US20060046899A1 - Quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts - Google Patents
Quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060046899A1 US20060046899A1 US10/930,793 US93079304A US2006046899A1 US 20060046899 A1 US20060046899 A1 US 20060046899A1 US 93079304 A US93079304 A US 93079304A US 2006046899 A1 US2006046899 A1 US 2006046899A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- lower section
- connecting element
- arms
- elastic connecting
- retaining head
- 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
- 239000007769 metal material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 7
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 230000009191 jumping Effects 0.000 description 7
- 230000000994 depressogenic effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 208000037805 labour Diseases 0.000 description 2
- 230000001681 protective effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- DOQPXTMNIUCOSY-UHFFFAOYSA-N [4-cyano-4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-5-methylhexyl]-[2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethyl]-methylazanium;chloride Chemical compound [H+].[Cl-].C1=C(OC)C(OC)=CC=C1CCN(C)CCCC(C#N)(C(C)C)C1=CC=C(OC)C(OC)=C1 DOQPXTMNIUCOSY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229940116800 covera Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B71/00—Games or sports accessories not covered in groups A63B1/00 - A63B69/00
- A63B71/02—Games or sports accessories not covered in groups A63B1/00 - A63B69/00 for large-room or outdoor sporting games
- A63B71/023—Supports, e.g. poles
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
- F16B7/00—Connections of rods or tubes, e.g. of non-circular section, mutually, including resilient connections
- F16B7/04—Clamping or clipping connections
- F16B7/0406—Clamping or clipping connections for rods or tubes being coaxial
- F16B7/0413—Clamping or clipping connections for rods or tubes being coaxial for tubes using the innerside thereof
- F16B7/042—Clamping or clipping connections for rods or tubes being coaxial for tubes using the innerside thereof with a locking element, e.g. pin, ball or pushbutton, engaging in a hole in the wall of at least one tube
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B2208/00—Characteristics or parameters related to the user or player
- A63B2208/12—Characteristics or parameters related to the user or player specially adapted for children
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B5/00—Apparatus for jumping
- A63B5/11—Trampolines
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a quick connecting mechanism for quickly and conveniently assembling and disassembling two vertically adjacent sections forming legs and/or safety fence posts of a trampoline.
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,207 B1 discloses a trampoline having a safety fence for enclosing a space immediately above a jumping bed.
- the jumping bed of the trampoline disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,207 B1 is usually supported to a predetermined height by connecting to a legged frame via a plurality of radially extended elastic elements, such as springs.
- the elastic elements are fixedly connected at an inner end to an outer periphery of the jumping bed, and at an outer end to the legged frame, which is normally round or rectangular in shape.
- a plurality of spaced and upward extended posts are connected to the legged frame for holding a protective net thereto.
- the posts for supporting the safety fence are usually assembled from a plurality of sections to have a height sufficient to covera user's bouncing height above the jumping bed.
- the legged frame of the trampoline also includes legs assembled from a plurality of vertical sections.
- a trampoline manufacturer would usually ship the trampoline in a disassembled state, and different components of the trampoline, including the sections for forming the legs and safety fence posts, are assembled at the site for erecting the trampoline.
- two vertically adjacent sections forming the legs and the safety fence posts are connected by means of screwing them to each other, and therefore, a lot of time is required to assemble the sections for use and disassemble the sections for storage.
- a primary object of the present invention is to provide a quick connecting mechanism for effectively assembling and disassembling two vertically adjacent sections forming trampoline legs and/or safety fence posts at largely reduced labors and time.
- the quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts mainly includes an upper and a lower hollow sections, and an elastic connecting element mounted between the upper and the lower section.
- the lower section includes an upper end portion that has a reduced outer diameter equal to an inner diameter of a main body of the upper section, and is formed at a predetermined position with at least one lower radial hole corresponding to at least one upper radial hole formed at a predetermined position on the main body of the upper section.
- the elastic connecting element is integrally formed from a metal material to include two arms that normally elastically extend outward from a common point at predetermined inclinations, and one of the two arms is provided at a free end with at least one sideward and outward projected retaining head, which is diametrically slightly smaller than the upper and lower radial holes.
- the elastic connecting element is mounted in the lower section with the two inclinedly extended arms elastically compressed in the diameter-reduced upper end portion of the lower section and the at least one retaining head engaged with and partially projected from the at least one lower radial hole.
- the at least one retaining head and the two arms of the elastic connecting element are integrally formed from a sheet metal material, and the at least one retaining head is a hollow cylinder having an axial slit to provide the hollow cylinder a desired tolerance for a solid insert to plug therein.
- FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1 ;
- FIGS. 3A to 3 C shows the manner of assembling and disassembling the present invention
- FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 4 .
- FIGS. 1 and 2 are assembled and exploded perspective views, respectively, of a quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- the quick connecting mechanism of the present invention mainly includes an upper and a lower hollow sections 10 , 20 , and an elastic connecting element 30 mounted between the upper and the lower section 10 , 20 .
- the lower section 20 includes an upper end portion 21 that has a reduced outer diameter equal to an inner diameter of a main body of the upper section 10 , and is formed at a predetermined position with a lower radial hole 22 corresponding to an upper radial hole 12 formed at a predetermined position on the main body of the upper section 10 .
- the elastic connecting element 30 is a substantially V-shaped member integrally formed from a metal material to include a first and a second arm 31 , 32 that normally extend outward at predetermined inclinations.
- the first arm 31 has an inclination smaller than that of the second arm 32 .
- the first arm 31 is provided at a free end with a sideward and outward projected retaining head 33 , which is diametrically slightly smaller than the radial holes 12 , 22 and preferably has a rounded free end 34 .
- the retaining head 33 and the two elastic arms 31 , 32 are integrally formed from a sheet metal material.
- the retaining head 33 is a hollow cylinder formed by pressing, and is provided at a predetermined position with an axial slit 35 that provides the hollow retaining head 33 with a desired tolerance for a solid insert 36 to plug into the hollow retaining head 33 .
- FIGS. 3A to 3 C Please refer to FIGS. 3A to 3 C.
- first position the elastic connecting element 30 in the diameter-reduced upper end portion 21 of the lower section 20 so that the outward inclined first and second arms 31 , 32 are inward compressed by an inner wall surface 23 of the diameter-reduced upper end portion 21 with the retaining head 33 engaged with the lower radial hole 22 , as shown in FIG. 3C .
- FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention.
- two retaining heads 331 , 332 are spaced on one of two elastic arms of an elastic connecting element 300 mounted between an upper and a lower section 100 , 200 to separately elastically engage with two sets of aligned radial holes 121 , 221 and 122 , 222 formed on the two sections 100 , 200 .
- two vertically adjacent sections forming the legs and/or the safety fence posts of a trampoline could be quickly and conveniently assembled or disassembled to effectively save a lot of labor for assembling the trampoline.
Abstract
A quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts includes an elastic connecting element mounted between an upper and a lower section forming the trampoline legs and/or posts. The upper and the lower section are correspondingly provided with upper and lower radial holes. The elastic connecting element is integrally formed from a metal material to include two inclined arms normally elastically extended outward at predetermined inclinations, and one of the two arms is provided with at least one retaining head diametrically slightly smaller than the upper and lower radial holes. The elastic connecting element is mounted in the lower section with the two arms elastically compressed in a diameter-reduced upper end portion of the lower section and the retaining head engaged with and partially projected from the lower radial hole into the upper radial hole to quickly connect the upper and the lower section to each other.
Description
- The present invention relates to a quick connecting mechanism for quickly and conveniently assembling and disassembling two vertically adjacent sections forming legs and/or safety fence posts of a trampoline.
- Conventional trampolines have an open jumping bed that tends to cause accidents when a child jumps thereon. Therefore, a protective net located around a space above the jumping bed has become a required item for a trampoline. U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,207 B1 discloses a trampoline having a safety fence for enclosing a space immediately above a jumping bed. The jumping bed of the trampoline disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,207 B1 is usually supported to a predetermined height by connecting to a legged frame via a plurality of radially extended elastic elements, such as springs. The elastic elements are fixedly connected at an inner end to an outer periphery of the jumping bed, and at an outer end to the legged frame, which is normally round or rectangular in shape.
- To mount the safety fence around the space above the jumping bed, a plurality of spaced and upward extended posts are connected to the legged frame for holding a protective net thereto. The posts for supporting the safety fence are usually assembled from a plurality of sections to have a height sufficient to covera user's bouncing height above the jumping bed.
- The legged frame of the trampoline also includes legs assembled from a plurality of vertical sections. A trampoline manufacturer would usually ship the trampoline in a disassembled state, and different components of the trampoline, including the sections for forming the legs and safety fence posts, are assembled at the site for erecting the trampoline. In the conventional trampoline, two vertically adjacent sections forming the legs and the safety fence posts are connected by means of screwing them to each other, and therefore, a lot of time is required to assemble the sections for use and disassemble the sections for storage.
