U.S. patent number 3,586,324 [Application Number 04/815,720] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-22 for vertically adjustable basketball goal.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Goals, Inc.. Invention is credited to Benhard M. Bearson.
United States Patent |
3,586,324 |
Bearson |
June 22, 1971 |
VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE BASKETBALL GOAL
Abstract
A basketball goal is carried by upper and lower pairs of
parallel arms which are pivoted to a support so that the goal may
be vertically adjusted by means of a flexible cable passing over a
pulley carried at the top of the support. The goal is held in
adjusted position by a lever which is pivotally carried by the
upper arms and is spring biased so that the lower end of the lever
is normally held against selected, spaced stop means carried by the
support. The cable passes through an eyelet carried by the lever
whereby the lever may be selectively moved out of engagement with
the stop means.
Inventors: |
Bearson; Benhard M. (Lanesboro,
MN) |
Assignee: |
Goals, Inc. (Lanesboro,
MN)
|
Family
ID: |
25218637 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/815,720 |
Filed: |
April 14, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/484;
248/284.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
63/083 (20130101); A63B 2208/12 (20130101); A63B
2225/093 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
63/00 (20060101); A63B 63/08 (20060101); A63b
063/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/1.5 ;248/284 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Shapiro; Paul E.
Claims
I claim:
1. A basketball goal comprising a fixed vertical support member, a
front member, upper arm means and lower arm means extending between
the two members, the end portions of the upper and lower arm means
being pivotally connected to the respectively adjacent members, a
backboard and attached hoop carried by the front member, means for
raising and lowering the front member and the attached backboard
and hoop comprising a pulley carried at the upper portion of the
support member, a flexible cable having one end secured to the
front member and extending upwardly over the pulley and thence
downwardly, means for selectively holding the front member and
attached backboard in adjusted vertical position comprising
vertically spaced stop means carried by the support member, a lever
having an end portion pivotally carried by the upper arm means and
extending downwardly and inwardly towards the support member, and
biasing means normally urging a part carried by the lower end
portion of the lever into operative engagement with said stop
means, means carried by the lever for providing an opening, said
cable extending downwardly from the pulley and through said opening
whereby the part carried by the lower end portion of the lever may
be selectively moved out of operative engagement with the stop
means.
2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the vertical support
member is U-shaped in cross section, the stop means comprise spaced
rods extending between the sides of the support member and the
lower portion of the lever carries an eyelet down through which the
flexible cable extends.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to basketball goals and more particularly it
has reference to basketball goal which may be adjusted vertically.
On regulation basketball courts the basket is positioned at a
height which is much too high for use by children so that they are
unable to develop proper playing skills. On a playground, a
basketball goal of a fixed height will not accommodate all of the
children of a wide range of heights who desire to play the
game.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively
simple yet efficient structure for moving a basketball goal
vertically into selected adjusted position. Other objects are to
provide such a structure which can be produced at a minimum cost by
performing relatively simple mechanical operations on material
which is widely available; and to provide a goal which can be
adjusted easily and safely held in adjusted position.
According to the invention, upper and lower pairs of parallel arms
are pivotally connected at their respective ends to a vertical
support member and a front member which carries the backboard and
hoop. The goal is held in adjusted vertical position by means of a
lever which is pivotally carried between the upper pair of arms and
extends downwardly and inwardly into operative engagement with stop
means which are spaced vertically along the support member. A
spring connected to the lower pair of arms and the upper end of the
lever normally urges the lower end of the lever into engagement
with the stop means. The goal may be moved vertically by means of a
flexible cable which is fastened to the lower portion of the front
member and extends upwardly over a pulley at the upper part of the
support member and thence downwardly through an eyelet carried by
the lever adjacent its lower end portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a basketball goal embodying the invention,
with parts broken away.
FIG. 2 is a view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 2-2 of FIG.
1.
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG.
1.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings
wherein 10 indicates a vertical support member which may be
attached by suitable means to a post, wall of a building or the
like. The support member 10 which is U-shaped in cross section and
has the two sides 11 and 12 may conveniently be formed of stock
material such as channel iron. Forwardly extending upper arm means
comprising a pair of parallel arms 13 and 14 are pivoted,
respectively, at the sides 11 and 12 at the upper portion of member
10 by means of the pin 15. The forward end portions of arms 13 and
14 are pivoted, respectively, at the sides 16 and 17 of the front
member 18 by means of the pin 19. Similarly, the lower arm means
comprise the pair of parallel arms 20 and 21 which have their rear
ends pivoted, respectively, at the sides 11 and 12 by the pin 22
and their forward ends pivoted respectively, to the sides 16 and 17
of member 18 by the pin 23.
Fixedly secured to the front member 18 by any suitable means such
as arms 24 is the backboard 25 on which is mounted the hoop or
basket 26. Since the front member 18 and the fixed support member
10 are pivotally connected to the upper and lower parallel arms 13,
14 and 20, 21, the hoop 26 will move vertically with the movement
of the front member 18. The front member is moved vertically by
means of a flexible cable, such as a rope 27, which has one end
secured to the eyelet 28 at the lower part of member 18 and extends
upwardly and over a pulley 29 mounted at the upper part of support
member 10. The front member 18 and the attached backboard 25 and
hoop 26 are held in adjusted vertical position by means of the
lever 30 which has its upper end pivotally mounted by means of pin
31 between the upper pair of arms 13 and 14. Biasing means such as
coil spring 32 has its lower end secured to pin 33 between the arms
20, 21 and its upper end secured at 34 to the upper end of lever
30. The spring 32 normally acts to move a part such as end portion
35 carried by the lever 30 into operative engagement with the stop
means formed by a plurality of rods or pins 36 which extend between
the sides 11 and 12 of support member 10 and are vertically spaced
along this member.
As indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, the goal comprising the
backboard 25 and attached loop 26 may be selectively moved up and
down. Pulling downwardly on the rope 27 will cause the pivoted
parallel arms to move upwardly to thereby raise the front member 18
and the attached backboard and hoop 26. As the arms 13 and 14 turn
about pivot pin 15 and move upwardly, the lever 30 also moves
upwardly with its lower end 35 riding over the rod stop means 36
until a selected position is reached and the lever 30 acts to hold
the goal in such position. The rope 27 passes downwardly from the
pulley 29 through opening means carried by the lever 30 such as the
eyelet 37 supported at one side of lever 30.
To lower the goal, the rope 27 is pulled downwardly and also
forwardly away from the support member 10. Since the rope 27 passes
through the eyelet 37 carried by lever 30, such manipulation of the
rope will free the end 35 of lever 30 from engagement with stop
means 36. With the lever 30 held in such position, tension on the
rope 27 may be released in such a manner as to permit the goal to
move downwardly to a selected position. The rope is then moved
rearwardly to permit the end 35 of lever 30 to engage one of the
stop means 36 and thereby hold the goal in fixed, adjusted
position.
From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the invention provides
a relatively simple, yet efficient means for selectively adjusting
a basketball goal in a vertical direction. The support member 10
can be made from standard channel iron and the parallel arms, lever
and front member can be made of such standard material as steel
tubing. Hence, the entire structure can be made and assembled with
a minimum of mechanical operations and thereby reduce manufacturing
costs. When in adjusted position, the goal is securely held without
reliance upon the loosening or tightening of wing nuts, for
example, which are employed in some of the prior art structures.
Various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit
of the invention as pointed out in the appended claims.
* * * * *