U.S. patent number 3,653,658 [Application Number 05/010,813] was granted by the patent office on 1972-04-04 for adjustable gymnastic bar supported by a-frames.
Invention is credited to William E. Robertson.
United States Patent |
3,653,658 |
Robertson |
April 4, 1972 |
ADJUSTABLE GYMNASTIC BAR SUPPORTED BY A-FRAMES
Abstract
A device including oppositely disposed upstanding A-frames
having corresponding legs on one side side at least interconnected
by a gymnastic bar. The connection between the bar and the legs is
by a mounting bracket having a first sleeve slidably and adjustably
movable on the leg and a second sleeve vertically oriented for
receiving a downwardly extending pin on the gymnastic bar. The two
A-frames and mounting brackets may be appropriately used with
different types of gymnastic devices.
Inventors: |
Robertson; William E. (Des
Moines, IA) |
Family
ID: |
21747558 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/010,813 |
Filed: |
February 12, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/42; 482/25;
482/23 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
3/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
3/00 (20060101); A63b 003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;272/58,59C,60,62,63,64 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Dror; Richard
Claims
I claim:
1. In a gymnastic device,
a pair of oppositely disposed A-frames each comprised of a pair of
diagonally disposed legs, means for detachably connecting the upper
ends of each pair of legs, the lower ends of each of said legs
having means thereon for frictionally engaging a supporting
surface, and a horizontal cross brace interconnecting said legs on
each of said A-frames;
at least one horizontally disposed gymnastic bar extending from one
of said legs of one of said A-frames to a corresponding leg of the
other of said A-frames, said gymnastic bar being spaced above said
lower ends of said legs;
bracket means for independently adjustably securing said at least
one bar to said two respective legs; said at least one bar
comprising the sole means of connection between said A-frames;
and
an outwardly extending guy wire being attached to each of said
A-frames and being adapted to be secured to support means outwardly
from said A-frame.
2. A gymnastic device according to claim 1 wherein said legs within
each of said A-frames are pivotally connected at their upper ends
and said cross braces are guy wires interconnecting said lower ends
of said legs within said A-frames to limit the outward swinging
movement of said lower ends.
3. In a gymnastic device,
a pair of oppositely disposed A-frames each comprised of a pair of
diagonally disposed legs, means for connecting the upper ends of
each pair of legs, and a horizontal cross brace interconnecting
said legs on each A-frame;
a horizontally disposed gymnastic bar extending from one leg of one
A-frame to a corresponding leg of the other A-frame; and
bracket means for independently adjustably securing said bar to
said one leg and said corresponding leg, said bracket means having
first sleeves slidably mounted on one of said legs and additionally
having vertically disposed second sleeves integrally connected to
said first sleeves by horizontally extending rigid integral
arms;
said bar having downwardly extending end pins received in said
second sleeves;
set screw means on said first and second sleeves for providing
selective adjustable attachment of said first and second sleeves on
said legs and said end pins respectively.
4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said pair of diagonally
disposed legs are pivotally interconnected at their upper ends.
5. The structure of claim 3 wherein a second bracket means as said
first bracket means is defined is slidably mounted on one of said
parts to support one end of a second gymnastic device.
6. The structure of claim 5 wherein said second gymnastic device
has its other end connected by a third bracket means to the
corresponding leg of the other A-frame and said third bracket means
is defined as said first bracket means.
Description
A full line of gymnastic equipment will include many individual
pieces of equipment such as the horizontal bar, side horse and
parallel bars. The expense for purchasing all of this equipment can
be quite great and the room to accommodate this equipment may be
unavailable.
The gymnastic device of this invention contemplates the use of a
pair of A-frames and a universal mounting bracket which will permit
use of any number of different types of gymnastic devices by
appropriately mounting them to the mounting bracket secured to the
legs of the A-frames. Thus the expense of purchasing individually
all of the pieces of equipment normally used in a complete
gymnastic gym will be to a large extent avoided. Moreover, the
unlimited possibilities available through use of the A-frame having
diagonally oriented legs is a substantial advantage for instance,
the uneven parallel bars may be readily mounted on the
corresponding legs of two A-frames and the movement of one bar
relative to the other along the A-frame legs causes the bars to be
separated horizontally as well as vertically since the legs are
diagonally oriented.
The mounting bracket involves a sleeve for receiving a leg of the
A-frames and another sleeve vertically oriented for receiving a pin
on the appropriate gymnastic device. Set screws may be used to lock
the bracket to the A-frame leg and the pin of the gymnastic device
as desired.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the
art.
This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and
combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects
contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,
specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the gymnastic device of this
invention assembled.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation fragmentary view thereof.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the mounting bracket
on the A-frame leg.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing
different gymnastic devices mounted on the A-frames and mounting
bracket; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the gymnastic device being used out
of doors.
The gymnastic device of this invention is shown in use in FIG. 1
and is referred to generally by the reference numeral 10. It is
seen that it includes two A-frames 12 and 14 each having legs 16,
18 and 20, 22 respectively. As seen in FIG. 2 the upper end of the
legs 16 and 18 are pivotally connected by a clevis 24 carried on
leg 18 embracing leg 16 and a bolt 26 extending therethrough to
provide a pivot axis. An anchor plate 26 is horizontally disposed
on the leg 18 above the leg 16 and includes a pair of holes 28 to
which guy wires 30 are connected and in turn are connected through
turnbuckles 31 to the floor 32.
A mounting bracket 34 is provided for connecting gymnastic devices
to the legs of the A-frames 12 and 14. It is seen that the mounting
bracket includes a first sleeve 36 slidably mounted on a leg 18 in
FIG. 2 with a set screw 38 extending through the sleeve for
adjustably engaging the leg 18. As seen in FIG. 3, a nonmetallic
insert such as nylon 40 is provided in the inner end of the set
screw 38 to avoid damaging the leg 18 as the bracket moves
therealong. A horizontal arm 42 extends horizontally outwardly from
the sleeve 36 for rigid engagement with a vertically oriented
sleeve 44 which is seen in FIG. 2 receiving the pin 46 extending
downwardly from the wood parallel bar 48. A set screw 50 is also
provided with the sleeve 44 to adjustably position the parallel bar
48 at the desired height.
In FIG. 4 a vaulting horse or side horse 52 is mounted between the
A-frames 12 and 14 by use of the mounting brackets 34 while a
balance beam 54 extends outwardly from the leg 18 to which the
balance beam is connected by a mounting bracket 34. This figure
represents just two additional gymnastic devices which may be used
and is representative of the various possibilities available to the
user employing the A-frames and mounting brackets of this
invention.
The outdoor use of the gymnastic device is seen in FIG. 5 where the
A-frames 12 and 14 are mounted on the ground 16 and a single guy
wire 30 is used at each end. A horizontal bar 62 is mounted between
the A-frames on the mounting brackets 34.
Since the upper ends of the legs of the A-frames are pivoted
together, it is normally desirable to use a horizontally disposed
member such as the guy wire 64 for interconnecting the lower ends
of the legs in each A-frame to prevent them from spreading apart
although the frictional engagement with the ground or floor will
substantially limit separation.
It is thus seen in use that the user having a pair of A-frames and
a sufficient number of mounting brackets 34 can put together any
type of gymnastic device he desires such as the uneven parallel
bars in FIG. 1, the horizontal bar of FIG. 5 or the side horse or
vaulting horse and balance beam arrangement of FIG. 4. Endless
other combinations obviously exist. It is essential, of course,
that some sort of device extend between the A-frames to provide a
rigid structural device.
The mounting brackets 34 may be rotated to any position on the legs
that is desired by turning the bracket about the longitudinal axis
of the sleeve 36 which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the
leg 18 as seen in FIG. 2. The inherent diagonal arrangement of the
legs 16 and 18 in an A-frame 12 is taken advantage of by use of the
mounting brackets 34 mounted on the legs since movement therealong
relative to any given point on the leg will provide both horizontal
and vertical displacement which makes the possible combinations of
equipment that may be used together substantially greater. It is
also seen that the portability advantage of this gymnastic device
is important and also the A-frames may be readily collapsed for
efficient storage.
* * * * *