- A primary object of the present invention is to provide a quick connecting mechanism for effectively assembling and disassembling two vertically adjacent sections forming trampoline legs and/or safety fence posts at largely reduced labors and time.
- To achieve the above and other objects, the quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts according to the present invention mainly includes an upper and a lower hollow sections, and an elastic connecting element mounted between the upper and the lower section. The lower section includes an upper end portion that has a reduced outer diameter equal to an inner diameter of a main body of the upper section, and is formed at a predetermined position with at least one lower radial hole corresponding to at least one upper radial hole formed at a predetermined position on the main body of the upper section. The elastic connecting element is integrally formed from a metal material to include two arms that normally elastically extend outward from a common point at predetermined inclinations, and one of the two arms is provided at a free end with at least one sideward and outward projected retaining head, which is diametrically slightly smaller than the upper and lower radial holes. The elastic connecting element is mounted in the lower section with the two inclinedly extended arms elastically compressed in the diameter-reduced upper end portion of the lower section and the at least one retaining head engaged with and partially projected from the at least one lower radial hole.
- In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one retaining head and the two arms of the elastic connecting element are integrally formed from a sheet metal material, and the at least one retaining head is a hollow cylinder having an axial slit to provide the hollow cylinder a desired tolerance for a solid insert to plug therein.
- The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
-
FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIGS. 3A to 3C shows the manner of assembling and disassembling the present invention; -
FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; and -
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view ofFIG. 4 . - Please refer to
FIGS. 1 and 2 that are assembled and exploded perspective views, respectively, of a quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the quick connecting mechanism of the present invention mainly includes an upper and a lowerhollow sections element 30 mounted between the upper and thelower section - The
lower section 20 includes anupper end portion 21 that has a reduced outer diameter equal to an inner diameter of a main body of theupper section 10, and is formed at a predetermined position with a lowerradial hole 22 corresponding to an upperradial hole 12 formed at a predetermined position on the main body of theupper section 10. - In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the elastic connecting
element 30 is a substantially V-shaped member integrally formed from a metal material to include a first and asecond arm first arm 31 has an inclination smaller than that of thesecond arm 32. Thefirst arm 31 is provided at a free end with a sideward and outward projected retaininghead 33, which is diametrically slightly smaller than theradial holes free end 34. - The retaining
head 33 and the twoelastic arms head 33 is a hollow cylinder formed by pressing, and is provided at a predetermined position with anaxial slit 35 that provides the hollow retaininghead 33 with a desired tolerance for asolid insert 36 to plug into the hollow retaininghead 33. - Please refer to
FIGS. 3A to 3C. To connect the upper and thelower section element 30 in the diameter-reducedupper end portion 21 of thelower section 20, so that the outward inclined first andsecond arms inner wall surface 23 of the diameter-reducedupper end portion 21 with the retaininghead 33 engaged with the lowerradial hole 22, as shown inFIG. 3C . Then, insert the diameter-reducedupper end portion 21 of thelower section 20 into a lower end of the main body of theupper section 10, so that the retaininghead 33 of the elastic connectingelement 30 in the lowerradial hole 22 of thelower section 20 is in contact with and radially depressed by aninner wall surface 13 of theupper section 10, as shown inFIG. 3C . Thereafter, keep moving the upper and thelower section upper section 10 reaches at an inner end of the diameter-reducedend portion 21 of thelower section 20 to align the upperradial hole 12 with the lowerradial hole 22, as shown inFIG. 3B , so that the previously depressed retaininghead 33 of the elastic connectingelement 30 springs due to a restoring force of theelastic arms radial holes FIG. 3A , to quickly complete the connection of the upper and thelower section lower section head 33 shown inFIG. 3A , so that theretaining head 33 is disengaged from the aligned lower and upperradial holes FIG. 3B , and then move theupper section 10 upward to separate from thelower section 20, as shown inFIG. 3C . - Although only one elastic connecting
element 30 is provided in the above-described preferred embodiment for quick connection of two verticallyadjacent sections element 30 may be used to ensure a stable connection of the twosections -
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, tworetaining heads element 300 mounted between an upper and alower section radial holes sections - With the quick connecting mechanism of the present invention, two vertically adjacent sections forming the legs and/or the safety fence posts of a trampoline could be quickly and conveniently assembled or disassembled to effectively save a lot of labor for assembling the trampoline.
- The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
Claims (2)
1. A quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts, comprising an upper and a lower hollow sections, and an elastic connecting element mounted between said upper and said lower section;
said lower section including an upper end portion that has a reduced outer diameter equal to an inner diameter of a main body of said upper section, and is formed at a predetermined position with at least one lower radial hole corresponding to at least one upper radial hole formed at a predetermined position on the main body of said upper section; and
said elastic connecting element being integrally formed from a metal material to include two arms that normally elastically extend outward from a common point at predetermined inclinations, and one of said two arms being provided at a free end with at least one sideward and outward projected retaining head, which is diametrically slightly smaller than said upper and lower radial holes; and said elastic connecting element being adapted to locate in said lower section with said two inclinedly extended arms elastically compressed in said diameter-reduced upper end portion of said lower section and said at least one retaining head engaged with and partially projected from said at least one lower radial hole.
2. The quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said at least one retaining head and said two arms of said elastic connecting element are integrally formed from a sheet metal material, and said at least one retaining head being a hollow cylinder having an axial slit to provide said hollow cylinder with a desired tolerance for a solid insert to plug therein.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/930,793 US20060046899A1 (en) | 2004-09-01 | 2004-09-01 | Quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/930,793 US20060046899A1 (en) | 2004-09-01 | 2004-09-01 | Quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20060046899A1 true US20060046899A1 (en) | 2006-03-02 |
Family
ID=35944176
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/930,793 Abandoned US20060046899A1 (en) | 2004-09-01 | 2004-09-01 | Quick connecting mechanism for trampoline legs and safety fence posts |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20060046899A1 (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2009097826A1 (en) * | 2008-02-08 | 2009-08-13 | Hangzhou Rhino Outdoor Products Co., Ltd | Collapsibe guardrail device for trampoline and trampoline with the same |
US20170028487A1 (en) * | 2015-07-29 | 2017-02-02 | Freund Maschinenfabrik Gmbh & Co. Kg | Quick release fastener for a band saw |
USD788242S1 (en) * | 2016-02-25 | 2017-05-30 | Samuel Chen | Trampoline frame |
US20180023609A1 (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2018-01-25 | Lil Monkey Ltd. | Spring for connecting a pipe to a connector |
US11009056B2 (en) * | 2013-12-13 | 2021-05-18 | NTH Innovations, LLC | Connection apparatus for collapsible structures |
US11225810B2 (en) * | 2018-11-13 | 2022-01-18 | Lora L. Bacon | Outdoor portable privacy structure |
TWI808753B (en) * | 2022-05-10 | 2023-07-11 | 梁奇銓 | Pipe coupling structure |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2991841A (en) * | 1959-05-25 | 1961-07-11 | Sampson Ben Easton | Bouncing apparatus for children |
US5779386A (en) * | 1996-08-15 | 1998-07-14 | Fisher-Price, Inc. | Apparatus and method for coupling support members |
-
2004
- 2004-09-01 US US10/930,793 patent/US20060046899A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2991841A (en) * | 1959-05-25 | 1961-07-11 | Sampson Ben Easton | Bouncing apparatus for children |
US5779386A (en) * | 1996-08-15 | 1998-07-14 | Fisher-Price, Inc. | Apparatus and method for coupling support members |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2009097826A1 (en) * | 2008-02-08 | 2009-08-13 | Hangzhou Rhino Outdoor Products Co., Ltd | Collapsibe guardrail device for trampoline and trampoline with the same |
US11009056B2 (en) * | 2013-12-13 | 2021-05-18 | NTH Innovations, LLC | Connection apparatus for collapsible structures |
US20180023609A1 (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2018-01-25 | Lil Monkey Ltd. | Spring for connecting a pipe to a connector |
US10907676B2 (en) * | 2015-01-29 | 2021-02-02 | Lil Monkey Ltd. | Spring for connecting a pipe to a connector |
US20170028487A1 (en) * | 2015-07-29 | 2017-02-02 | Freund Maschinenfabrik Gmbh & Co. Kg | Quick release fastener for a band saw |
US10436234B2 (en) * | 2015-07-29 | 2019-10-08 | Freund Maschinenfabrik Gmbh & Co. Kg | Quick release fastener for a band saw |
USD788242S1 (en) * | 2016-02-25 | 2017-05-30 | Samuel Chen | Trampoline frame |
US11225810B2 (en) * | 2018-11-13 | 2022-01-18 | Lora L. Bacon | Outdoor portable privacy structure |
TWI808753B (en) * | 2022-05-10 | 2023-07-11 | 梁奇銓 | Pipe coupling structure |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SHEN-TAI INDUSTRY CO., LTD., TAIWAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WANG, TENG YI;WU, CHANG I;REEL/FRAME:015764/0430 Effective date: 20040801 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |