Abstract:
The inflatable basketball structure includes an inflatable basketball backboard, an inflatable basketball rim, a basketball net, an inflatable supporting pole, and an inflatable safety enclosure. The inflatable basketball structure on a trampoline allows height challenged users the opportunity to slam-dunk and otherwise fulfill athletic basketball fantasies in a safe environment.

Description:
DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART  
       [0001]     Since the beginning of basketball, the slam dunk has been a popular athletic aspiration. Unfortunately, many people are unable to reach the rim. Although basketball is athletically demanding, some skills can be enhanced through a variety of devices.  
         [0002]     Basketball assistance devices have been invented to make basketball easier and more fun. U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,557 to inventor Edward W. Cole discloses a two player trampoline basketball game structure with trampoline surfaces for basketballs to bounce within its framework. The structure provides trampolines for the basketballs assisting shots made by players. U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,911 to Oliver D. McAvoy shows a basket ball return used on a regular basketball court and placed under the basketball pole and net. This wedge shaped ramp allows a basketball to bounce back to the player after the ball goes through the net.  
         [0003]     Trampolines have also assisted basketball players in reaching the rim. Unfortunately, trampoline injuries are very common and risk of injury increases when the game is played on a trampoline. A variety of devices have been invented to make trampolines and jumping safer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,548 to Peter Lorsbach shows jump rescue apparatus having a rebound surface made of tensioned fabric held in an inflatable tube framework. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,053,845, 6,261,207 to Publicover shows an enclosure net and frame for a trampoline having eight steel poles. Unfortunately, a user may be injured when accidentally jumping into a pole. A variety of other similar net and webbing structures have been used to make trampolines safer.  
       OBJECT OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     An inflatable basketball structure on a trampoline allows height challenged users the opportunity to slam-dunk and otherwise fulfill athletic basketball fantasies in a safe environment. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]      FIG. 1  is a top view of the basketball structure.  
         [0006]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the basketball structure.  
         [0007]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the basketball structure.  
         [0008]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the basketball structure. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0009]     The inflatable basketball structure resembles an ordinary basketball apparatus and includes an inflatable basketball backboard, an inflatable basketball rim, a basketball net, an inflatable supporting pole, and an inflatable safety enclosure. The members are made of one or more inflatable cells. Several members can be made of a single cell. Each individual inflatable cell has an airtight inflatable chamber having an inflation valve. The inflation valve permits air to be introduced and removed from the chamber. Alternately, the airtight inflatable chamber can be outfitted with more than one valve, an inflation valve and a separate deflation valve where the inflation valve only inflates the chamber and the deflation valve only deflates the chamber.  
         [0010]     Members may be formed of an outside jacket layer providing additional structural support as an exoskeleton for an inside inflatable member inflated against the outside jacket layer to prevent buckling of the outside jacket layer. The inflatable basketball backboard, inflatable basketball rim, basketball net, inflatable supporting pole, and inflatable safety enclosure are formed of an outside jacket layer providing additional structural support as an exoskeleton for an inside inflatable member inflated against the outside jacket layer to prevent buckling of the outside jacket layer.  
       Basketball Basket  
       [0011]     The basketball rim is made of a hoop of inflatable or padded material. A standard basketball net can be used on the inflatable basketball hoop by attaching the net to the hoop by means of detachable hook and loop tape. The hoop holds the net via the hook and loop tape where a hook side is disposed on either the net or hoop and the loop side is disposed on the other side. The net detaches if a user&#39;s fingers are caught in the net.  
         [0012]     The rim is attached to the backboard. The junction between the hoop and the backboard is reinforced by elastic cord that restores the hoop to neutral position after a user dunks on the hoop. Elastic cord connects the backboard to the hoop. The rim is flexible in relationship to the backboard and can flex when a user slam dunks. The backboard is in turn attached to the backboard pole. The backboard can be made of a single planar rectangular inflatable member.  
         [0013]     The backboard has an outside jacket layer restraining an inflated inside inflatable member. The outside jacket layer is a tough and more rigid fabric providing additional structural support as an exoskeleton. The inside inflatable backboard member is inflated against the outside jacket layer to prevent buckling of the outside jacket layer. The outside jacket layer restrains the inside inflatable member from expansion beyond the size of the outside jacket layer. Alternatively, the backboard can also be made of a planar rectangular rigid core enveloped on the rear side by an inflatable member.  
       Supporting Pole  
       [0014]     The inflatable basketball pole is hollow and inflatable. Optionally, the pole has an outside jacket layer restraining an inflated inside inflatable member. The outside jacket layer is a tough and more rigid fabric providing additional structural support as an exoskeleton. The inside inflatable member is inflated against the outside jacket layer to prevent buckling of the outside jacket layer. The outside jacket layer restrains the inside inflatable member from expansion beyond the size of the outside jacket layer. The inside inflatable member is an inflatable airtight member having an inflation valve. The member has a single inflation valve.  
