Abstract:
A trampoline has a trampoline bed with a bounding surface, and a trampoline bed bounding surface. A trampoline frame holds the bounding surface substantially horizontally to provide an area for a user. A balloon coupler is attached to the trampoline. A bounce module is mounted underneath the trampoline bed bounding surface. The bounce module is placed to receive motion from a user. The user activates a mode of the bounce module during jumping. A conduit hose is attached to the balloon coupler. A one-way valve is configured to regulate flow only to the balloon, and blocking any flow away from the balloon. A pump may pump water or air to the balloon. A balloon is attached to the balloon coupler so that the balloon is in fluid communication with the conduit hose.

Description:
DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART 
       [0001]    Trampolines have been in use for decades as popular backyard entertainment, as well as for Olympic sport. Trampolines generally include a bounding surface, a plurality of springs connecting with the bounding surface to the trampoline frame. Additionally, a plurality of legs extends from the trampoline frame to support the trampoline frame above the ground. 
         [0002]    The trampoline has become safer with the advent of the trampoline enclosure. A variety of trampoline enclosure structures have been devised for securing users within a safe area. In Publicover U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,207 issued Jul. 17, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a trampoline enclosure has a support system of independent poles extending from the legs of the trampoline. Publicover improved upon the prior art which had substantially inflexible poles connected as he frame above the trampoline frame structure. The prior art included rope webbing for retaining users within the safe area. 
         [0003]    Subsequently, Samuel Chen invented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,881 issued Jul. 20, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, an air enclosure trampoline safety system relying upon inflatable means for enclosure. Nichols entitled Trampoline Enclosure System in U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,468 issued Aug. 19, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, utilized a different method of attaching the enclosure net to poles by means of loops. While the prior art provides a number of configurations, all have certain advantages and disadvantages. 
         [0004]    Trampolines also include auxiliary effects such as in Samuel Chen&#39;s lighted trampoline, described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,297,089 issued Nov. 20, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Many of these auxiliary effects have been related to lighting or sound or a combination of the above. Auxiliary effects may include counters, timers and other electronic enhancements. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The key feature of this invention is to inflate a balloon by having users jump on a trampoline bed. 
         [0006]    A trampoline has a trampoline bed with a bounding surface, and a trampoline bed bounding surface. A trampoline frame holds the bounding surface substantially horizontally to provide an area for a user. A balloon coupler is attached to the trampoline. A bounce module is mounted underneath the trampoline bed bounding surface. The bounce module is placed to receive motion from a user. The user activates a mode of the bounce module during jumping. A conduit hose is attached to the balloon coupler. A one-way valve is configured to regulate flow only to the balloon, and blocking any flow away from the balloon. A pump may pump water or air to the balloon. A balloon is attached to the balloon coupler so that the balloon is in fluid communication with the conduit hose. 
         [0007]    A plurality of elastic cord attaches to the bounce module at a cord connection area and attaching to the trampoline frame. A trampoline mat fits over a plurality of springs. A plurality of legs formed on the trampoline frame, and supports the trampoline frame above the ground. 
         [0008]    An inflatable bag can be installed underneath the trampoline bed bounding surface. The inflatable bag is sized to be pressed between the ground and the trampoline bed. The trampoline bounce module may have a top cover that is light permeable, a bottom cover; and a light element sandwiched between the top cover and the bottom cover. The bounce module could also have a bounce sensor of a spring type bounce sensor. 
         [0009]    The bounce module may have a bounce sensor that is electronically connected to the fluid pump to activate the fluid pump when the bounce sensor detects a bounce. The fluid pump inflates a balloon when the bounce sensor detects a bounce. Preferably, the bounce sensor requires more than 20 bounces to pop a balloon. Preferably, bounce sensor requires more than 20 bounces to release a balloon from the nozzle. When the inflatable bag is installed underneath the trampoline bed bounding surface, the inflatable bag is sized to be pressed between the ground and the trampoline bed, so that the inflatable bag is connected to the hose and providing fluid pressure to the hose enough to pump up balloons as kids jump on the trampoline. In this configuration, the pump is configured to inflate the inflatable bag. 
         [0010]    The bounce module could also have a bounce sensor electronically connected to the fluid pump to activate the fluid pump when the bounce sensor detects a bounce, so that the fluid pump inflates a balloon when the bounce sensor detects a bounce. The trampoline frame preferably includes a trampoline and enclosure or closure having a trampoline and enclosure netting, so that the balloon coupler is attached to the trampoline at the enclosure netting. The balloon coupler and hose can be held by a pair of opening and reclosable flaps forming a sleeve. 
         [0011]    A trampoline has an enclosure and a plurality of support poles. The support poles have a top end. The trampoline also includes a trampoline frame. A trampoline enclosure net is suspended. A trampoline mat is included and the trampoline enclosure net is bounded by the trampoline mat at a lower portion of the trampoline enclosure net. A bounding surface is supported by a plurality of springs connecting between the bounding surface and the trampoline frame, and the trampoline mat fits over the plurality of springs. A plurality of legs secured to the trampoline frame, and supporting the trampoline frame above the ground. The trampoline enclosure net is secured to an interior circumference of the trampoline mat. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the balloon inflating trampoline. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is an exploded assembly view showing how to assemble the bounce module  20 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a detail view showing the placement of the air pump. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is another assembly view showing insertion of the wire and hose through the wire opening. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a another assembly view diagram showing how to assemble the laminate construction. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a diagram showing the operation of the inflatable bag. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a cross-section view of the sensor mounted in the bounce module  20 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a top view of the balloon inflating trampoline showing a pair of balloons inflating. 
       
    
    
       [0020]    The following call out list of elements is used consistently in the drawings as follows:
     120  Balloon     121  Balloon Coupler     122  Tube Sleeve     20  Bounce Module     25  Halo     26  Light Emitting Element, LED Element     27  LED Wire     234  Top Cover     31  Bottom Cover     32  Cord Opening     33  Cord Flap     34  Elastic Cord Attachment Area     41  Battery Pack     42  Wire Leads     43  Socket Wire Coupler     44  Wire Plug     45  Light Wire Leads     47  Air Hose     46  Air Pump     49  Lower Disk Baseplate     51  Wire Opening     80  Bounce Sensor     85  Elastic Cord     88  Inflatable Bag     82  Flexible Resilient Spring     83  Post     81  Sheath     84  Base     85  Spring Wiring     86  Post Wiring     92  Pump Plug     91  Pump Socket   
 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0053]    The key feature of this invention is the balloon  120  that inflates when a user jumps on the trampoline bed which activates a flow of air to an air hose  47 . The balloon  120  is connected to a balloon coupler  121 . The balloon coupler is preferably shaped as a nozzle allowing a balloon to fit over the coupler. The nozzle may have a circumferential groove or indent around the periphery of the nozzle allowing a neck of the balloon to engage with the groove. The balloon coupler  121  may also include a clip to allow clipping of the neck of the balloon to the nozzle. When the balloon is clipped by the neck, the balloon may inflate until it bursts, and alternatively when the balloon is not clipped, the balloon may detach from the nozzle after the balloon reaches a certain size. 
         [0054]    The tube sleeve  122  holds a vertical section of air hose  47  and can be clasped with hook and loop tape so as to allow release and attachment of the tube sleeve  122 . The tube sleeve  122  is preferably a fabric tube having a pair of flaps that close over the air hose  47 . The tube sleeve  122  is preferably mounted to the trampoline enclosure netting. 
         [0055]    The trampoline enclosure is typically a net having an entrance. The entrance can be secured by a zipper. The trampoline also has a trampoline mat extending around a circumferential area of the bounding surface. The trampoline mat covers the springs which are not accessible by a user within the jumping area, because the jumping area is limited to the area above bounding surface. A plurality of legs extend from the support pole. The legs can be U-shaped and formed in sections, namely a first leg section, a second leg section and a bottom section that is also called a leg connection member. The leg connection member connects to the leg first section at a leg connection interface and connects to the leg second section at a leg connection interface. The first leg section is the leg section that connects to the support pole. The second leg section connects to the trampoline frame. 
         [0056]    The trampoline frame supports the mat and the bounding surface, and the springs extending between the bounding surface and the mat. The springs are hidden under the mat. When in use, a user exerts force on the structure. A neutral force position can be defined when a user is absent and the structure is not in use. During use, a user jumps up and down on the bounding surface. The bounding surface extends inward and creates moment and exerts force on the trampoline structure. 
         [0057]    The bounce module  20  is connected by a plurality of elastic cord  134  connecting to an elastic cord attachment area  34  on the bounce module. The bounce module has preferably a laminate construction including a top cord attachment area flange with an opening for connecting the elastic cord. The laminate construction may include a top cover  234 . 
         [0058]    The bounce module includes a reflector  21  that is plastic molded and has a reflective surface including a reflector post  22  that has a halo groove  24  for receiving the halo  25 . Optionally, a plurality of reflector ribs  23  can be introduced on the surface of the reflector  21  for the purpose of adding an extra angle of viewing for a viewer. The bounce module is preferably substantially rigid and having a disk shape. The trampoline mat  86  is immediately above the module  20  so that when users jump on the trampoline mat, the module moves up and down. The module is suspended by preferably a total of four elastic cord  85  the elastic cord connect to an elastic cord attachment area  34  which then connect to a frame of the trampoline. The module can be suspended by attachment to a frame of the trampoline assembly. 
         [0059]    The halo  25  may be constructed of a ring of transparent or translucent plastic. The light elements such as LED elements  26  in the halo may include an LED wire  27 . The electrical circuitry is not complicated. The battery pack  41  has a first wire lead  42  that leads to a socket wire coupler  43  which connects to the lighting. The battery pack also has a pump plug  92  which connects to a pump socket  91  for powering the air pump when a user jumps on the trampoline. The battery pack  41  further has a processor such as a CPU or a central processing unit or other type of control circuit which has motion sensing or vibration sensing for activating the lights or pump. 
         [0060]    The air hose  47  passes through the bottom concave  48  at a wire opening  51 . Pump socket  91  also passes through the wire opening  51 . The air pump  46  can be connected to household electric current, or can be powered by the battery pack  41 . 
         [0061]    The reflector is snapped onto the halo  25  and both are sandwiched in between a top cover  234  and a bottom cover  31 . It is preferred that the periphery of the top cover  234  is heat laminated to the periphery of the bottom cover  31  so as to form a watertight seal around the periphery in casing the internal components such as the pump and the halo. The battery pack is attached underneath the bottom cover  31  and can be adhered by hook and loop tape or by snaps. The battery pack  41  has a pair of wire leads  42  leading to a socket wire coupler  43 . The socket wire coupler  43  connects to a wire plug  44 . The wire plug has a pair of light wire leads  45 . The reflector  21  has a flat surface meeting with a lower disk baseplate  49 . The lower disk baseplate  49  has a bottom concave  48  which is receiving an air pump  46 . The air pump  46  has an air hose  47  extending from the air pump. The air hose  47  passes through the baseplate  49 . The air pump  46  is also suspended and moving up and down since the cord flap  33  has a cord opening  32  to which the elastic cord is attached. 
         [0062]    It is an optional feature to have an inflatable bag  88  resting on the ground and underneath the module  20  so that the inflatable bag  88  is pressed upon when users jump up and down on the trampoline mat  86 . The inflatable bag  88  can be kept inflated by an air pump. Fluctuations in the inflatable air bag  88  push air through one-way valves  89  located on the air tube  47  line. The inflatable bag  88  can be inflated by the air pump on the module  20 , or by a separate air pump. The inflatable bag  88  is essentially another balloon that has an air intake and air output such that the inflatable bag  88  operates as an air pump. When the users jump on the air pump, the motion of the users is translated into pumping up the balloons  120 . The balloons can be pumped up either until they pop or until they fly off. The inflatable air bag can be formed as a bellows structure or as a round balloon. When the pump is continuously inflating the inflatable bag  88 , the pump is preferably not connected to the control circuitry, but is preferred to be in continuous operation. The pump could be activated only when motion is sensed, but continuous operation is favored. 
         [0063]    The inflatable bag  88  may have a circular base with cylindrical shaped sidewalls. The inflatable bag can be a mechanical pump. The inflatable bag  88  may also have a bellows like, accordion shaped sidewalls so that it can be a mechanical pump. The structure of the bellows pump can be restored by elastic cord or spring to draw in more air to the bellows pump. The base of the inflatable bag preferably sits on the ground surface underneath the trampoline. The inflatable bag can be inflated so that it is wedged between the ground and the module  20 . The module  20  provides light as well as a flat surface for a abutting the inflatable bag  88 . The inflatable bag may have a cylindrical configuration with a circular top, a circular bottom and cylindrical shaped sidewalls. The circular top and circular bottom are preferably sealed to the cylindrical shaped sidewalls. The bounce module can be integrally formed as a top surface of the bellows structure which abuts the bellow to engage the bellows. 
         [0064]    The bounce sensor can be a spring type bounce sensor as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,297,089 issued to Samuel Chen entitled lighted trampoline, issued Nov. 20, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0065]    It is obvious to pick the best type of sensor from the wide array of sensors depending upon the architectural configuration, mechanical construction and artistic theme of the trampoline. For example, a trampoline having an inflatable structure could use a sound sensor or a pressure sensor mounted inside of the inflatable portion of the structure. If a portion of the inflatable structure is filled with water, a sound sensor can also be used. For trampolines having a bounce mat instead of an inflatable section not holding water or air, the vibration sensor shown on  FIG. 8  is the best mode, which is the spring post configuration. The best mode bounce sensor  80  in  FIG. 8  has a flexible resilient spring  82  that touches a post  83  when vibrated, or moved so that it closes a circuit sending a signal to lights connected on the circuit. There is optionally a sheath  81  mounted on a base  84  holding two sets of wiring. The spring wiring  85  connected to the post wiring  86 . 
         [0066]    The pump can also pump water through the water hose for the purpose of filling up water balloons, which could fall off of the coupler or explode when filled beyond capacity. The pump is in fluid communication with the hose and a balloon. The fluid can be water or air. It is preferred that approximately 20 bounces are required to fill a balloon halfway full, and for approximately 40 bounces required to fill a balloon and more than that to pop a balloon.