rod. In one example, the lifting member may comprise a threaded collar coupled with the threaded rod. In another example the lifting member may comprise a worm wheel coupled with the threaded rod.

The rotatable member may be substantially vertical in use. This can enable a simple construction of the wheel assembly with fewer parts required to raise and lower the wheels. The rotatable member is positioned vertically when the wheel assembly is attached to, or forms part of, a sports goal and the sports goal is oriented in its normal way for use.

The housing may delimit an opening, and the lifting member extends through the opening such that the opening constrains the degree of freedom of movement of the lifting member relative to the housing. In one example, the opening is a generally rectangular or generally stadium shaped slot having two straight, parallel sides to define the linear movement of the lifting member.

The lifting member may comprise an axle of the wheel, and the wheel restricts access to the opening. This may improve the safety of the system.

A castor assembly may be attached to the lifting member, the castor assembly comprising the wheel. This may provide a system with greater manoeuvrability.

An axis of rotation of the castor assembly may be substantially coaxial with an axis of rotation of the rotatable member. This can make the wheel assembly more stable during rotation of the rotatable member to raise or lower the wheel.

The castor assembly may be attached to the lifting member at locations distributed around an axis of rotation of the rotatable member. This can reduce the moment applied to the housing by the castor assembly and make rotation of the rotatable member easier.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a sports goal wheel system comprising: a sports goal wheel assembly as described above, wherein the lifting member comprises an axle of the wheel; and a castor assembly comprising a second wheel, the castor assembly adapted for attachment to the lifting member of the sports goal wheel assembly in place of the wheel. Thus, the wheel may be exchanged for a castor assembly as required.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a sports goal comprising: a goal; and at least two sports goal wheel assemblies or at least two sports goal wheel systems as described above, with or without the optional features also described, mounted to a lower portion of the goal.

Each of the sports goal wheel assemblies may be positioned such that in the lowered position a lowest point of the wheel is above a lowest point of a goal, and in the raised position the lowest point of the wheel is below a lowest point of the goal.

A ground clearance to the sports goal may be between 60 and 70 mm in the raised position. A ground clearance to the wheel may be between 3mm to 15mm in the lowered position.

The sports goal may comprise a frame with the at least two sports goal wheel assemblies positioned in line with the frame. This may allow a use of a larger diameter wheel.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a side view of an illustrative example of a sports goal comprising a wheel assembly;

Figure 2 shows a section of an example of part of a wheel assembly for moving a sports goal;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the example of a wheel assembly for moving a sports goal in a first position;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the wheel assembly shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a side view of the example of a wheel assembly for moving a sports goal in a second position;

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the wheel assembly shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 shows a side view of part of a wheel assembly for moving a sports goal;

Figure 8 shows detail of an example sports goal with the wheel assembly in the first position;

Figure 9 shows a detail of the example sports goal of Figure 8 with the wheel assembly in the second position;

Figure 10 shows a side view of another example of a wheel assembly for a sports goal;

Figure 11 shows a side view of a further example of a wheel assembly for a sports goal;

Figure 12 shows a side view of a first handle for use wheel assembly shown in Figure 11;

Figure 13 shows a side view of a second handle for use with the wheel assembly shown in Figure 11;

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of an additional example of a wheel assembly for a sports goal with the wheel in a first position;

Figure 15 shows a perspective view of the wheel assembly of Figure 14 in a second position; and

Figure 16 is a section view of the wheel assembly shown in Figure 15.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows a side view of an illustrative example of a sports goal 100, which may be used in sports, such as football. The dimensions of the goal will vary depending on the sport with which the goal is intended for use. In this example, the sports goal 100 is formed from a frame comprising two posts 102 (only one visible in Figure 1) a top bar (not visible in Figure 1), a bottom frame 104 comprising two or more bars and a net support 106. At least two wheel assemblies 200 are mounted to a lower portion of the goal 100. In the example shown in Figure 1, two wheel assemblies 200 are shown as being mounted to the bottom frame 104 of the sports goal 100, with the opposite side of the goal also having two wheel assemblies (not shown) so that there are four in total. In other examples only one wheel assembly may be provided on each side (so that there are two wheel assemblies in total) or more wheel assemblies may be provided. As shown in Figure 1, the wheel assemblies are generally located towards the front and towards the rear of the goal, but they may be mounted to other parts of the sports goal in other examples. The number of wheel assemblies may be determined based on the weight and/or size of the sports goal. For example, a greater number of wheel assemblies may be provided on heavier and/or larger sports goals.

