U.S. patent application number 10/430927 was filed with the patent office on 2004-11-11 for apparatus and methods for facilitating set up of portable sport goals.
Invention is credited to Boettcher, William C., Doherty, Thomas M., Oister, Michael J..
Application Number | 20040224795 10/430927 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33416345 |
Filed Date | 2004-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040224795 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Oister, Michael J. ; et
al. |
November 11, 2004 |
Apparatus and methods for facilitating set up of portable sport
goals
Abstract
The present invention relates to a sports goal having a net with
indicia to facilitate aligning the net with the frame of the sports
goal.
Inventors: |
Oister, Michael J.;
(Superior, CO) ; Doherty, Thomas M.; (Denver,
CO) ; Boettcher, William C.; (Denver, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HOLLAND & HART, LLP
555 17TH STREET, SUITE 3200
DENVER
CO
80201
US
|
Family ID: |
33416345 |
Appl. No.: |
10/430927 |
Filed: |
May 6, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/478 ;
273/407 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 63/004 20130101;
A63B 2102/14 20151001; A63B 2210/50 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/478 ;
273/407 |
International
Class: |
F41J 001/10; A63B
063/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A modular sports goal, comprising: a tubular frame forming a
sports goal; a mesh netting removably coupled to the tubular frame;
and the mesh netting comprising a frame outline boarder, wherein
the frame outline boarder facilitates orienting the mesh netting
with the tubular frame such that the mesh netting can be removably
coupled to the tubular frame.
2. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the frame outline
boarder outlines at least a portion of the entire frame.
3. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the frame outline
boarder outlines the entire frame.
4. The modular sports goal of claim 2, wherein the frame outline
boarder outlines at least one corner portion of the frame.
5. The modular sports goal of claim 1, further comprising: at least
one corner indicator.
6. The modular sports goal of claim 5, wherein the at least one
corner indicator is a plurality of corner indicators.
7. The modular sports goal of claim 5, wherein the at least one
corner indicator is at least one of a flag, a ribbon, a surface
texture, a color on the frame outline boarder, and a pattern on the
frame outline boarder.
8. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the frame outline
boarder is at least one of a color, a texture, a pattern, a symbol,
and a material.
9. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the mesh netting is
releasably coupled to the tubular frame by at least one of a tie, a
sleeve, and weaving the tubular frame through holes in the mesh
netting.
10. A method of attaching a meshing netting having an alignment
indicator to a frame to form a goal, the method comprising the
steps of: arranging a tubular frame to form a sport goal; orienting
the mesh netting such that the alignment indicator indicates proper
alignment with the tubular frame; and releasably attaching the
meshing netting to the tubular frame.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the orienting the
mesh netting step further includes aligning at least one corner
indicator on the mesh netting with a matching corner on the
frame.
12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the releasably
attaching step includes wrapping a tie around the frame and mesh
netting to secure the mesh netting to the tubular frame.
13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the releasably
attaching step includes the step of sliding a sleeve over the
tubular frame.
14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the releasably
attaching step includes the step of weaving the tubular frame
through holes in the mesh netting.
15. A sports goal, comprising: a plurality of tubular members; a
mesh netting; means for releasably coupling the mesh netting to the
plurality of tubular members; and means indicating an alignment of
the mesh netting to facilitate releasably coupling the mesh netting
to the plurality of tubular members.
16. The sport goal according to claim 15, wherein the means for
indicating alignment comprises a frame outline boarder on a portion
of the mesh netting.
17. The sport goal according to claim 15, wherein the means for
indicating alignment comprises a plurality of corner
indicators.
18. The sports goal according to claim 16, wherein the means for
indicating alignment further comprises at least one corner
indicator.
19. The sport goal according to claim 17, wherein the means for
indicating alignment further comprises a frame outline boarder on
at least a portion of the mesh netting.
20. The sport goal according to claim 16, wherein the frame outline
boarder comprises at least one of a color, a texture, a pattern,
and a symbol.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to portable sport goals and,
more particularly, to apparatuses and methods to facilitate the set
up of portable sport goals useful for soccer (a.k.a. football)
goals, lacrosse goals, hockey goals, field hockey goals, and the
like by using indicators to facilitate aligning a net with the goal
frame.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Sports using goals, such as hockey, soccer (a.k.a.
football), lacrosse, and many others are becoming more popular.
With the increase in popularity, a need is developing for portable
goals to allow individual to the flexibility to play these sports
in, for example, backyards and fields.
