WO1999019031A1

WO1999019031A1 - Inflatable sports goal

Info

Publication number: WO1999019031A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/021212
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rodney Lee Blair; Philip George Chauvet
Original assignee: Virtual Sports, Inc.
Priority date: 1997-10-10
Filing date: 1998-10-08
Publication date: 1999-04-22
Also published as: CN1275089A; AU9690098A

Abstract

An improved sports goal structure (10) having a plurality of inflatable tubes joined to form the framework (32) of a goal structure, together with an outer casing (34) of non-elastic material which encloses the inflatable framework (32) and serves to form a strong rigid goal structure (10) which is useful in a plurality of sports, yet which can quickly and easily be erected or collapsed for convenient transportation and storage.

Description

Description Inflatable Sports Goal

Technical Field This invention relates to sports equipment and is particularly directed to inflatable goals for use in soccer and the like.

Background Art

Many sports employ goal structures which are similar. Thus soccer is probably the most popular game in the world and is played, on both professional and amateur levels, in virtually every country. As is well known, soccer is played on a large open field with two goals, each located at a respective end of the field. The goals are frameworks supporting a net and having a roof, side walls and a rear wall with an open front. For professional and scholastic soccer fields, the goal frameworks are usually permanent structures, formed of wood or metal tubing and wrapped in cushioning material to prevent injury to players who might collide with the goal during the game.

However, less organized soccer games, such as neighborhood games, are often played on borrowed fields or on paved streets or parking lots, where permanent goal structures cannot be installed and would be prohibitive in cost. In such instances makeshift goals are often used. However, these makeshift goals are often structurally unsound and may cause injury to the players and must be torn down and rebuilt each time they are to be used.

Also, similar goal structures are used for playing street hockey and, if made to float on water, are used for playing water polo. In these instances portability and storage of the goal structures is of major importance. However, the goal structures of the prior art are not designed with these considerations in mind. Thus, none of the prior art sport goal structures have been entirely satisfactory. Disclosure of Invention

These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention and an improved sport goal structure is provided having inflatable structural members together with an outer casing formed of non-elastic material to form a collapsible goal structure which is inexpensive to purchase and which can easily be transported and stored in a minimum space, yet which can quickly and easily be erected and installed with little effort and with little or no technical skill to provide a goal structure which can be used for a plurality of sports.

These advantages of the present invention are preferably attained by providing an improved sport goal structure having a plurality of inflatable tubes joined to form the framework of a goal structure, together with an outer casing of non- elastic material which encloses the inflatable framework and serves to form a strong rigid goal structure which is useful in a plurality of sports, yet which can quickly and easily be erected or collapsed for convenient transportation and storage .

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sports goal structure and method of producing the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports goal structure which is simple and inexpensive to produce, purchase and install.

An additional object of the present invention is to p ovide an improved sports goal which is readily portable. A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports goal which can quickly and easily be collapsed for small and convenient storage and which can be erected quickly and easily, when desired, by persons having little or no technical skill. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports goal which is capable of use in a plurality of sports.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of producing a sports goal. A further object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable sports goal which is strong and rigid when erected. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports goal which is strong and rigid when erected, yet which can quickly and easily be disassembled for portability and storage.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports goal comprising an inflatable framework, together with a casing formed of non-elastic material , to form a sports goal which is strong and rigid when erected, yet which can quickly and easily be disassembled for portability or storage. A specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved sports goal structure having a plurality of inflatable tubes joined to form the framework of a goal structure, together with an outer casing of non-elastic material which encloses the inflatable framework and serves to form a strong rigid goal structure which is useful in a plurality of sports, yet which can quickly and easily be erected or collapsed for convenient transportation and storage , together with an improved method of manufacturing the same. These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawing.

Brief Description of Drawings FIGURE 1 is a front view of a sports goal embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the sports goal of FIG. 1 ; FIGURE 3 is a top view of the sports goal of FIG. 1 ; FIGURE 4 is an isometric view showing the inflatable framework for the sports goal of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 5 is an exploded view showing the components of the bladder forming the framework of FIG. 4; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, showing one of the pressure relief valves for the sports goal of FIG. 1.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention In that form of the present invention chosen for purposes of illustration, FIGS. 1-3 show a sports goal, indicated generally at 10, having a pair of vertical side bars 12, a pair of rearwardly extending base bars 14, a rear base bar 16, a pair of slanting side bars 18 connecting respective ends of rear base bar 16 with the tops of the corresponding vertical side bars 12, a top cross bar 20 joining the upper ends of the vertical side bars 12, and a pair of inclined bars 22 having their lower ends 24 joining the rear base bar 16 at points adjacent the respective ends of rear base bar 16 and having their upper ends 26 joining the side bars 22 adjacent the upper ends thereof.

As seen in FIGS. 1-3, the sides 28 and back 30 of sports goal 10 are covered with suitable netting. To provide for quick and easy erection and disassembly to a convenient size for portability and storage, the sports goal 10 is formed of an inflatable framework, indicated generally at 32 in FIGS. 4 and 5, together with a casing 34 formed of non-elastic material and carrying the netting panels 28 and 30.

