Abstract:
A portable basketball hoop assembly includes a post having at least one hinge connecting two portions thereof together to enable the post to be in an elongated operative position or a folded transportable position, a backboard and hoop carried by the post at one end thereof, and an attachment member adjacent the other end of the post to enable the post to be detachably secured to a support.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/205802 filed May 17, 2000. 
     
    
     
         [0002]    This invention relates to portable basketball hoop assemblies.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Basketball is of course a very popular game, and basketball hoop assemblies are often found at private homes for use in practice throwing at the hoop. Such known hoop assemblies are not however readily portable and, if portable at all, are not easily transportable to another site, for example a temporary site such as a cottage or campground.  
           [0004]    It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a portable basketball hoop assembly which is readily portable.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    According to the invention, a portable basketball hoop assembly includes a post having at least one hinge connecting two portions thereof together to enable the post to be in an elongated operative position or a folded transportable position, a backboard and hoop carried by the post at one end thereof, and an attachment member adjacent the other end of the post to enable the post to be detachably secured to a support.  
           [0006]    The hoop assembly may also include a net detachably securable to the hoop or backboard so as to extend laterally behind the hoop and downwardly towards the ground to prevent a ball from travelling past the hoop assembly in the area of the net.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of portable basketball hoop assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention attached to a ground support,  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a side view thereof,  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 1 but showing the hoop assembly detached from the ground support,  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a front view of the hoop assembly,  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a similar view but showing the post in the folded position for transportation,  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a side view showing the folded hoop assembly secured to the rear of a vehicle,  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a similar view but showing the hoop assembly in a first stage of transition to an operative position,  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is a similar view but showing the hoop assembly in a further stage of transition,  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 9 is a similar view but showing the hoop assembly in the operative position, and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 10 is a front view of the hoop assembly and the rear of the vehicle.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0018]    Referring first to FIGS.  1  to  3  of the drawings, a portable basketball hoop assembly  10  includes a post  12  which has a lower portion  14  and an upper portion  16  connected together by a hinge  18 . The upper end of the upper post portion  16  carries a conventional backboard  20  and hoop  22  with basket  24 . The lower post portion  14  carries a pair of laterally spaced guides  26 ,  28  the purpose of which will become apparent later.  
         [0019]    An attachment bracket  30  has a main body portion  32  slidably mounted on the lower end part of the lower post portion  14 . The lower post portion  14  has a series of longitudinally spaced apertures  34 , and the main body portion  32  of the attachment bracket  30  has an aperture  36 . A pin  38  can be pushed through the bracket aperture  36  and a selected post aperture  34  to secure the attachment bracket  30  at a desired position on the lower end part of the lower post portion  14 . The main body portion  32  of the attachment bracket  30  also has a vertical mounting member  40  extending from the body member  32 , the mounting member  40  having two vertically spaced apertures  42 ,  46  therein. A screw-threaded foot member  46  is mounted in a threaded aperture (not shown) in the lower end of the lower post portion  40 , and is adjustable so that it engages the ground to assist in supporting the remainder of the hoop assembly when it is in the operative position.  
         [0020]    FIGS.  1  to  3  show the hoop assembly  10  secured to a ground support  50  which includes a vertical main portion  52  whose lower end is anchored in concrete  53  in the ground  54 . A horizontal arm portion  55  extends from the upper end of the main portion  52  and, at its end remote from the main portion  52 , carries a mounting member  56  (see FIG. 3) to which the post mounting member  40  can be secured. The support mounting member  56  has two vertically spaced apertures  58 ,  60  with which the apertures  42 ,  44  respectively in the post mounting member  40  can be aligned, with pins  62 ,  64  being provided to complete the attachment. The mounting bracket  30  is located at an appropriate position on the lower end part of the lower post portion  14 , and the foot member  46  is adjusted so as to firmly engage the ground.  
         [0021]    As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a ball return net assembly  70  can be mounted on the hoop assembly  10  to prevent ball from going past the hoop assembly. The ball return net assembly  70  includes a net  72  with horizontal upper and lower ends  74 ,  76  respectively and downwardly diverging side edges  78 ,  80  so that the bottom edge  76  is longer than the upper edge  74 . A stiffening rod  82  extends along the upper edge  74  of the net  72 , and a hang cord  84  attached to opposite ends of the stiffening rod  82  is secured to the rear of the hoop  22 . A weighting rod  86  extends along the lower edge  76  of the net  70  to retain the lower edge  76  in the desired position on the ground. As shown in FIG. 2, the net  72  can be positioned to extend downwardly and forwardly so as to return balls to the thrower, or can be positioned vertically as indicated by the hoop assembly  70 .  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 1 and 2 show the hoop assembly  10  secured to the grand support  50  which may be located in the back yard of a house. The ground support  50  is a permanent fixture, but the hoop assembly  10  can readily be detached therefrom by loosening the foot member  46  and removing the pins  62 ,  64  as indicated in FIG. 3. A front view of a separated hoop assembly  10  is shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0023]    To reduce the overall size of the hoop assembly  10 , the upper post portion  16  can be hinged downwardly so as to be adjacent the lower post portion  14 , as shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the upper post portion  16  fits between the guides  26 ,  28  on the lower post portion  14 . When in this collapsed condition, the hoop assembly can easily be transported to another site.  
         [0024]    The collapsed hoop assembly  10  can be transported to another site by mounting on the rear of a vehicle  90 , as shown in FIG. 6. The vehicle  90  has a hitch  92  which carries an auxiliary hitch member  94  secured thereto, the auxiliary hitch member  94  having a mounting member  96  which is similar to the mounting member  56  of the ground support  50 . The hitch mounting member  96  has two vertically spaced apertures  98 ,  100  for receiving pins  62 ,  64  respectively to secure the attachment bracket  30  to the auxiliary hitch member  94 .  
         [0025]    For added safety during transportation, the top of the hoop assembly  10  may be secured by a rope  102  to a roof rack  104  on the vehicle  90 . The basket  24  is removed at this time for transportation within the vehicle.  
         [0026]    The collapsed hoop assembly can readily be transformed to the operative condition while it is attached to the vehicle hitch  92 . The rope  102  is removed and, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper pin  64  is removed so that the attachment bracket  30  can be pivoted about the lower pin  62  until the back board  20  and hoop  22  touch the ground. The upper post portion  60  is then hinged back to its operative position and the basket  24  is reattached, as shown in FIG. 8. The hoop assembly  10  is then pivoted about the pin  62  to the operative position and the pin  64  is replaced, as shown in FIG. 9. The net  70  is also reattached, as shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0027]    Thus, the hoop assembly  10  can easily be transported by vehicle from a permanent location such as a back yard to a desired site, such as a cottage or campground, and the hoop assembly can easily be converted back to the operative position and used as required.  
         [0028]    Other embodiments of the invention will now be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art, the scope of the invention being defined in the appended claims.