Pivoting climbing and traversing structure

Details Pivoting climbing and traversing structure Pivoting climbing and traversing structure

2000-09-08

2004-03-02

Crow, Stephen R. (Department: 3764)

Exercise devices

Gymnastic

Arm or hand type climbing arrangement

C198S850000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06699158

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to playground equipment, specifically equipment for the activities of climbing and traversing.
2. Description of Prior Art
The activity of climbing has gained a great deal of popularity in the last few years, and as a result, there is a demand for safe and versatile climbing structures for use in public places such as school playgrounds, municipal facilities etc. Several manufacturers produce climbing structures, but in most cases they are either too high to be safe for unattended use, or they are lacking in versatility and adaptability.
Climbing structures fall into two general categories—skeletal structures and featured surface structures. In the first category are found the traditional jungle gym and rambling structures such as Munger #3814416 as well as geometric structures such as Rudy #4097043 and Safferthwaite #4603853. Another type of skeletal climber uses flexible climbing elements such as rope ladders and Huberman #5330400. This skeletal type of equipment provides a kind of ‘tree climbing’ environment where the user grasps the ladder-like climbing elements with the full hand and ascends or swings from point to point—a type of climbing that is fundamentally different from ‘rock-climbing’ where the user grasps protrusions or indented features on a flat or undulating surface. In the second category of featured surface structures are found large-scale walls such as Savigny #5254058 which for safety reasons are not suitable for playground use, smaller units such as Robinson #5941041 and Baxter #4546965 which are limited in variety and adaptability, and panels added onto larger structures such as Zheng #6082386 and Katy #6095950 which are generally too small for an extended climbing experience and also lack variety.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
Accordingly, the present invention, which in this document we call the ‘climbing unit’, offers several objects and advantages which are:
(a) to provide a climbing environment of the ‘rock climbing’ type with featured surfaces and a maze-like structure that can be easily altered to a new plan, thus providing variety and continued interest;
(b) to provide a climbing environment with a large climbing area that is of limited height and promotes traversing (sideways climbing) thus providing for an extended safe climbing experience;
(c) to provide a climbing unit that is modular and can be installed in groups of various numbers in order to provide an appropriately-sized climbing facility;
(d) to provide a climbing environment that is suitable for childhood games, such as tag, hide-and-seek, and follow-the-leader;
(e) to provide a climbing environment that can be adapted to various types of climbing style, such as is found with rope climbing and jungle gyms as well as featured-wall climbing;
(f) to provide a playground facility that is visually attractive and presents a dramatic sculptural appearance that changes with the angular adjustment of the climbing units;
(g) to provide a climbing unit that can be easily pivoted to different orientations, but can be locked into a desired orientation if required to prevent unauthorized tampering.


REFERENCES:
patent: 239970 (1881-04-01), Medart
patent: 3814416 (1974-06-01), Munger et al.
patent: 4097043 (1978-06-01), Rudy
patent: 4546965 (1985-10-01), Baxter et al.
patent: 4603853 (1986-08-01), Satterthwaite
patent: 5125877 (1992-06-01), Brewer
patent: 5177926 (1993-01-01), Frankel
patent: 5254058 (1993-10-01), Savigny
patent: 5256116 (1993-10-01), Robinson
patent: 5330400 (1994-07-01), Huberman
patent: 5437573 (1995-08-01), Rodriguezferre
patent: 5549195 (1996-08-01), Aulagner et al.
patent: 5816980 (1998-10-01), Myszka et al.
patent: 5865680 (1999-02-01), Briggs
patent: 5919117 (1999-07-01), Thompson et al.
patent: 5938566 (1999-08-01), Rodriguez-Ferre
patent: 5941041 (1999-08-01), Robinson et al.
patent: 6082386 (2000-07-01), Zheng
patent: 6095950 (2000-08-01), Katz

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