U.S. patent application number 10/087781 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-11 for adjustable basketball goal system.
Invention is credited to Fair, Dennis M..
Application Number | 20030171171 10/087781 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28452244 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030171171 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fair, Dennis M. |
September 11, 2003 |
ADJUSTABLE BASKETBALL GOAL SYSTEM
Abstract
An adjustable basketball goal system wherein a basketball goal
is mounted to a moveable sleeve slidable a post. A ring is attached
to the sleeve and connected to a cable. The cable runs through a
pulley at the top of the post, then back through the ring and down
to a winch. The winch functions to draw in cable thereby raising
the sleeve and the attached goal, to release cable and thereby
lower the goal, and to hold the cable in position and thereby fix
the position of the goal.
Inventors: |
Fair, Dennis M.; (New Hill,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Richard C. Litman
LITMAN LAW OFFICES, LTD.
P.O. Box 15035
Arlington
VA
22215
US
|
Family ID: |
28452244 |
Appl. No.: |
10/087781 |
Filed: |
March 5, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/483 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 63/083 20130101;
A63B 2225/093 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/483 |
International
Class: |
A63B 063/08 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A adjustable basketball goal system comprising: a post having a
top end and a bottom end; a sleeve slidably disposed on said post;
a mounting bracket disposed on said sleeve; a basketball goal
disposed on said mounting bracket; a pulley disposed on the top end
of said post; a winch disposed on said post between said sleeve and
the bottom end of said post; a ring disposed on said sleeve; a
cable having a first and second end, the first end of said cable
being attached to said winch and the second end of said cable being
attached to said ring; wherein said cable runs from said winch
through said ring, around said pulley and back to said ring,
whereby said basketball goal is raised and lowered by operation of
said winch.
2. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 1, wherein:
said basketball goal includes a backboard and a basket mounted on
said backboard; and said pulley is orientated so as to rotate in a
plane parallel to the backboard.
3. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 1, wherein:
said winch has a hand crank.
4. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 1, wherein:
said winch has an electric motor, a power cord, and a selector
switch.
5. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 1, further
comprising: cord fasteners securing the second end of said cable to
said ring.
6. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 2, further
comprising: a hollow base member having a socket defined therein
and two opposing sides, the bottom end of said post being disposed
in said socket; two support arms disposed between said base member
and said post; two wheels, one wheel disposed on each of the
opposing sides of said base.
7. A adjustable basketball goal system comprising: a hollow base
member having a front surface, a back surface, a top, a bottom and
being rectangular in cross-section; a receiver hitch having a first
and second side, the first side being disposed upon the bottom of
said base member, and said second side being adapted to be inserted
into a vehicular trailer hitch; a gusset flange disposed between
the bottom of said base member and the first side of said receiver;
a pivot bracket having a front surface, back surface, two opposing
side surfaces, a top, a bottom and being rectangular in
cross-section, the bottom of the pivot bracket being disposed
inside the top of said base member; a hollow pivot member having a
front surface, a back surface, two opposing side surfaces, a top
and a bottom, the bottom being disposed upon said pivot bracket; a
pin, said pin extending through holes defined in the opposing side
surfaces of said pivot member and through holes defined in both
opposing side surfaces of said pivot bracket, two additional holes
being defined in the opposing side surfaces of the pivot member,
and two additional holes being defined in the opposing side
surfaces of the bracket member, said holes being equidistant from
said pin; a sleeve disposed around said pivot member, the sleeve
having a front surface and back surface; a mounting bracket
disposed on the front surface of said sleeve; a basketball goal
disposed upon said mounting bracket; a pulley disposed on the top
of the back surface of said pivot member; a winch disposed on the
bottom of the back surface of said base member; a ring disposed on
the back surface of said sleeve; a cable having a first and second
end, the first end of said cable being attached to said winch and
the second end of said cable being disposed around said ring;
wherein said cable runs from said winch through said ring, around
said pulley and then back to said ring.
8. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 7, further
comprising: a second ring disposed on the top of said base member;
wherein said cable runs through said second ring.