Figure 2 shows a section of part of a first example of a wheel assembly 200 for moving a sports goal 100. The wheel assembly 200 comprises a housing 202 that substantially surrounds moving parts within the assembly 200, this may reduce the risk of an injury of a user coming into contact with one of the moving parts. In one example, the housing 202 is in the form of a hollow cuboid but it may take the form of any shape suitable for housing the moving parts of the wheel assembly 200, such as a hollow cylinder. In the example shown in Figure 2, the housing 202 has a first end member 204 and a second end member 206 which are joined together by a wall 208. In one example, the first end member 204 and the second end member 206 are made of nylon blocks.

The housing 202 is connected to one or more supports 208 for the sports goal. In the example shown in Figure 2, the support 208 comprises a first mounting block 210 and a second mounting block 212. In this example, both the first mounting block 210 and the second mounting block 212 are shown as right-angle sections, which are coupled to the first end member 204 and the second end member 206 via respective fixtures, such as a nut and bolt. In other examples, the support 208 is integral with the housing 202. The first mounting block 210 and the second mounting block 212 may be made of nylon. The sports goal (not shown) may be coupled to the support 208 via a fixing means, such as a nut and bolt, or another suitable fastener. A spacer plate 214 may be coupled to the second mounting block 212 to reduce damage to the mounting blocks 210, 212 when the sports goal is fixed to the support 208. This may allow the wheel assembly to be removed from the sports goal, for example should maintenance or replacement be required.

In the example shown in Figure 2, the assembly 200 includes an axle 216 about which a wheel (not shown) is rotatable. In this example, the wheel rotates about the axle 216. However, in other examples, both the wheel and axle 216 rotate together and a bearing is provided between the axle 216 and the rest of the apparatus 200. The axle 216 may comprise a star lock 218 for ensuring that the wheel does not slide off the end of the axle 216 in use.

The assembly 200 includes a rotatable member 220 that is substantially located within the housing 202. The rotatable member 220 has a longitudinal axis about which it is able to rotate, for example the rotatable member 220 may be in the form of a shaft or rod. The rotatable member 220 may be coupled to the first end member 204 of the housing 202 and a second end member 206 of the housing 202 via one or more bearings (not shown) to enable the rotatable member 220 to rotate about its longitudinal axis relative to the housing 202. In other examples, the first end member 204 and the second end member 206 act as bearings for the rotatable member 220. In one example the rotatable member 220 comprises a thread on its outer radial surface, for example the rotatable member 220 may take the form of a screw shaft or a threaded rod.

A lifting member 222 is coupled with the rotatable member 208. The lifting member 222 may comprise a threaded collar 224 with an opening for receiving the rotatable member 220. In this example, the thread of the rotatable member 220 corresponds to and meshes with the thread of the threaded collar 224. As the rotatable member 220 rotates relative to the lifting member, the lifting member 222 will move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the rotatable member 220 due to correlation of the mesh of the thread of the rotatable member 220 and the threaded collar 224. A clockwise rotation of the rotatable member 208 causes the lifting member 222 to move in a first direction along the rotatable member 220 and an anti-clockwise rotation of the rotatable member 220 causes the lifting member 222 to move in a second direction along the rotatable member 220. In another example, the lifting member 222 may comprise a worm gear that does not entirely surround the rotatable member 220, but instead has teeth that mesh with the thread of the rotatable member 220. The rotatable member 220 may be substantially vertical in use, such that when the rotatable member 220 rotates, it causes the lifting member 222 to move in a substantially vertical direction, i.e. upwards or downwards.

