ANGLED TRAMPOLINE PANEL SYSTEM

Abstract

An angled trampoline panel system includes a trampoline bed including a middle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angled bed is mounted at an angle to the middle bed. A right lower frame horizontal member has a right frame footing extending from and supporting the right angled bed. A right pulldown frame footing supports the right angle bed and the middle bed. A left pulldown frame footing supports the middle bed. A pulldown panel net is formed between the trampoline bed and the right pulldown frame footing. The pulldown panel net demarcates the middle bed from the right angle bed. The pulldown panel net further has an elastic cord attached to the right lower frame horizontal member.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of trampoline panel systems.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

A variety of different angled trampolines have been created in the past. For example, as seen in United States patent publication 2013/0310223 inventor Canales, entitled Half-Pipe Trampoline published Nov. 21, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a trampoline has angled surfaces. Also as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 9,446,274, same inventor Samuel Chen invented a Trampoline Court With Pulldown Springs, issued Sep. 20, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

A variety of different elastic cords have been developed for providing elastic coupling. For example, an elastic cord construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,794 entitled A Reinforced Bungee Cord Tiedown by inventor Mc Coy, issued Jan. 18, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An angled trampoline panel system includes a trampoline bed including a middle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angled bed is mounted at an angle to the middle bed. A right lower frame horizontal member has a right frame footing extending from and supporting the right angled bed. A right pulldown frame footing supports the right angle bed and the middle bed. A left pulldown frame footing supports the middle bed. A pulldown panel net is formed between the trampoline bed and the right pulldown frame footing. The pulldown panel net demarcates the middle bed from the right angle bed. The pulldown panel net further has an elastic cord attached to the right lower frame horizontal member.

The pulldown panel net also has a tab loop attached to the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed and a tension rod. The tab loop receives the tension rod, so that the tension rod and tab loop form an upper loop.

The tension rod can be formed in sections that overlie and overlap each other. The tension rod includes a first tension rod section that is overlaid with a second tension rod section. The first tension rod section can be laid adjacent to and parallel to a second tension rod section so that the first tension rod and the second tension rod have same height.

The elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has an opening revealing a socket for receiving the cord end. The cord end socket is a plastic barrel shaped member. The elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding. The cord molding has a hook configured to fit through the loop opening.

The pulldown panel net should have a series of tab loops attached to the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed. The series of tab loops are linearly arranged. The series of tab loops receives the tension rod. The tension rod and series of tab loops form a series of upper loops. The right lower frame horizontal member also has a series of lower loops. The series of lower loops has a series of lower loop openings. The series of lower loops is offset to the series of upper loops. The elastic cord is mounted in a zigzag alternating pattern between the series of lower loops and the series of upper loops.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lower view showing the panel system underneath the angle trampoline.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of the panel system.

FIG. 4 is a close-up view of the connectors used in the panel system.

The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide in referencing the element numbers of the drawings.

• 10 Right Angled Bed
• 11 Right Frame Footing
• 12 Enclosure
• 13 Fringe Cover
• 14 Zipper Entrance
• 20 Middle Bed
• 30 Left Angel Bed
• 31 Left Frame Footing
• 40 Pull Down Panel Net
• 41 Left Pull Down Frame Footing
• 42 Right Pull Down Frame Footing
• 43 Lower Frame Horizontal Member
• 44 Lower Frame Vertical Member
• 45 Lower Loop
• 46 Tension Rod
• 47 Upper Loop
• 48 Tab Loop
• 50 Elastic Cord
• 51 Cord Free End
• 52 Cord Run
• 53 Second Cord Run
• 54 Subsequent Cord Run
• 55 First Tension Rod Section
• 56 Second Tension Rod Section
• 61 Cord End
• 62 Hook
• 63 Cord Molding
• 64 Loop Opening

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As seen in FIG. 1, the present invention has a right angle the bed 10 with a right frame footing 11 and a left frame footing 31. The right frame footing 11 supports the right angled bed 10 and the left frame footing 31 supports the left angled bed. The middle bed 20 is situated between the right angle bed 10 and the left angled bed 30. Preferably, a zipper entrance 14 allows entrance through an enclosure 12. The enclosure 12 is typically a netted fence structure for retaining users. A fringe cover 13 is a spring cover that covers the edge of the fringe. Additionally, a left pull down frame footing 41 and a right pull down frame footing 42 assist in supporting the middle bed 20.

As seen in FIG. 2, the panel system has a long run of elastic cord 50. The panel system is a pulldown panel net 40. The continuous elastic cord 50 distributes the loading in a transverse direction as well as in a downward direction. The elastic cord 50 has a cord free end 51. The cord free and 51 begins with a first cord run 52. The first cord run 52 continues to a second cord run 53. Then, the second cord run 53 continues to a subsequent cord run 54. The continuous elastic cord 50 is wrapped over a tension rod 46. The tension rod 46 can be made in segments, or can also be made continuous. The tension rod 46 fits through tablets 48 which are sewn into the trampoline bed such as the right angle bed 10. The tension rod 46 is preferably a flexible steel rod.

The loop tab 48 is preferably a fabric loop having a loop opening for receiving the tension rod 46. The tension rod 46 slides through each successive loop tab beginning from an end of the pulldown panel net 40. The loop tab 48 defines an upper boundary of the pulldown panel net 40. An upper loop 47 is formed between the tension rod 46 and the trampoline bed such as a right angle bed 10. The upper loop 47 receives successive windings of the elastic cord 50. As a user passes the elastic cord through the upper loop 47, the user then passes the elastic cord 50 through a lower loop 45. The user alternates between engaging the upper loop 47 and the lower loop 45 to form a zigzag alternating profile. The lower loop 45 can be a metal link welded to the lower frame horizontal member 43.

The lower frame vertical member 44 extends from the lower frame horizontal member 43. The lower frame horizontal member 43 can form the right pull down frame footing 42. A similar structure can be implemented with the left pulldown frame footing 41 having a lower frame horizontal member 43. The lower frame vertical member 44 extends upwardly at an angle to form a plane with the lower frame horizontal member 43. The pulldown panel net 40 preferably is aligned to the plane formed between the lower frame vertical member 44 and the lower frame horizontal member 43.

As seen in FIG. 3, the frame footing is shown as a tubular steel member. The left pulldown frame footing 41 is shown in the background with the right pulldown frame footing 42 in the foreground. The tension rod 46 passes through the tab loops 48 to form upper loops 47. The elastic cord 50 passes through each of the loops. The elastic cord 50 can be made in segments with hooks 62 connecting to the loop openings 64 of the lower loops 45. The lower loops 45 are formed on the lower frame horizontal member 43 and have loop openings 64 large enough to accommodate the tips of the hooks to. The elastic cord 50 has a cord end 61 that engages a cord molding 63. The cord molding the can extend to a hook 62. The elastic cord 50 can be formed in sections such as a section long enough to span the panel twice. The cord molding can be a plastic injection molded member that retains the elastic cord end within the plastic injection.

The tension rod can be formed in a pair of sections that overlie each other. For example, a first tension rod section 55 can be overlaid with a second tension rod section 56 to provide a less stiff response. When the first tension rod section 55 is laid parallel to the second tension rod section 56, preferably, the first tension rod section 55 is adjacent to the second tension rod section 56 so that they are at the same height. The tab loops 48 can be rectangular shaped to have a fabric sleeve structure for retaining portions of the tension rod 46 which can be made in multiple sections. The sections of the tension rod 46 are preferably several meters in length.

As seen in FIG. 4, the elastic cord 50 has a cord end 61 that engages into the cord molding 63. The cord molding 63 has an opening revealing a socket for receiving the cord end 61. The cord end socket can be a plastic barrel shaped member. The hook 62 can extend from the cord molding 63. The tip of the hook 62 can be rounded to fit around a rounded opening of the loop opening 64.

The elastic cord 50 is also called bungee cord or shock cord and may have a rubber core with a sheathing. The elastic cord 50 can stretch to 100% of original length. The single elastic cord 50 can be long enough to comprise the entire elastic panel. Alternatively, the elastic cord 50 can be implemented in multiple sections such as four sections, each with three to five spans from the trampoline bed to the right or left pulldown frame footings. The angle of the elastic cord is preferably between 5 to 25 degrees.

Claims

1. An angled trampoline panel system comprising:

a trampoline bed including a middle bed and a right angled bed, wherein the right angled bed is mounted at an angle to the middle bed;

a right lower frame horizontal member comprising a right frame footing extending from and supporting the right angled bed;

a right pulldown frame footing supporting the right angle bed and the middle bed;

a left pulldown frame footing supporting the middle bed; and

a pulldown panel net formed between the trampoline bed and the right pulldown frame footing, wherein the pulldown panel net demarcates the middle bed from the right angle bed, wherein the pulldown panel net further comprises: an elastic cord attached to the right lower frame horizontal member; a tab loop attached to the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed; and a tension rod, wherein the tab loop receives the tension rod, wherein the tension rod and tab loop form an upper loop.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the tension rod is formed sections that overlie each other, wherein the tension rod includes a first tension rod section that is overlaid with a second tension rod section.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the tension rod is formed sections that overlie each other, wherein the tension rod includes a first tension rod section that is laid adjacent to and parallel to a second tension rod section, wherein the first tension rod and the second tension rod have same height.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has an opening revealing a socket for receiving the cord end, wherein the cord end socket is a plastic barrel shaped member.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has a hook configured to fit through the loop opening.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 1, wherein the pulldown panel net further comprises: a series of tab loops attached to the trampoline bed between the middle bed and the right angled bed, wherein the series of tab loops are linearly arranged, wherein the series of tab loops receives the tension rod, wherein the tension rod and series of tab loops form a series of upper loops, wherein the right lower frame horizontal member further includes a series of lower loops, wherein the series of lower loops has a series of lower loop openings, wherein the series of lower loops is offset to the series of upper loops, wherein the elastic cord is mounted in a zigzag alternating pattern between the series of lower loops and the series of upper loops.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 6, wherein the tension rod is formed sections that overlie each other, wherein the tension rod includes a first tension rod section that is overlaid with a second tension rod section.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 6, wherein the tension rod is formed sections that overlie each other, wherein the tension rod includes a first tension rod section that is laid adjacent to and parallel to a second tension rod section, wherein the first tension rod and the second tension rod have same height.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 6, wherein the elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has an opening revealing a socket for receiving the cord end, wherein the cord end socket is a plastic barrel shaped member.

The angled trampoline panel system of claim 6, wherein the elastic cord has a cord end that engages into a cord molding, wherein the cord molding has a hook configured to fit through the loop opening.