The casing 34 has slits 36 provided at convenient locations to allow inflatable framework 32 to be inserted therein. Because casing 34 is formed of non-elastic material, it will form a strong and rigid structure when inflatable framework 32 is inserted and inflated. In fact, once erected, sports goal 10 can easily support the weight of at least two adults of average weight.

At the same time, sports goal 10 can quickly and easily be erected or disassembled, when desired, for portability and storage, and, once disassembled, will occupy a minimum of space. Also, sports goal 10 is extremely light and buoyant and, hence, will float on water for use in water polo and other water sports. Finally, if desired, flaps 60, 62, 64 and 66 may be provided adjacent the respective corners of casing 34 to receive suitable weights, such as stones, sand bags and the like, or spikes can be driven through flaps 60, 62, 64 and 66 to anchor the sports goal to the ground in a desired location. Since sports goal 10 will often be used outdoors, the sun will tend to cause the air within sports goal 10 to expand, which could cause an explosion under extreme conditions. To prevent this possibility, pressure relief valves are provided, as seen at 60 in FIG. 5 and in more detail in FIG. 6. As best seen in FIG. 6, each of the pressure relief valves 60 comprises a generally cylindrical member 62 mounted in an opening 64 formed, at desired locations, in the inflatable framework 32 and having a flange 66 which overlies the edges of opening 64 to facilitate gluing or otherwise securing valve 60 to inflatable framework 32.

The inner end 66 of cylindrical member 62 is open and a movable member 68 is slidably positioned within cylindrical member 62. A flange 70 projects inwardly from inner wall 72 of cylindrical member 62 and movable member 68 has a flanged inner end 74 which is of slightly less diameter than that of inner wall 72 of cylindrical member 62. A spring 76 is positioned between flanged inner end 74 of movable member 68 and flange 70 of cylindrical member 62, and normally urges movable member 68 rearward. Adjacent its forward end 78, movable member 68 carries a seal member 80 which, under urging of spring 76, engages flange 70 of cylindrical member 62 to prevent air from escaping from within inflatable structure 32. However, heat may cause the pressure within inflatable structure 32 to increase to a point where it exceeds the resilient strength of spring 76. When this occurs, the air pressure acts against the flanged inner end 74 of movable member 68 and tends to push movable member 68 outward, causing seal member 80 to disengage from flange 70 and allowing air to escape about movable member 68.

When the excess pressure within inflatable structure 32 falls to a value less than the resilient strength of spring 76, spring 76 again urges seal member 80 into engagement with flange 70 of cylindrical member 62 to cut off the escape of additional air from within inflatable structure 32.

For convenience in assembly and disassembly, inflatable framework 32 is composed of a plurality of individual tubes 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58, which can be connected together to form inflatable framework 32. When deflated, inflatable framework 32 and casing 34 can be folded and stored in a minimum of space and will be quite light, so that sports goal 10 can easily be transported in a suitable carrying case, not shown to a desired location.

At the desired location, tubes 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58 can be inflated and assembled to form inflatable network 32, or can be left fully assembled inside casing 34 and deflated as one complete assembly. Next, the assembled inflatable network 32 can be inserted into slots 36 of casing 34 to form sports goal 10, as seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Finally, sports goal 10 can be oriented as desired, and suitable means such as weights or spikes can be applied to the flaps 60, 62, 64 and 66 to anchor sports goal 10 in the desired position.

Obviously, numerous other variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that the forms of the present invention described above and shown in the figures of the accompanying drawing, are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

Once inflated and assembled, sports goal 10 is quite rigid and will be strong enough to support at least two adults. Obviously, sports goal 10 can be mounted on dirt, grass or paved surfaces, as desired, for use with soccer, hockey or other field sports. Alternatively, because framework 32 is inflatable, it is also capable of floating on water. Therefore, sports goal 10 can be used for water sports such as water polo and the like, in addition to its use on land.

Claims

1. A sports goal comprising: an inflatable framework, and an outer casing of non-elastic material enclosing said inflatable framework.

2. The sports goal of claim 1 wherein: said sports goal is in the form of a soccer goal.

3. The sports goal of claim 1 wherein: said inflatable framework is formed of a plurality of inflatable tubes connected to form said framework.

4. The sports goal of claim 1 wherein: said casing is formed with a plurality of slots to allow insertion of said framework.

5. The sports goal of claim 1 wherein: said sports goal is capable of floating on water.

6. The sports goal of claim 1 wherein: said casing is formed of non-elastic material.

7. The sports goal of claim 6 wherein: said non-elastic material is fabric.

8. The sports goal of claim 2 wherein: said casing has netting covering the sides and top defined when said inflatable framework is inserted into said casing.

9. The sports goal of claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of flaps projecting from said casing to receive means for anchoring said sports goal in a desired position.

10. The sports goal of claim 1 further comprising: at least one pressure relief valve provided in said inflatable structure . * * * * * * *