In the example shown in Figure 2, the lifting member 222 comprises the collar 224 and the axle 216. The axle 216 is coupled with the collar 224 such that the axle 216 and the wheel move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the rotatable member

220 as the rotatable member 220 rotates relative to the collar. Hence, as the rotatable member 220 rotates relative to the collar, the position of the lifting member 222, axle 216 and wheel will move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the rotatable member 220 relative to the housing 202, support 208 for the sports goal and the sports goal itself. As such, rotation of the rotatable member 220 relative to the collar causes the lifting member 222 to move linearly in relation to the housing 202 thereby raising and lowering the wheel relative to the housing 202 in use.

Figure 3 shows a side view of the example of the assembly 200 for moving a sports goal 100 (not shown) in a first, raised position. The construction of the assembly 200 is the same as in Figure 2, but in this example, a wheel 230 is shown on the axle 216. For clarity, not all of the reference signs have been repeated from Figure 2. In Figure 3, the housing 202, rotatable member 220, support 208 and sports goal (not shown) are shown in first, raised position, relative to the wheel 230, the axle and the lifting member (not entirely shown).

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the wheel assembly 200 shown in Figure 3 with the wheel assembly 200 in the first, raised position. For clarity, not all of the reference signs have been repeated from Figure 2.

Figure 5 shows a side view of the example of the assembly 200 for moving a sports goal (not shown) in a second, lowered position. In this example, the housing 202, rotatable member, support 208 and sports goal (not shown) are depicted in a second, lowered position relative to the wheel 230, the axle, and the lifting member.

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the wheel assembly 200 shown in Figure 5 with the wheel assembly 200 in the second, lowered position. For clarity, not all of the reference signs have been repeated from Figure 2.

In the example shown in Figures 3 and 4, the assembly 200 is in a first, raised position such that in use, when attached to a sports goal, a lowest point of the wheel 230 is below a lowest point of the sports goal (not shown). In this position, the goal may be wheeled to the desired location, for example at one end of a 5-a-side football pitch. When the sports goal has been moved to the desired location, then the assembly 200 may be adjusted to the second, lowered position, as shown in Figure 5, wherein the lowest point of the wheel 230 is above the lowest point of the sports goal (not shown). Therefore, the sports goal will be in contact with the ground and the wheel 230 will be raised from the ground. Using this arrangement, the sports goal 100 may be easily positioned. The construction of the wheel assembly reduces the risk of trap hazard and/or shear hazards, such as might occur with a lever or exposed rotating system. Lever or exposed rotating systems may for example present a risk because a person’s finger could become trapped or caught in the lever or exposed rotating component during movement.

In some examples, the assembly 200 comprises means for rotating the rotatable member 220. In the example shown in Figures 2 to 6 the assembly 200 comprises a handle 226 that is coupled to the rotatable member 220, which may be operated by a user to control the rotation of the rotatable member 220. In the example shown in Figures 2 to 6 the handle 226 comprises a substantially circular member 228 which is coaxial with an axis of rotation of the rotatable member 220. In one example, the circular member 228 comprises a plate with a thickness of between 3mm and 7mm. The use of the circular member 228 may provide a further safety benefit because there is a reduced risk of a user trapping their fingers between the handle 226 and the housing as the handle is rotated. In this example the outside of the circular member is provided with square protrusions to allow user better grip should the circular member be rotated by gripping it on its circumference rather than by using the handle 226. Alternative examples may have a smooth surface or provide other features on the substantially circular member to assist grip, such as a textured surface or a high friction surface coating.

Figure 7 shows a side view of the example of part of an assembly 200 for moving a sports goal 100 viewed along the direction perpendicular to line A-A in Figure 2. The wheel is not shown in Figure 7 for clarity. Fixtures 232, 234 for fixing the housing 202 to the first end member 204 and the second end member 206 can be seen clearly. Figure 7 also depicts how the housing constrains the freedom of movement of the lifting member to convert rotation of the handle 226 into linear movement of the lifting member. An opening 236 is delimited by the housing and takes the form of a slotted opening in this example. The lifting member 222 comprising the axle 216 extends through the opening 236, such that the opening 236 constrains the degree of freedom of movement of the lifting member 222 relative to the housing 202. Figure 7 depicts the star lock 218 on the end of the lifting member 222. Figure 7 shows the lifting member 222 located at a mid-point of the opening 236. Opening 236 limits the freedom of movement of the lifting member 222 such that the lifting member 222 is constrained in the horizontal direction and can move in a vertical direction only. A longitudinal axis of the opening 236 is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable member 220. Constraining the degree of freedom of movement of the axle 216 ensures that the rotatable member rotates relative to the collar. It may also improve the overall stability of the assembly and reduce the risk of the assembly 200 becoming damaged by the lifting member 222 and the rotatable member 220 becoming misaligned.

The opening 236 is visible in section in Figure 2 but is not visible in Figures 3 to 6. This is because the wheel 230 is sized to restrict or prevent access to the opening 236 through the whole range of movement of the wheel 230 relative to the assembly 200. Restricting or preventing access to the opening 236 may reduce the risk of injury to a user as they are not able to accidently catch their fingers within the opening 236 during movement of the wheel 230 relative to the sports goal 100.

Figures 8 and 9 show the raising and lowering in relation to a sports goal in more detail. Figure 8 shows a detail of the wheel assembly 200 in the first, raised position. The wheel assembly 200 is arranged relative to the sports goal such that a lower edge of the wheel 230 is located below the lower edge of the sports goal 100. This results in the wheel 230 being in contact with the ground and the sports goal 100 being elevated from the ground 238. In one example, the assembly 200 is configured to provide a ground clearance to the sports goal 100 of between 30mm and 100mm when the assembly 200 is located in the first, raised position. More preferably, the assembly 200 is configured to provide a ground clearance to the sports goal 100 of between 60mm and 70mm. Providing a ground clearance in this range enables the sports goal to be wheeled to the correct position without catching on a typical sports ground surface.

Figure 9 shows a detail of the wheel assembly 200 in the second, lowered position. As shown in Figure 9, the wheel assembly 200 is arranged such that the lower edge of the wheel 230 is located above the lower edge of the sports goal 100. This results in the sports goal 100 being in contact with the ground and the wheel 230 being elevated from the ground 238. In one example, the assembly 200 is configured to provide a ground clearance to the wheel 230 of between 3mm to 15mm when the assembly 200 is located in the second, lowered position. When the wheels 230 are elevated from the ground, as shown in Figure 9, the top of the wheel 230 is higher than the top of the wheel assembly 200. This may provide protection for the wheel assembly 200 from damage, such as by impact from a ball, and may also provide protection to sports equipment and sports people from any edges of the assembly 200 during games using the goal.

Figure 10 shows another example of wheel assembly 300 for moving a sports goal 100. In this example, the wheel assembly 300 includes a castor assembly 340 in place of the fixed axle wheel 230. The castor assembly 340 comprises a wheel 330 that may swivel about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the wheel 330. The castor assembly 340 is coupled to the lifting member 322. In one example, the castor assembly 340 is slotted over a standard wheel axle and locked in place using a lynchpin 342. Providing a one or more castor assemblies 340 to the sports goal may make it easier to manoeuvre the sports goal into a desired location.

As can be appreciated from a comparison of Figure 10 with Figures 3 and 5, the example of Figure 10 uses generally the same construction, with the wheel 230 being replaced by the castor assembly 340. Accordingly, similar components in the example of Figure 10 are given the same reference numbers as in the example of Figures 3 and 5. In other examples the construction of these parts need not be exactly the same.

In one example, a system may be provided with a housing 202 and both a fixed wheel 230 and a castor assembly 340, to allow a user to choose whichever form of wheel is most appropriate. For example, a castor may be more suitable for use with hard surfaces and/or where tight manoeuvres are required, while a fixed wheel may be more suitable for softer surfaces, such as a grass pitch. When both a fixed wheel and a castor assembly are provided, the dimension from the lifting member to the lowest surface of the wheel may be the same for both the fixed wheel and the castor assembly, so that the ground clearance is the same in both the raised and lowered positions. Changing the fixed wheel for the castor, and vice versa, may be carried out in the lowered position, so that there is no load being bom by the wheel.

Referring now to Figure 11, a further example of a wheel assembly 400 for moving a sports goal 100 is shown. This is example has generally the same construction as wheel assembly 200 described above with reference to Figure 3 but differs firstly in that the wheel 430 is angled relative to the horizontal plane and secondly in that an alternative handle system is provided.