[0003] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a portable goal 10 useful
for hockey. The goal comprises a frame 12 and a mesh 14. The frame
12 generally comprises a plurality of tubular members 18, such as
plastic, steel, or aluminum tubing connected by a plurality of
joints 20. While shown as oval or circular tubing, other shapes are
possible. Also, tubular members 18 could be solid pieces that fit
into joints 20. The mesh 14 generally comprises webbing made out of
cloth, nylon or the like. While shown as a relatively fine mesh in
FIG. 1, many conventional goals 10 have larger holes or spaces in
the mesh than those shown in FIG. 1. As one of ordinary skill in
the art would recognize, however, the frame and mesh can be made
out of multiple materials.
[0004] To attach mesh 14 to frame 12, a sleeve 16 is attached to
the mesh 14. The sleeves can be stitched or otherwise attached to
mesh 14 and generally has a diameter sufficient to encircle the
corresponding portion of tubular member 18 and allow the parts to
slide within the sleeve. Instead of sleeves, mesh 14 could be
attached to tubular members 18 using a tie. Alternatively, mesh 14
could have a larger grain such that tubular members 18 could be
woven through holes in the mesh.
[0005] Anyone who has attempted to disassemble and reassemble
conventional portable goals has found that obtaining the proper
orientation of the net with the goal frame is difficult and time
consuming. Thus, it would be desirous to provide apparatuses and
methods to facilitate the set of portable goals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] To attain the advantages and in accordance with the purpose
of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the
present invention provides a portable sport goal having a net. The
net has indicia to facilitate aligning the net with the goal
frame.
[0007] The foregoing and other features, utilities and advantages
of the invention will be apparent from the following more
particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention
as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Further, the
advantages and purpose of the invention will be realized and
attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly
pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the present invention, and together with the description, serve to
explain the principles thereof. Like items in the drawings are
referred to using the same numerical reference.
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a prior art modular sport goal; and
[0010] FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of a crossbar of a
portable goal illustrative of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Some embodiments of the present invention are described with
reference to FIG. 2. While the present invention is described in
relation to a conventional portable goal, such as a lacrosse goal,
one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the present
invention could be used in any type of sports goal, such as a
hockey goal, a soccer goal, or the like.
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a top crossbar 22 that
may be associated with a portable goal, such as a lacrosse goal.
Crossbar 22 can be considered representative of the entire frame of
the portable goal, which may include other tubular frame members
for lateral and vertical support. Joints 24 are shown attached to
each end of crossbar 22, but the remaining portion of the goal is
not shown for simplicity. As shown, a net 26 is attached to
crossbar 22, joints 24, and the remaining frame of the portable
goal (not specifically shown) using a plurality of ties 28. Of
course, instead of ties 28, net 26 could be attached to crossbar 22
using sleeves or by weaving crossbar 22 through holes 30 of net
26.
[0013] To facilitate the placement of net 26, a frame outline
boarder 32 and corner indicators 34 are provided on net 26. Frame
outline boarder 32 should be used on a sufficient portion of the
net 26 to facilitate orienting the net with the frame of the goal.
While it is envisioned that the frame outline boarder 32 would be
used to outline all or a substantial portion of the goal frame, it
is possible only a minor amount of the net would require the frame
outline boarder. In other words, frame outline boarder 32 may be
placed on only 1 or 2 portions. For example, outline boarder 32 may
be placed only on an upper left corner of a goal with an arrow(s)
indicator showing which direction the seams should run. Outline
boarder 32 may have the upper left corner indicator and the arrow
may point towards the right upper corner thus allowing the user
setting up the net to know to line the seam with the arrow along
the crossbar. Many other configurations are, of course,
possible.
[0014] Corner indicators 34 would also assist in orienting the net
and the frame of the goal by assisting in aligning the net corners
with the frame corners. Corner indicators 34 are additional visual
aids to facilitate orienting the net 26. Corner indicators 34 are
shown as flags at the upper right and left corners of the goal, but
could be many style indicators located in various spots around the
goal frame. For example, the indicators could be a second color of
a color coded seam, could be one or more ribbons, could be a
different texture mesh, or the like. While it is current considered
preferable to use frame outline boarder 32 together with corner
indicators 34, frame outline boarder 32 and corner indicators 34
could be used each separate of the other. For example, upper left
and right corner indicators 34 could be used to align the mesh
netting with crossbar 22 (as shown in FIG. 2). Once a portion of
the net is aligned with the frame, the remaining alignment is
facilitated as well.
[0015] As shown, frame outline boarder 32 could be a thicker piece
of cord, cloth, or webbing, but other indicia are also possible.
For example, frame outline boarder 32 could use the same size
webbing, but have a different color, a different pattern, a
different texture, or the like to indicate the frame outline.
Further, corner indicators 34 are shown as separate devices, like
the flags or flaps, but could be incorporated into the frame
outline boarder 32 as well. For example, frame outline boarder 32
may be multi color using a black color to indicate a general frame
alignment and a yellow color to indicate a corner.
[0016] While the invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to some embodiment thereof, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes
in the form and details may be made without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *