Patent ID: 6743125
Filing Date: 2004-06-01
Classification: A63B,E04H

Abstract:
A portable basketball system for use in playing basketball-related games on sand covered outdoor environments, comprising:a wind-transmissive backboard structure having a backboard surface disposed substantially within a first plane, bounded by a frame structure, and characterized by a high degree of air permeability across said backboard surface so that air currents, expected in said sand covered outdoor environments, can pass through said backboard surface with minimal resistance yet deflect a lightweight basketball when tossed thereagainst during basketball-related games; wherein said wind-transmissive backboard structure includes a mesh material stretched tightly about and fastened to said frame structure so as to form a planar backboard surface which presents minimal resistance to expected air currents present on the beach or along a shoreline, and undergoes minimal surface distortion when said lightweight basketball is bounced off the backboard surface during said basket-ball related games; a basketball hoop structure defining an opening through which a basketball can be passed during said basketball-related games, and generally disposed within a second plane substantially perpendicular to said first plane; a pole assembly, including a plurality of arrangeable pole sections, for supporting said wind-transmissive backboard structure at a height above the surface of a sand bed located in said sand covered outdoor environments; and a pole anchoring device for driving beneath said sand bed and supporting said pole assembly in a substantially plumb orientation, while playing said basketball-related games; wherein said pole anchoring device further includes a set of sand-engaging threads formed on the external surface of said pole anchoring sleeve, and a set of handle structures provided on said pole anchoring sleeve, enabling a user to rotate said pole anchoring device while pushing said pole anchoring device into said sand bed, thereby screwing said pole anchoring sleeve beneath said sand bed.