Portable hoop and background assembly

A new Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly that is easily installed and disassembled. The inventive device includes a rim, a light weight backboard that is equipped with bendable protrusions to stabilize the assembly, straps for attaching the backboard, and a rim that is collapsible.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a basketball assembly and more 
particularly pertains to a new Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly which 
allows the users of this Hoop and Baseboard assembly to easily install the 
assembly in selected places and then to optionally dissemble it after play 
has ceased. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of a portable basketball assembly is known in the prior art. More 
specifically, a portable basketball assembly heretofore devised and 
utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious 
structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs 
encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the 
fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
Known prior art a portable basketball assembly include U.S. Pat. No. 
5,158,281; U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,054; U.S. Pat. No. 343,215; U.S. Pat. No. 
4,145,044; U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,053 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,995. 
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and 
requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Portable 
Hoop and Backboard Assembly. The inventive device includes a backboard 
with bendable protrusions situated behind the backboard, straps for 
attaching the backboard, and a collapsible rim. 
In these respects, the Portable Hoop and Background Assembly according to 
the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts 
and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus 
primarily developed for the purpose of providing a hoop and baseboard 
assembly that is easily installed and disassembled 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of a 
portable basketball assembly now present in the prior art, the present 
invention provides a new Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly construction 
wherein the same can be utilized for providing a hoop and baseboard 
assembly that is easily installed and disassembled 
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described 
subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new Portable Hoop and 
Backboard Assembly apparatus and method which has many of the advantages 
of the a portable basketball assembly mentioned heretofore and many novel 
features that result in a new Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly which 
is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of 
the prior art a portable basketball assembly, either alone or in any 
combination thereof. 
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a backboard with 
bendable protrusions situated behind the backboard, straps for attaching 
the backboard, and a collapsible rim. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional 
features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which 
will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new 
Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly apparatus and method which has many 
of the advantages of the a portable basketball assembly mentioned 
heretofore and many novel features that result in a new Portable Hoop and 
Backboard Assembly which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, 
or even implied by any of the prior art a portable basketball assembly, 
either alone or in any combination thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new Portable 
Hoop and Backboard Assembly which may be easily and efficiently 
manufactured and marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new Portable 
Hoop and Backboard Assembly which is of a durable and reliable 
construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new 
Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly which is susceptible of a low cost of 
manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly 
is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby 
making such Portable Hoop and Background Assembly economically available 
to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly which provides in the apparatuses and 
methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while 
simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated 
therewith. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new Portable 
Hoop and Backboard Assembly for providing a hoop and baseboard assembly 
that is easily installed and disassembled 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new Portable 
Hoop and Backboard Assembly which includes a backboard with bendable 
protrusions situated behind the backboard, straps for attaching the 
backboard, and a collapsible rim. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly that enables anyone to easily remove 
the assembly after use for a number of reasons, including to secure its 
safety. 
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly that allows users to attach the 
assembly to any viable structure thus allowing the users a greater amount 
of flexibility as to where play may occur. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 
thereof, a new Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly embodying the 
principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated 
by the reference numeral 10 will be described. 
More specifically, it will be noted that the Portable Hoop and Backboard 
Assembly 10 comprises a lightweight portable backboard, means for 
attaching the backboard and a hoop and a collapsible rim. 
As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, it can be shown that the Portable 
Hoop and Backboard Assembly of the present represents a novel and improved 
portable hoop and backboard assembly. 
In use, the present invention includes a backboard 12, that may be square, 
rectangular or trapezoid shaped and which can be made of fiberglass or any 
such durable yet fairly light weight material and is held in position to 
any viable structure by way of strapping means 30. The strapping means 30 
can be made of any suitable material including nylon. The strapping means 
30 is of the kind that provides secure locking in place on structures such 
as poles, trees, porch railing and so forth and may of the kind such as 
automobile safety belts which can be adjusted and securely latched. In one 
embodiment, the backboard 12 has a back 42 which may be made up of a 
plurality of bendable protrusions 40. These bendable protrusions 40 are 
useful in grasping any angle or radius of the structure 18. These bendable 
protrusions 40 may be raised cylindrical protrusions that are about 1 inch 
in depth or may be any suitable protrusions that can provide the same type 
of gripping or insulating capabilities afforded by these cylindrical 
protrusions 40. These bendable protrusions 40 may be made of any bendable 
material such as rubber or plastic and may be attached to said back by a 
variety of means including but not limited to gluing them onto the 
backboard. Since the present invention may be attached to light poles, or 
telephone poles, the rubber or plastic protrusion backing 40 may serve as 
an insulation in these instances In another embodiment of the present 
invention, a spring means 50 and a sliding "U" clamp means 52 is used to 
grasp the structure to which the Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly 10 
is attached. The strapping means 30 would be used to tighten the grip on 
the pole and the like and the sliding clamp means 52 is used to stabilize 
the Portable Hoop and Backboard Assembly 10. 
The net 14 is any suitable net that is available in the art. The net 14 is 
attached to the front of the backboard 12 by means of a collapsible means 
16. The collapsible means 16 can be used to collapse the rim 22 of the net 
14 so that it drops from its 90.degree. angle to fit flush with the 
backboard. This allows the rim 22 to be more easily stored upon 
disassembly. 
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the 
present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. 
Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and 
operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of 
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to 
one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those 
illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may 
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.