The axis of the wheel 430 is angled relative to the horizontal 450 so that the wheel itself does not rotate in vertical plane, i.e. at 90° to the horizontal but is instead angled so that the top of the wheel is offset in the horizontal direction from the bottom of the wheel. This makes it easier to manoeuvre a sports goal including the wheel assembly when it is desired to move the sports goal in a curve rather than a straight line. In the example of Figure 11 the wheel 430 is angled an angle 452 of around 3° to the horizontal. As shown in Figure 11, this angling is provided by mounting the housing through connectors having a 93° angle 454 and an 87° angle 456. Other angles may be also be used.

Figure 11 also shows a rotatable member having a hexagonal cross section top portion 460 at its top portion, which in this case is a standard M8 size. The hexagonal cross section top portion 460 can engage a corresponding socket in a removable handle. A recess or through hole 462 is also provided in the hexagonal section to enable the removable handle to be held in place more securely, for example by using a lynchpin or similar. Other examples may use other sizes and cross sections, such as square.

Two alternative handles for use with the wheel assembly of Figure 11 are shown in Figures 12 and 13, respectively. Both handles include an M8 socket to engage the hexagonal portion of the rotatable member. A first handle 470, shown in Figure 12, is relatively short and low profile, so that it may be left permanently in place on the wheel assembly or stored easily. A second handle 480, shown in Figure 13 is longer and includes an offset portion, allowing the rotatable member to be rotated from a standing position if desired.

Although the handles of Figure 11 and Figure 12 engage the hexagonal portion directly, other examples may use a ratchet mechanism. A ratchet mechanism in the handle can allow more leverage to be applied where the structure of the goal means that rotation of the handle through 360° is difficult with a handle that extends further from the axis of the rotatable member.

The example of Figure 11 has both a removable handle and an angled wheel, other examples may use the handle system without the angled wheel and vice versa.

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of another wheel assembly 500 for moving a sports goal, with the wheel 530 in a first position. Figure 15 depicts the wheel assembly 500 with the wheel 530 in a second position. The wheel assembly 500 is generally in line with a frame of a goal to which it is mounted. For example, an inline position may mean that a central vertical plane defined by the wheel assembly or an axis of rotation of the castor assembly is substantially coincident with a vertical plane of a portion the frame of the goal to which the wheel assembly is mounted, rather than horizontally offset as in the examples of Figures 2 and 10. This inline position means that the wheel assembly is offset in a vertical direction and can allow the use of larger diameter wheels on the castor than the wheel assembly of Figure 10, which is advantageous when ground is soft. The wheel 430 has a diameter of approximately 200mm in this example and has a hollow core which does not require inflation, such as a hollow plastic core. A hollow core has been found to improve the ability for the wheel to maintain its shape when the goal is used on a variety of different surfaces, including asphalt, tarmac and other hard surfaces which can reach high temperatures in direct sunlight, while retaining the benefit of not requiring inflation.

The wheel assembly includes a castor assembly 540 which is mounted to a plate at positions generally distributed around the axis 523 of the rotatable member 520. This reduces the moment applied to the frame by the wheel 530 when the frame is supported by the wheel, compared to the assembly of Figure 10. The reduced moment makes it easier to rotate the rotatable member with the handle and raise or lower the wheel relative to the frame.

In addition, the axis of rotation of the castor is substantially coaxial with the rotation axis 523 of the rotatable member 520. This means that substantially no moment will be created between the rotatable member and the rotation axis of the castor, making the assembly more stable during rotation of the rotatable member to raise or lower the wheel.

Visible at the top of the wheel assembly 500 is an indicator 590 which shows the direction of rotation to raise and lower the wheel. This reduces the need for trial and error when the pitch of the thread on the rotatable member 520 is shallow. A shallow pitch can mean that one or more complete revolutions are required to create a noticeable change in the position of the wheel to allow a user to establish whether the direction of rotation is correct to raise or lower the wheel as desired. Providing an indication of rotation direction improves the ease of use.

The wheel assembly of Figure 14 also has a rotatable member 520 with a hexagonal top section. This can be used with removable handles, such as described above with reference to Figures 12 and 13.