9. An adjustable basketball goal system as in claim 7 wherein: said
winch has an electric motor, a power cord, and a selector switch.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to sports equipment. In
particular, this invention relates to a system for adjusting
basketball goals.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Almost as soon as James Naismith invented basketball
inventors have attempted to provide an affordable, easy to operate,
easy to construct system which could adjust the height of a
basketball goal. No device truly accomplished this goal until the
present invention.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,142 to Friesen discloses an adjustable
basketball goal with a lift cable and winch for raising and
lowering a basketball goal. This device uses several parallel arms
which pivot to adjust the height of the basketball goal. The '142
patent differs from the present invention in that the present
invention adjusts using a sleeve riding on a post rather than two
parallel arms to adjust the height of the attached basketball
goal.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,944 to Morgan discloses an automatically
adjustable basketball goal having an actuator, sleeve pipe, and a
mount pipe. This invention adjusts the height of the basketball
goal by telescoping the sleeve pipe along the mount pipe using the
actuator. The '944 patent can be differentiated from the present
invention in that the present invention uses a cable and pulley
system to adjust the height of the basketball goal, and the
actuator (winch) of the present invention is not mounted to an
actuator pole as is the '944 invention.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,128 to Geise discloses a portable
basketball goal with a mast, support arm and frame assembly, all of
which may be raised and lowered. The manner in which the support
arm is raised along the mast can be differentiated from the present
invention in that the lifting cable used in the '128 invention is
attached to the basketball goal support arm; the support arm is not
attached to the mast in a sliding sleeve arrangement. Furthermore,
the '128 invention is not described as being capable of motorized
operation.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,185 discloses an adjustable basketball
pole and goal having a pole with a plurality of rails along which a
collar is pulled by a crank, line and pulley system. The '185
invention differs from the present invention in that the present
invention does not require the use of rails to insure stable use
and operation of the invention.
[0009] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either
singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant
invention as claimed. Thus an adjustable basketball goal system
solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention has a post, sleeve, mounting assembly,
pulley, winch, a ring and a cable. The post is mounted into the
ground and the sleeve is disposed around the post. The mounting
assembly and ring are attached to the sleeve, the winch is mounted
to the post, and the cable runs from the winch, through the ring,
through the pulley and then back to the ring where it is finally
secured.
[0011] When in use the winch retracts or releases lengths of the
cable, thereby moving the sleeve up and down the post. Moving the
sleeve moves the mounting assembly and the attached basketball
goal.
[0012] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to
provide an adjustable basketball goal system.
[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide an
adjustable basketball goal system which is simple to construct.
[0014] It is a further object of the invention to provide an
adjustable basketball goal system which is easy to operate.
[0015] Still another object of the invention is to provide an
adjustable basketball goal system which may be electrically
operated.
[0016] It is an object of the invention to provide improved
elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which
is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its
intended purposes.
[0017] These and other objects of the present invention will become
readily apparent upon further review of the following specification
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a adjustable basketball
goal system according to the present invention with the basket
raised.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a adjustable basketball
goal system according to the present invention with the basket
lowered.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a side view of the first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a back view of a second embodiment of the present
invention.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a front view of a third embodiment of the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 6 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of the present
invention.
[0024] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The present invention is an adjustable basketball goal
system. As seen in FIG. 1, the system has a hollow post 20 which is
rectangular in cross section, with a top, bottom, front surface,
and back surface. The post 20 is ordinarily affixed into the ground
in a vertical orientation. A sleeve 22 having a front surface, a
back surface and a rectangular cross section is disposed around the
post 20. Welded to the front surface of the sleeve 22 is a mounting
bracket 24. The mounting bracket 24 connects the sleeve to a
backboard 25 having a basket mounted thereon. The backboard 25 and
basket are collectively referred to as a basketball goal in the
present application. Basketball goals are well known in the art and
the mounting bracket 24 is capable of attaching to any standard
basketball goal.
