TRAMPOLINE HAVING CUSHION MECHANISM
The trampoline contains a flexible jumping bed enclosed by a closed frame supported by a number of legs on the ground. A cushion element such as a spring, a rubber block, or a hydraulic or air buffering device is provided at each connection between the frame and the legs. The cushion element absorbs part of the downward force exerted on the frame and the legs so that an extended operation life of the trampoline is achieved.
The present invention generally relates to trampolines, and more particularly to a trampoline having cushion mechanism for enhancing its operation life.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTTrampoline is a common exercise device. As shown in
A number of curved segments 11 and 13 are cascaded end-to-end alternately into the circular frame 10 by joining the ends 110 and 130 of neighboring segments 11 and 13 together. The trampoline further contains a number of legs 15, each formed by two vertical beams 16 and a bottom beam 17 into a U-like shape. Near the two ends of each segment 11, two downward sleeves 12 are provided so as to receive two vertical beams 16 from two legs 15, respectively, by joining their ends 120 and 160 together. As such, the frame 10, and therefore the jumping bed 20, is supported by the legs 15 above the ground for an appropriate height.
Conventionally, the design of the trampoline assumes that a user of an average weight jumps up and down in the center of the jumping bed 20. Then, based on the force exerted on the jumping bed 20, an appropriate number of springs 25 and the strength of each spring 25 are determined. As shown in
As the springs 25 undergo constant distortion after a period of usage, the flexibility of the springs 25 begins to decay. Since the user sometimes would land on the jumping bed 20 near the rim, this will deteriorate the springs 25 even faster. With less absorption by the springs 25, the greater vertical downward components a1, on one hand, further distort the springs 25 and, on the other hand, render stronger impact to the frame 10 and the legs 15. All these will contribute to the shortened operational life of the trampoline as the spring 25 or the frame 10 or the legs 15 are worn or broken down.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, a novel trampoline is provided herein which is characterized by its extended operational life span.
In order to achieve the extended operation life, the trampoline adopts a cushion mechanism at the connections between the frame and the legs to absorb the vertically downward force of the user jumping on the trampoline. As such, the springs will suffer less distortion and therefore will not decay or wear down easily and shortly. In addition, the cushion mechanism lessens the direct impact exerted on the frame and the legs to prevent their broken down from overloading. Besides the extended operation life, the trampoline further enjoys the advantage of requiring a less number of springs and less rigid springs, which is readily translated into a smaller production cost.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The function of the cushion element 58 is illustrated in
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. A trampoline, comprising
- a closed frame;
- a plurality of legs beneath and joining to said closed frame by a plurality of connections so as to support said closed frame above the ground for an appropriate height;
- a flexible jumping bed enclosed by said closed frame;
- a plurality of springs between the rim of said jumping bed and said closed frame to stretch said jumping bed; and
- a plurality of cushion elements provided at said connections, respectively.
2. The trampoline according to claim 1, wherein said frame is formed by cascading end-to-end a plurality of first segments and a plurality of second segments alternately; each first segment comprises two downward connectors; and each leg comprises two vertical beams joining to two downward connectors from two first segments, respectively, with a second segment sandwiched between said first segments, to form two of said connections.
3. The trampoline according to claim 2, wherein at least one downward connector is a sleeve; a vertical beam of a leg is plugged into said sleeve; and a cushion element is housed inside said sleeve to interface with said vertical beam.
4. The trampoline according to claim 2, wherein the top end of at least one vertical beam is a sleeve, a downward connector of a first segment is plugged into said sleeve; a blocker is provided inside said sleeve; and a cushion element is housed inside said sleeve and supported by said blocker to interface with said downward connector.
5. The trampoline according to claim 1, wherein said cushion element is one of a spring, a rubber block, a hydraulic buffering device, and an air buffering device.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 23, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 26, 2009
Inventor: HSIN-YUAN CHIU (Taichung City)
Application Number: 11/843,671