         [0015]     The height adjustable pole can height adjust by either forming intermediate inflation chambers or a crumple zone. In the first inflation chambers embodiment, a number of intermediate independent chambers have individual air inflation valves and form preferably a pair of independent inflation chambers. In the inflation chamber embodiment, the base portion of the inflatable basketball pole supports a number of independent chambers. The independent chambers in turn support the upper portion of the inflatable basketball pole. A user may inflate or deflate one or more of the chambers to raise or lower the height of the basketball hoop, rim, and backboard. Upon deflation of the independent chambers, the upper portion of the basketball pole decreases to a lower height, without affecting the air pressure of the base portion of the inflatable basketball pole or the upper portion of the inflatable basketball pole.  
         [0016]     A user then secures the upper, lower and intermediate portions by pairs of upper and lower straps of hook and loop tape. The upper and lower strap maintains the relative position of the members in the inflation chamber embodiment. The upper straps begin at a location above the upper intermediate inflation chamber and secures to a corresponding lower strap below the lowest intermediate inflation chamber. Buttons or other hardware attachment means may connect the straps to each other. The preferred means for securing the opposing pair of straps is hook and loop tape. Similarly, a user can increase the height of the basket by detaching the straps and inflating the intermediate chambers.  
         [0017]     In the second basketball pole embodiment, a crumble zone is a user height adjustable section of the basketball pole that allows a user to adjust the height of the basket. Unlike the inflation chamber embodiment, the crumble zone embodiment has a single cell representing the basketball pole. The crumble zone is a location on the basketball pole that can be deflated and restricted in height by a plurality of straps, or other restriction means, so that the zone does not inflate to full height when restricted by a height restriction means.  
         [0018]     The crumble zone is defined by height restriction means such as upper straps that connect to lower straps. Upper straps connecting to lower straps allow partial inflation of the crumble zone. When the air pressure is at full inflation air pressure, the crumble zone is also at full pressure. The crumble zone deflates upon deflation of the entire enclosure.  
         [0019]     Instead of straps, the sleeve representing the outside shell of the basketball pole can be modified to include zippers between flaps to allow a user to zip up and contract a portion of the sleeve to limit the full inflation height of the crumble zone.  
         [0020]     A user determines the desired height of the basket rim and can adjust straps and set the straps to the proper height. The proper height is marked on the straps. Once the straps are in place, the user inflates the device. The crumple zone straps limit the total height of the basket rim while maintaining rigid inflation. The crumple zone can be scored or prefolded to create a standard folding pattern that allows the zone a specific repetitively formed shape instead of a random crumpled shape.  
         [0021]     The net has hook and loop tape connecting the net to the rim. The loop side is attached to the net while the hook side is attached to the rim. If a user has a finger caught in the net, the net detaches to prevent injury to the user. The present embodiment further includes and an elastic cord attaching the back of the backboard to the spine of the basketball pole. The spine is the rearward portion facing away from the face of the backboard. The elastic cord restores the position of the backboard after a user dunks. The elastic cord can be threaded through loops or a continuous sleeve stitched into the spine of the basketball pole. A plurality of elastic cords may be used depending upon the restoring force desired. An elastic cord connects the upper and lower portion in a similar manner and reinforces the hook and loop tape. The basketball pole has an outside covering that can be enveloped around the pole.  
       Enclosure  
       [0022]     The crumple zone shares air pressure with the basketball pole and main wall members. An air pump can assist in maintaining air pressure by providing air to the enclosure and the basketball pole. The air pump is preferably attached to the base of the enclosure, constantly providing air input. The inflatable structure enclosure retains a basketball inside the enclosure by mesh netting. Retaining the basketball enhances users safety and fun.  
         [0023]     The three main wall members forming the enclosure includes the left wall, the right wall and the rear wall. The standard wall consists of a top tubular member attached to a pair of side tubular members attached to a bottom tubular member. The four tubular members form a frame defining an aperture that is enclosed by netting stretched to span across the aperture. The inflatable basketball structure can be mounted on a trampoline with the left wall, right wall, and rear wall resting on the periphery of the rectangular trampoline. A rope or strap retains the enclosure to the trampoline frame and can attach the left wall, right wall and rear wall to the frame.  
         [0024]     The preferred embodiment has a rectangular enclosure with three main walls. Alternate embodiments may use circular or semicircular wall configurations. A wall includes a structure of inflatable frame members with netting spanning between inflatable frame members.  
         [0025]     In an alternate freestanding embodiment, the basketball pole, basket and rim are separately inflated from the enclosure. The assembly of the basketball pole, basket and rim forms a freestanding unit resting on the basketball pole base having no air communication with the protective enclosure. The freestanding inflatable pole is attached to the protective enclosure by mounting straps or mounting cord and can be reconfigured to attach to other structures by mounting straps or a mounting cord.  
         [0026]     The freestanding embodiment maximizes user configuration options and allows the basketball pole member to be separated from the protective enclosure and attached to other non-inflated or inflated protective trampoline enclosures. Non-inflated protective trampoline enclosures having solid steel frames and retaining mesh netting are widely used. Some are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,053,845, and 6,261,207 to Publicover. The freestanding inflatable pole can be attached to a wide variety of non-inflated structures by means of straps or cord.  
         [0027]     The inflatable basketball structure may comprise an inflatable safety enclosure having three walls defining a semicircular instead of rectangular enclosure, and here the trampoline provided is a circular trampoline.