[0026] A hand winch 26 is welded near the bottom of the back
surface of the post 20 and has a handle, crank, spool and brake.
The winch is of the type typically used in connection with boat
trailers and is well known in the art. A pulley 28 is welded to the
top of the back surface of the post. A ring 30 is welded to the
back surface of the sleeve 22. A cable 32 is spooled around the
winch 26 and extends from the winch 26 towards the top of the post
20, runs through the ring 30, around the pulley 28 and then back to
the ring 30 where it is secured.
[0027] When in operation the cable 32 may either be drawn into,
released from or held by the winch 26. When the cable 32 is drawn
into the winch 26 the sleeve and the attached basketball goal are
drawn towards the top of the post 20. FIG. 1 shows the basketball
goal 25 raised into its highest position. When the cable 32 is
released the reverse occurs and the basketball goal 25 is moved by
gravity toward the bottom of the post 20. FIG. 2 shows the
basketball goal 25 in its lowest position. The brake on the winch
26 may be used to prevent the winch 26 from releasing the cable 32
and will thereby fix the position of the basketball goal 25. The
basketball goal 25 may be fixed into any number of positions
between the highest position as seen in FIG. 1 and the lowest
position shown in FIG. 2.
[0028] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the basketball goal adjustment
system with a mounting bracket 24 clearly visible. The width of the
mounting bracket 24 may be varied depending on the distance desired
between the basketball goal 25 and the post 20.
[0029] In a second embodiment, as seen in FIG. 4, the hand winch 26
of the first embodiment is replaced with an electric winch 40. An
electric winch 40 of this type is well known in the art and
consists generally of an electric motor, a spool, a housing, a
control means and a brake. The electric winch 40 is connected to an
external electric power supply through and electric cord 42. The
electric winch 40 also has a control means 41 which can be used to
signal the electric winch to draw-in or release the cable 32. The
control means may also activate a brake which holds the spool in a
fixed position and thereby prevents the release of cable 32.
[0030] A third embodiment of the present invention 18c, shown in
FIG. 5, is designed for easy relocation and use without being
secured into the ground. This embodiment has a hollow base member
50 with a flat bottom. The base member 50 may be filled with sand
or other suitable material in order to provide ballast. A socket or
receptacle 52 is defined in the base member 50. The post 20 is
positioned inside the receptacle 52 and may be secured therein with
a number of bolts 54. Two support arms or struts 56 extend between
the base member 50 and the post 20 and function to further support
the post 20. Two wheels 58 are positioned on the sides of the
container and function to allow the goal system 18c to be easily
transported.
[0031] FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment 18d of the present
invention, which is designed to be mounted on a trailer hitch. The
post in this embodiment is made of two pieces, a hollow base member
60 which is rectangular in cross section, and a hollow pivot member
62 which is rectangular in cross section. The base 60 and pivot 62
members are connected to one another by a pivot brace 64. The pivot
brace 64 has a top and bottom and is rectangular in cross section.
The bottom of the pivot brace 64 is preferably welded to the inside
of the base member 60. The pivot member 62 is secured to the pivot
brace 64 with a pin 66 which extends through both sides of the
pivot brace 64 and both sides of the pivot member 62. Portions 72
and 74 of the front and rear surfaces of the pivot member 62 have
been removed so that the pivot member 62 may rotate around the pin
66, thereby moving between a vertical and an approximately
horizontal position.
[0032] When the pivot member 62 is positioned vertically holes 70
defined through both sides of the pivot member 62 and holes 68
defined through both sides of the pivot brace 64 are in registry. A
pin may be inserted through the holes 70, 68 to hold the pivot
member 62 in a vertical position. Ring 84 may be added to this
embodiment to secure the cable 32 when the pivot member 62 is
positioned horizontally.
[0033] A receiver hitch 76 is attached to the bottom of the base
member 60 and is reinforced with a gusset flange 78. The receiver
hitch is adapted to connect a trailer hitch 80 of the type commonly
found on trucks and may be secured thereto with a pin 82.
[0034] It is to be understood that the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and
all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *