US3923302A

US3923302A - Portable mount for gymnastic pole

Info

Publication number: US3923302A
Application number: US547821A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert Boggild
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1975-02-07
Filing date: 1975-02-07
Publication date: 1975-12-02
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-02

Abstract

A gymnastic amusement device comprising an elongated fiberglas pole having an elastomeric socket at its lower end. The elastomeric socket is supported at one end by resilient means such as springs or elastomeric materials and is supported at the other end for universal pivotal motion whereby the resilient means permits the pole and socket to tilt slightly when the pole itself is flexed.

Description

United States Patent Boggild Dec. 2, 1975 l54| PORTABLE MOUNT FOR GYMNASTIC 3.246.893 4/1966 Bnggild c1 ;1|....1.. 272/60 A POLE 3,351.30? ll/l967 Michel ct 111 248/358 A 1480.274 ll/l969 Buggiltl et ul....m 272/60 A [76l Inventor: Robert Boggild, Graham Home Place Road, South Pittsburg Tenn. primary E'mmmer RiChard Aplcy 37380 Assistant Examiner-Joseph R. Tuylur [22] Filed: Feb. 7 1975 Attorney Agent, or FirmW00d, Herron & Evans |2l| Appl. N01: 547,821 57] ABSTRACT A gymnastic amusement device comprising an elonl52l U.S. Cl. 272/60 A; 248/358 A gated fiberglas pole having an elastnmcric socket at its l5l] lnt. Cl.- A63B 9/00 lower end. The elastomeric socket is supported it! one [58} Field of Search 272/60 A; 248/350, 358 A, end by resilient means such as springs or ClZtStOtllCftC 248/358 AA materials and is supported at the other end for universal pivotal motion whereby the resilient means permits [56] References Cited the pole and socket to tilt slightly when the pole itself UNITED STATES PATENTS is flexed 2949198 8/1960 Speelman 272/60 A 10 Claims 7 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 3,923,302

PORTABLE MOUNT FOR GYMNASTIC POLE This invention relates to a gymnastic amusement device and more particularly the invention is directed to improvements in the device disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 3,246,893 and 3,480,274.

The patents referred to above disclose, as a gymnastic amusement device, a flexible elongated fiberglas pole which is mounted at its lower end in a specially designed socket. The socket in turn is preferably permanently mounted in a concrete foundation so as to maintain the socket in a vertical attitude. The resilience of the pole coupled with the manner in which it is mounted in its socket permits the pole to be flexed from a vertical attitude through at least 45 and preferably through 90. This capability enables a person grasping the pole near its upper end to perform many different types of gymnastic gyrations as the person swings back and forth on the pole or through a series of acrobatic movements all the way around the pole.

The permanent concrete mount for the pole is satisfactory insofar as the utilization of the pole is concerned. There are some disadvantages to its permanency. For example, forming a permanent mount indoors in a gym floor, presents the problem of boring through multiple layers of wood, concrete and the like. Further in getting the best utilization of gym floor space it may be desirable to be able to move the pole from place to place. Permanent outdoor mounts also present a problem of mischievious children filling the socket hole with sand and gravel unless elaborate locking covers are used.

In any event, to make the device more universally useful it has been an objective of the invention to provide a portable mount for the pole. In US. Pat. No. 3,246,893, a somewhat portable mount is disclosed and consists of a conical base which supports the mounting socket and a single central auger adapted to be screwed into the ground. This mount, while useful for short periods of time has at least two disadvantages. First, the single central auger is too easily loosened through active use of the device. Second, the raising of the socket above ground level adds to the strain on the pole when it is flexed and thus tends to reduce the life of the pole.

The portable mount of the present invention provides a secure support for the pole over an indefinite period of use of the polev The mount of the present invention also permits a slight tilting of the pole supporting socket in any direction around the 360 of the mount, that slight tilting tending to alleviate the added strain which is incurred in a pole whose socket is above floor level.

Another objective of the invention has been to pro' vide alternative means for anchoring the mount to the supporting surface whether it be the ground out of doors or a floor such as a gymnasium floor.

These and other objectives of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of one form of the porta ble mount of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the center of the mount,

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic top plan view partly in section showing the manner in which the elements of the mount are interconnected;

FIGS. 4, S and 6 are perspective views similar to FIG. 1 showing an alternative securing means: and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative support for the socket.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a flexible pole 10 is shown supported in a portable mount 11. The mount includes a conical body 12 to which six horizontal legs 13 are rigidly secured. The legs are approximately 50 inches in length and each of them is loaded at its extreme end by a 50 pound bag 14 containing sand, water or other medium.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the body 12 is generally conical and has a large diameter ground engaging base 20 and a small diameter opening 21 at its upper end. The body 12 supports a cylindrical socket 2.2 which slidably receives a pole mounting shell 23 preferably of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,480,274. The shell 23 carries a pair of spaced upper and lower resilient. preferably elastomeric, bushings 24 and 25 which se cure the lower end of the pole in the shell and permit the pole to flex within the shell thereby reducing the strain on the pole during its use.

The socket 22 is slidably mounted with respect to the body 12. The body 12 preferably has an elastomeric cushion or sleeve 26 at its upper end which is engage able by the upper end portion of the socket 22 during the operation of the pole. The fit between the socket and the cushion 26 should be sloppy enough to cnabie the socket to tilt with respect to the body during the op eration of the pole. The socket, at its lower end. is sup ported around its circumference by resilient dex ices 28 which connect the socket to the body. The resilient devices may, for example, be twelve radially oriented springs connected at their inner ends to the socket and at their outer ends to the body. in the preferred form of the invention, however, the resilient devices are formed by a length of aircraft shock cord which inten connects the socket and body as illustrated in FIG. 3. Aircraft shock cord is an elastic cord having a plurality of elastic strands encased in a braided cover and has been conventionally used as trampoline supports and the like.

To secure the elastomeric cord to the socket and body, the socket and body are provided with eye-

bolts

29 and 30 at positions spaced 30 apart around the socket and body respectively. The eyebolts of the socket are spaced 15 from the eyebolts in the body The cord is simply looped in serpentine fashion be tween the socket eye-bolts and the body eye-bolts with the free ends of the cord being tied together as at 3|. Each of the loops should also be tied as at 32 to prev eat the cord from shifting.

The chord should be secured tightly enough to take up all slack but not so tight as to stretch the elastomeric material for that would tend to age it more rapidly than desirable. The elastomeric material should be resilient enough to elongate l00% when subjected to a 200 pound load. With the foregoing relationship, the elastomeric material will be stressed slightly when a person climbs onto the pole with the pole being in the vertical attitude. so that the person gets a firm feel due to the stressing of the elastomeric material. When the pole is unloaded the socket 22 should project above opening 21 a sufficient distance to permit the socket, when the pole is fully loaded, to slide downwardly without the top of the socket passing down beyond opening 12.

The operation of the invention is has been described in the earlier patents referred to above with the exception that with the elastomeric mount and the tilting capability of the socket, the socket will tilt in the direction of the application of pressure by the gymnast on the pole while the gymnast flexes the pole through 4590. Those few degrees of tilting in any direction around the circumference of the mount tend to relieve the strain on the pole which would occur if the socket were mounted in a vertical position as has been contemplated in the earlier patents.

An alternative form of mount is illustrated in FIG. 4. There the mount is the same as that of FIG. 1 except that the ends of the legs 13 are secured to the ground by small augers 35 to the legs and screwed into the ground.

Another form of mount is illustrated in FIG. 5. In FIG. a rigid skirt 38 of an outside diameter of approximately five feet is secured to the body 12. A water filled toroid 39 is laid on the outer peripheral portion of the skirt 38 to provide the anchor against the tilting of the mount. The water filled toroid eliminates the tripping hazard of the legs and also provides a cushion against falling from the pole.

Still another mount is illustrated in FIG. 6. There three hold-down sockets 40 are mounted on a gym floor. The mount is connected to the hold-down sockets by a toggle clamp and strap 41 connected between the hold-down sockets and pins 42 projecting from the upper portion of the body 12. A turnbuckle, of course, could be substituted for the toggle clamps.

An alternative to the socket support described above is illustrated in FIG. 7. There a body 50 is secured in any of the embodiments of FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 6 to the supporting surface. The body 50 has a conical internal surface 51 which provides a receptacle 52 receiving a central pivot 53 mounted on the lower end of a socket 54. The upper end of the socket is secured to the body by resilient means such as the elastomeric cord 55 described in connection with FIG. 3.

The pole as mounted in FIG. 7 has an action similar to that of the earlier embodiments except that the bottom of the pole remains fixed on the pivot point and the upper portion of the pole is capable of tilting in any direction to an extent permitted by the elastomeric member 55. Again the tilting capability reduces the strain on the pole as it is flexed during use.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A mount and flexible gymnastic pole combination comprising a body having a surface engaging base and an upper opening,

removable means for securing said base against tipping with respect to the surface which it engages,

a socket disposed within said body,

resilient means securing one end of said socket to said body, the other end of said socket being universally pivotable with respect to said body whereby said socket, when stressed can tilt with respect to said body,

and a flexible pole mounted in said socket and being supported at its lower end by spaced upper and lower elastomeric bushings which permit said pole to flex within said socket.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which,

the lower end of said socket is secured to said mount by said resilient means,

said socket being free to move downwardly when a force is applied to said pole,

the upper end of said socket projecting through said upper opening in said body and being pivotable and vertically slidable with respect to said opening.

3. A combination as in claim 1 in which said resilient means comprises an elastomeric cord looped in serpentine fashion around the periphery of said body and socket respectively.

4. A combination as in claim 3 in which said cord is stressed just sufficiently to take out its slack but without significantly stressing the elastomer.

5. A combination as in claim 1 in which said securing means comprises a plurality of elongated legs extending radially from said base and means for holding the free ends of said legs against said surfaces.

6. A combination as in claim 5 in which said holding means comprises weights at the ends of said legs.

7. A combination as in claim 5 in which said holding means comprises a ground-engaging auger secured to the free end of said leg.

8. A combination as in claim 1 in which said securing means comprises a skirt projecting radially from said base and a heavy toroid removably mounted on the peripheral edge of said skirt.

9. A combination as in claim 1 in which said securing means comprises means attached to said base for securing said base to hold-down sockets fixedly mounted in said surface.

10. A combination as in claim 1 further comprising a central receptacle in the lower portion of said body, said socket pivotally engaging said receptacle at the lower end of said socket,

said resilient means securing the upper end of said socket to said body.

Claims

1. A mount and flexible gymnastic pole combination comprising a body having a surface engaging base and an upper opening, removable means for securing said base against tipping with respect to the surface which it engages, a socket disposed within said body, resilient means securing one end of said socket to said body, the other end of said socket being universally pivotable with respect to said body whereby said socket, when stressed can tilt with respect to said body, and a flexible pole mounted in said socket and being supported at its lower end by spaced upper and lower elastomeric bushings which permit said pole to flex within said socket.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which, the lower end of said socket is secured to said mount by said resilient means, said socket being free to move downwardly when a force is applied to said pole, the upper end of said socket projecting through said upper opening in said body and being pivotable and vertically slidable with respect to said opening.

10. A combination as in claim 1 further comprising a central receptacle in the lower portion of said body, said socket pivotally engaging said receptacle at the lower end of said socket, said resilient means securing the upper end of said socket to said body.