KIT FOR ADAPTING A TENNIS COURT OF ONE SIZE TO A COURT OF SMALLER SIZE
An adaptation kit is used for adapting a standard tennis court into at least one tennis court of a smaller size. The kit has a hook for attachment to the center strap anchor of the standard tennis court and a hook for attachment to a link in a fence bounding the standard court. The kit includes a net suspension line extendible between the hooks, and a pair of posts, each post having a foot for engagement with the ground and a support element at its top for supporting the net suspension line. The kit includes a net suspended from the net suspension line. The kit can include a cross-strap extending between the attachments, the cross strap, in use, extending at ground level directly between the center strap anchor and the link.
The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) to the provisionally filed applications entitled “KIT FOR ADAPTING STANDARD TENNIS COURT” having Ser. No. 61869755, filed on Aug. 25, 2013, “KIT FOR ADAPTING A TENNIS COURT OF ONE SIZE TO A COURT OF SMALLER SIZE” having Ser. No. 61914933, filed on Dec. 11, 2013, and “KIT FOR ADAPTING A TENNIS COURT OF ONE SIZE TO A COURT OF SMALLER SIZE” having Ser. No. 61950184, filed on Mar. 9, 2014, the contents of which applications are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to tennis courts and particularly to tennis courts adapted for children's tennis play.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTA standard singles tennis court measures 78 feet long and 27 feet wide. These dimensions have been adopted to fit the adult game but are ill suited for children who lack the height, reach and strength to cover such a large area of court. For children's tennis smaller courts are needed. It would be advantageous to use features and equipment commonly present at standard tennis facilities to permit rapid conversion to multiple smaller, yet serviceable, tennis courts.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the following figures are not drawn to common scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as methods, operation and functions of related elements of structure, and the combinations of parts and economies of manufacture, will become apparent upon consideration of the following description and claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of the specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures, and wherein:
Referring in detail to
One half of a standard singles tennis court measures 39 feet long and 27 feet wide. Someone standing in the center of his or her half court would have to move about 24 feet to get to the furthest corners of the half court. The court dimensions have been adopted to fit the adult game but are ill adapted for children who lack the height, reach and strength to cover such a large area of court.
Referring to the plan view of
Most tennis courts have a boundary fence as shown at 24. Such a fence might completely surround a single standard court with enough room for a player to play effectively around the court. Alternatively, a fence might extend around less than the four sides of the court. However, most courts will include a boundary fence at least at the front and back of the court spaced a reasonable distance from the respective baselines 18 in order to stop missed balls and so save players from having to walk back a long distance to retrieve missed balls. Such boundary fences are usually of chain link form.
Most tennis courts have a center strap anchor 26 at center court. This has an anchor point set into the tarmac, grass or clay of the court to which is attached one end of a tie strap. The strap goes over the top of the cord and is attached at its other end to the center strap anchor. The strap is used to set the height of the net at its center (usually 3 feet) somewhat lower than the height (usually 3.5 feet) of the net at left and right posts where the net is supported at the sides of the court.
A tennis conversion kit according to one embodiment of the invention is shown in its deployed condition in
To deploy the kit, the adjustment mechanism 40 is operated to adjust the a length of the suspension line 30 to be somewhat longer than the distance between the chain link fence 24 and the center strap anchor 26, such distance measured along the center service line 16. The carabiners 28 are then used to snap tie one end of the line 30 at a lower link of the fence 24 and to snap tie the other end of the line 30 at the center strap anchor 26. The posts 36 are then erected as shown and the line 30 is supported in the sheaves 34. The adjustment mechanism 40 is then operated to tension the line 30 over the sheaves 34 and to strengthen the engagement of the posts with the ground.
As shown in
As shown in the plan view of
A minicourt which is specifically tailored to provide a certain area, length, width and/or aspect (length to width) ratio is alternatively obtained using boundary tape which is nailed through grommets to the court surface or which is fixed by adhesive, in each case to provide a boundary line which is easily seen and is not easily dislodged during play, but which can be removed from the larger court when the children's play period is ended. As shown in
Referring in detail to
In use, the parts of the blocking line 54 outside the minicourt net 32 prevent someone from walking between the left hand end of the net 32 and the fence 24, and from walking between the right hand end of the net 32 and the main net 12. The blocking line therefore helps to prevent distraction and interference. Depending on how busy the court environment, the blocking line may be limited to one or other of the blocking net parts 66, 68. In this case, the blocking line might close off one side of the minicourt but not the other. Such a short blocking line can be fixed to the appropriate post 36 or minicourt net 32, or could alternatively be fixed such as by splicing to the net suspension line 30. Such a short blocking line preferably extends horizontally but can also slope downwardly or upwardly to the fence or main net as desired. The blocking line can be brightly coloured or can support a flag of some kind to show more clearly that the way past the minicourt is intended to be barred.
Referring to
The cross strap part 72 actually forms a first part of the net suspension line 30, with a second part of the net suspension line extending from the union 74 over the sheave 34 on the near post 36. The union 74 can be a shackle and ring arrangement, a stitched arrangement, or any functionally similar union. In use, the cross strap, if tightly tensioned between shackles or other attachment members at ground level at the chain link fence and the centre strap anchor, will tend to hold the junction 74 to the ground. This means, in turn, there is no length of net suspension line 30 positioned at an inconvenient height between the chain link fence 24 and the position of junction 74.
Several variations of the
In the embodiment of
Referring to
Claims
1. An adaptation kit for adapting a standard tennis court into at least one tennis court of a smaller size comprising a first attachment piece for attachment to the center strap anchor of the standard tennis court, a second attachment piece for attachment to a link in a fence bounding the standard tennis court, a net suspension line extending between the first and second attachments, first and second posts each post having a foot for engagement with the ground to support the posts, each post having a support element at its top for supporting the net suspension line, and a net suspended from the net suspension line.
2. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 1, the adaptation kit further comprising a cross strap extending between the second attachment piece and the first attachment piece, the cross strap deployable to extend directly at ground level between the center strap anchor and the link.
3. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 2, the line including a first line part forming a first cross strap portion for extending at ground level from one of the first and second attachment pieces, and a second line part for extending from a first junction point at the end of the first line part remote from said one attachment piece to the support element at one of the posts.
4. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 2, the cross-strap and the or each foot having respective formations thereon, which formations are interengageable to prevent relative lateral movement between the or each foot and the cross strap.
5. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 3, the line further including a third line part forming a second cross strap portion for extending at ground level from the other of the first and second attachment pieces, and a fourth line part for extending from a second junction point at the end of the third line part remote from said other attachment piece to the support element at the other of the posts.
6. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 2, the cross strap being of web form.
7. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 2, the cross strap having apertures therein to enable pinning of the cross strap to the ground.
8. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 3 in which the junction is a stitched junction.
9. An adaptation kit as claimed in claim 1, each of the posts inclined to the plane of its respective foot.
10. A standard tennis court adapted by the use of an adaptation kit to provide at least one tennis court of a smaller size than said standard tennis court, the standard tennis court having a first attachment piece of the kit attached to the center strap anchor of the standard tennis court, a second attachment piece of the kit attached to a link in a fence bounding the standard tennis court, a net suspension line of the kit extending between the first and second attachments, first and second posts of the kit, each post having a foot engaging the ground to support a respective post and having a support element at its top for supporting the net suspension line, a net suspended from the net suspension line between the respective posts and a line adjuster mounted in the line.
11. A court as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a cross strap extending directly at ground level between the center strap anchor and the link.
12. A court as claimed in claim 11, the line including a first line part forming a first cross strap portion extending at ground level from one of the first and second attachments pieces, and a second line part extending from a first junction point at the end of the first line part remote from said one attachment piece to the support element at one of the posts.
13. A court as claimed in claim 11, the cross-strap and the or each foot having respective formations thereon, which formations are interengageable to prevent relative lateral movement between the or each foot and the cross strap.
14. A court as claimed in claim 12, the line further including a third line part forming a second cross strap portion extending at ground level from the other of the first and second attachment pieces, and a fourth line part extending from a second junction point at the end of the third line part remote from said other attachment piece to the support element at the other of the posts.
15. A court as claimed in claim 11, the cross strap being of web form.
16. A court as claimed in claim 11, the cross strap having apertures therein at which the cross strap is pinned to the ground.
17. A court as claimed in claim 12, the junction being a stitched junction.
18. A court as claimed in claim 10, each of the posts inclined to the plane of its respective foot.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 24, 2014
Publication Date: Feb 26, 2015
Inventor: Gary Ehasoo (Etobicoke)
Application Number: 14/467,034
International Classification: A63B 61/02 (20060101); A63B 61/00 (20060101);