Patent Publication Number: US-2010120557-A1

Title: Sports goal including a rebounder for returning a scoring object to a player

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to sports goals and a rebounder for returning a scoring object to a player. Preferably, the rebounder is pivotally connected to the sport goal so that it can be moved between a storage position and at least one operating position. The rebounder is preferably configured such that it can be used with an official size sport goal with minimal or no alteration to the sport goal. In the most preferred form of the present invention, the sport goal is a lacrosse goal. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are numerous sports that require players to direct a scoring object into a goal. These sports include but are not limited to lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey and soccer. While the present invention is not limited to a particular sport, it is extremely well suited for sports like lacrosse, field hockey, ice hockey and soccer. There is a significant need for equipment that will allow sport participants to hone their skills, particularly those skills directed to scoring. 
     One sport that the present invention is particularly well suited to assist players in improving their scoring skills is lacrosse. Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States. Youth participation in lacrosse has grown over five hundred percent since 1999 to nearly 250,000 participants. No sport has grown faster at the high school level over the past ten years and there are now an estimated 200,000 high school players. Lacrosse is also the fastest growing sport over the last six years at the NCAA level. There are estimated to be over five hundred college club programs including some two hundred women&#39;s teams. 
     There are a number of lacrosse goals presently on the market. Examples of lacrosse goals that are presently available can be seen at www.Lacrosse.com. A number of existing lacrosse goals do not have any ability to rebound the lacrosse ball to the player. While rebounders are available as can be seen at www.Lacrosse.com, existing rebounders suffer from a number of drawbacks. For example, some existing rebounders such as freestanding rebounders are not representative of an official size goal. This is disadvantageous as it requires the purchase of both a relatively expensive freestanding rebounder as well as an official size goal significantly increasing the costs to schools and organizations seeking to improve the skills of their lacrosse players. Also, some existing rebounders merely roll the ball back to the shooter. Further, existing rebounders are not configured to be used with official size lacrosse goals with minimal or no alteration to the lacrosse goals. Moreover, existing rebounders do not permit the return path (i.e., the path the ball is returned to the shooter) to be readily and significantly varied. These are just some of the drawbacks of existing systems that the preferred form of the present invention is designed to overcome. 
     OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and unobvious sport goal and rebounder for returning a scoring object to a player. 
     Another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a rebounder that can be readily attached to an official size sports goal. 
     A further object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a rebounder that when attached to a sports goal can be readily moved between a first operating position in which the rebounder will return a scoring object to a shooter and a second storage position in which the rebounder does not obstruct the scoring area of the sport goal. 
     Yet another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide an rebounder that allows a user to readily adjust the path that the scoring object is returned to the user. 
     Still a further object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a rebounder that can be readily stored when not in use. 
     These and other objects of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. It must be understood that no one embodiment of the present invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementioned objects. Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention. 
     In summary, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to a sport goal for receiving a scoring object. The sport goal includes a goal frame having a left upright member, a right upright member and a crossbar extending between the left upright member and the right upright member. The goal frame further includes an open area for receiving a scoring object. A rebound member is removably connected to the goal frame for returning a scoring object to a player when the scoring object impacts the rebound member. The rebound member further includes a rebound frame and a tension member operably associated with the rebound frame. The tension member is configured to return a scoring object to a player when the scoring object impacts the tension member. 
     Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to a rebounder for use with a sport goal that receives a scoring object. The sport goal includes a goal frame having a left upright member, a right upright member and a crossbar extending between the left upright member and the right upright member. The goal frame further includes an open area for receiving a scoring object. The rebounder includes a rebound member for returning a scoring object to a player when the scoring object impacts the rebound member. The rebound member has a tension member. The tension member is configured to return a scoring object to a player when the scoring object impacts the tension member. The rebound member further includes at least one connector for connecting the rebound member to the sports goal such that the position of the rebound member relative to the sports goal can be adjusted while the rebound member is attached to the sports goal. 
     A further preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to a rebounder for use with a sport goal that receives a scoring object. The sport goal includes a goal frame having a left upright member, a right upright member and a crossbar extending between the left upright member and the right upright member. The goal frame further includes an open area for receiving a scoring object. The rebounder includes a rebound member for returning a scoring object to a player when the scoring object impacts the rebound member. The rebound member has a tension member. The tension member is configured to return a scoring object to a player when the scoring object impacts the tension member. The rebound member further includes at least first and second sections. The first section is connected to the second section such that the first section can move relative to the second section. The second section has at least one leg for supporting the rebound member. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rebounder formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a rebounder and lacrosse goal formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention with the rebounder in one of numerous operating positions. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of a rebounder and lacrosse goal formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a portion of the netting of the lacrosse goal removed so that the rebounder in its storage position can be readily seen. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a rebounder and lacrosse goal formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a portion of the netting of the lacrosse goal removed and the rebounder depicted in a number of positions including a storage position, partially folded positions and one of numerous operating positions. 
         FIG. 5  is a fragmentary perspective view depicting one of two preferred connecting members for removably connecting the rebounder to a lacrosse goal with all netting removed so that the preferred manner of connection can be readily seen. 
         FIG. 6  is a fragmentary exploded perspective view depicting one of two preferred connecting members for removably connecting the rebounder to a lacrosse goal with all netting removed so that the preferred manner of connection can be readily seen. 
         FIG. 7  is a fragmentary perspective view of the preferred form of one of two retaining members for holding the rebounder in a preferred storage position. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a lacrosse goal and rebounder formed in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention with the netting of the lacrosse goal removed so that the rebounder can be readily seen. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The preferred forms of the invention will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1-8 . The appended claims are not limited to the preferred forms and no term and/or phrase used herein is to be given a meaning other than its ordinary meaning unless it is expressly stated that the term and/or phrase shall have a special meaning. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 7 , a rebounder A formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in one of many possible configurations. Rebounder A includes a frame B and netting C connected to frame B. Rebounder A is pivotally connected to a lacrosse goal D by connectors  2  and  4 . While only the details of connector  2  are illustrated (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ), connector  4  is identical to connector  2 . This connection allows the rebounder A to be readily moved between a storage position depicted in  FIGS. 3 and 4  and numerous operating positions. It will be readily appreciated that any suitable connectors may be used for connecting rebounder A to lacrosse goal D. 
     Preferably, lacrosse goal D is the same size as an official size lacrosse goal (i.e., 6′ wide, 6′ high and 7′ deep). The lacrosse goal preferably includes a left post  6 , a right post  8 , a crossbar  9 , a pair of inclined support members  10  and  12  and a pair of horizontally extending support members  14  and  16 . Lacrosse goal D may be formed as one piece or multiple interconnected pieces. While a lacrosse goal is disclosed as the most preferred type of sport goal, it will be readily appreciated that the sport goal can be any type of goal in which rebounding of a scoring object to a shooter is desired. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , frame B of rebounder A includes a first section  18  and a second section  20 . The second section  20  is pivotally connected to the lower portion of first section  18  such that the second section  20  can move relative to the first section  18  between a storage position in which the second section  20  is folded on the first section  18  (see  FIG. 3 ) and a position in which the second section  20  is aligned with the first section  18  (identified by reference letter E in  FIG. 4 ). Stops  22  and  24  restrict the outward rotation of second section  20 . 
     When rebounder A is in the storage position, first section  18  is aligned with inclined support members  10  and  12 . Second section  20 , in the storage position, is disposed above inclined support members  10  and  12  as is seen in  FIG. 4 . By storing rebounder A in this manner, rebounder A does not obstruct lacrosse goal D in any way when not in use. Referring to  FIG. 7 , inclined support members  10  and  12  have a retaining member  26  pivotally connected thereto. Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 7 , when rebounder A is in the storage position, retaining members  26  extend under the corresponding portion of first section  18  to support rebounder A in a position that does not obstruct lacrosse goal D in any respect. It will be readily appreciated that the retaining members  26  may be pivotally secured to the frame B as opposed to lacrosse goal D. 
     Second section  20  of frame B includes adjustable legs  28  and  30 . As legs  28  and  30  are of an identical construction, only leg  28  will be described in detail. Leg  28  includes a first portion  32  that is slidably received within a second portion  34 . Second portion  34  includes a plurality of openings  36  extending therethrough. First portion  32  also includes the same number and size of openings extending therethrough. A suitable retaining member (e.g. a pin) is inserted through a desired opening in second portion  34  and first portion  32  to achieve the desired length of leg  28 . By adjusting the length of legs  28  and  30 , the position of rebounder A may be readily varied. For example, by adjusting legs  28  and  30 , rebounder A can be aligned with posts  6  and  8 , positioned to extend forward of posts  6  and  8  or positioned to extend rearward of posts  6  and  8 . By varying the orientation of rebounder A, the return path of the scoring object can be readily varied. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , netting C can extend beyond the outer perimeter of frame B. Netting C may also include a border  35  formed of a suitable material (e.g., elastomeric material) with hooks  36  secured to and extending outwardly from border  35 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , hooks  36  engage the corresponding posts  6  and  8  so that netting C covers areas outside the perimeter of frame B. When rebounder A is in the storage position, hooks  36  on one side of frame B may be interlocked with hooks  36  on the other side of frame B. 
     As seen in  FIG. 8 , netting C need not extend outside the perimeter of frame B. It will also be appreciated that netting C may be connected to frame B in any suitable manner. Further, the tension of netting C may be varied as desired to vary the rate at which the scoring object is returned to the shooter. Moreover, the size of the openings in the netting may be varied as the size of the scoring object varies to prevent the scoring object from passing through any opening in netting C. 
     While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that the preferred design can be further modified or adapted following in general the principles of the invention and including but not limited to such departures from the present invention as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains. The claims are not limited to the preferred embodiment and have been written to preclude such a narrow construction using the principles of claim differentiation.