The inline positioning of the wheel assembly 500 is provided by two L-shaped brackets 592 which are bolted to the wheel assembly and to a suitably sized gap in the lower frame of the sports goal. In this example, the attachment of the brackets 592 to the wheel assembly is assisted by a flattened portion of tubes extending from the housing of the wheel assembly. The flattened portion may be formed by extruding tubes of a suitable cross-section, for example.

A section through the wheel assembly 500 in the position of Figure 15 is shown in Figure 16. The rotatable member 520 is attached to a lifting member 522 which is positioned generally below the rotatable member 520 and arranged generally symmetrically about the rotation axis 523 of the rotatable member 520. The lifting member 522 is attached to a plate 524 to which the castor assembly 440 is attached at a variety of positions distributed around the axis of the rotatable member. In this example the attachment is by four bolts 525, each 90° apart around the axis of the rotatable member (two are visible in the section of Figure 16). This can even the forces exerted on the rotatable member 520 by the wheel and make rotation of the rotatable member easier.

As can be seen most clearly in Figures 15 and 16, the top portion of the rotatable member is arranged at an uppermost position of the wheel assembly and remains above the wheel when the wheel is in both the first position and the second position. This can improve access to the rotatable member and allow easier fitting and/or rotation of the handle.

The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the invention. Further embodiments of the invention are envisaged. For example, the rotatable member 208 may include a cam system for moving the lifting member 222, 322. For example, the handle may be coupled with the rotatable mechanism through gearing, to enable the rate of raising/lowering the wheel to be adjusted and/or to enable the handle to rotate about an axis which is not coaxial with the rotatable member. For example, the housing 202 may be formed integrally with the lower support of a goal.

It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A sports goal wheel assembly for moving a sports goal, the assembly comprising:

a housing;

a lifting member;

a wheel attached to the lifting member; and a rotatable member contained within the housing and coupled with the lifting member, such that rotation of the rotatable member causes the lifting member to move linearly in relation to the housing between a raised position and a lowered position, thereby raising and lowering the housing relative to the wheel.

2. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a handle coupled with the rotatable member.

3. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 2, wherein the handle comprises a substantially circular member.

4. A sports goal wheel assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the rotatable member comprises a threaded rod.

5. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 4, wherein the lifting member comprises a threaded collar coupled with the threaded rod.

6. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 4, wherein the lifting member comprises a worm wheel coupled with the threaded rod.

7. A sports goal wheel assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the rotatable member is substantially vertical in use.

8. A sports goal wheel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing delimits an opening, and the lifting member extends through the opening such that the opening constrains the degree of freedom of movement of the lifting member relative to the housing.

9. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 8, wherein the lifting member comprises an axle of the wheel and the wheel restricts access to the opening

10. A sports goal wheel assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a castor assembly attached to the lifting member, the castor assembly comprising the wheel.

11. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 10, wherein an axis of rotation of the castor assembly is substantially coaxial with an axis of rotation of the rotatable member.

12. A sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 10 or 11 wherein the castor assembly is attached to the lifting member at locations distributed around an axis of rotation of the rotatable member.

13. A sports goal wheel system comprising:

a sports goal wheel assembly according to claim 9; and a castor assembly comprising a second wheel, the castor assembly adapted for attachment to the lifting member of the sports goal wheel assembly in place of the wheel.

14. A sports goal comprising:

a goal; and at least two sports goal wheel assemblies according to any of claims 1 to 12 or at least two sports goal wheel assembly systems according to claim 13 mounted to a lower portion of the goal.

15. A sports goal according to claim 14, wherein each of the sports goal wheel assemblies are positioned such that in the lowered position a lowest point of the wheel is above a lowest point of a goal, and in the raised position the lowest point of the wheel is below a lowest point of the goal.

16. A sports goal according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the sports goal wheel 5 assembly is configured to provide a ground clearance to the sports goal between 60 and

70 mm in the raised position.

17. A sports goal according to claim 14, 15 or 16, wherein the sports goal wheel assembly is configured to provide a ground clearance to the wheel of between 3mm to

10 15mm in the lowered position.

18. A sports goal according to any of claims 14 to 17, wherein the goal comprises a frame and the at least two sports goal wheel assemblies are positioned in line with the frame.