Patent Publication Number: US-2018036569-A1

Title: Trampoline Enclosure and Pad System

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is in the field of trampoline enclosure and pad systems. 
     DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART 
     Trampoline enclosures and trampoline spring covers have become more prevalent recently. Trampoline spring covers have been made as pads or sheets to cover the trampoline springs. Trampoline enclosures often include netting. 
     A variety of different trampoline enclosure and pad systems are described in United States patents. For example, Sidlinger in U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,009, issued Oct. 23, 1973, provides for a trampoline spring cover entitled Trampoline Support And Cushioning Means, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Inventor Steger in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,632 provides for A Trampoline Pad Assembly Having Variable Thickness, issued Feb. 27, 2001, entitled trampoline pad assembly, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Inventor Gift in U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,292, entitled Method And Apparatus For Attaching A Trampoline Pad, issued Apr. 7, 1998, provides for a method for attaching a pad to a trampoline frame using a tab. 
     Other trampoline pad systems allowed a different configuration of the pad and spring structure. Inventor Green in U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,368 issued Jul. 18, 1972, entitled trampoline, provides for a trampoline frame that has a spring suspended construction. A user landing on a trampoline pad attached to the trampoline frame with the spring suspended construction would benefit from the downward yielding movement over a portion of the frame in response to the exertion of a downward impact. Inventor Samuel Chen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,494,144 issued Feb. 24, 2009 entitled Adjustable Trampoline Pad System provides for a trampoline pad system that can be reconfigurable in a modular fashion. While the traditional foam block has been moderately successful, it can still be improved by changing the configuration. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A trampoline comprising a trampoline frame having legs. The trampoline frame has a trampoline frame horizontal portion. A trampoline bed is suspended across the trampoline frame horizontal portion. Springs extend between the trampoline frame and trampoline bed. An enclosure is connected to the trampoline frame. The enclosure has an enclosure upper support. The enclosure supports an enclosure net. A pad system covers the springs. The pad system includes a wall pad extending upwardly from the springs and terminating at a pad system apex. The pad system further includes a buttress pad connected to the pad system apex at an apex angle from the wall pad, which is defined as an angle between a wall pad outside surface and the buttress pad. The buttress pad extends downwardly to cover at least partially the trampoline frame horizontal portion. 
     A spring cover extends between the buttress pad and the wall pad. A pad system hollow is formed between the buttress pad and the wall pad and the spring cover. The spring cover is optional and optionally formed as a padded spring cover or as a sheet spring cover. The enclosure net is preferably double layered with an outside enclosure net parallel to an inside enclosure net. The outside enclosure net and the inside enclosure net have a different weave structure, such as if the outside enclosure net has larger net openings than the inside enclosure net. The inside enclosure net preferably has net openings that are less than 1 cm and the outside enclosure net has net openings that are greater than 1 cm. The apex angle is an acute angle that is preferably less than 60°. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of trampoline with a trampoline enclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a side section view of a trampoline with a trampoline enclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross section view of the trampoline pad system showing a padded spring cover. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross section view of the trampoline pad system showing a spring cover pad that is a thin sheet. 
     
    
    
     The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide in referencing the element numbers of the drawings.
       20  Trampoline Leg     21  Leg Angled Portion     22  Leg Vertical Portion     23  Leg Horizontal Portion     25  Lead Frame Connection     26  Leg Base Connection     30  Trampoline Frame Horizontal Portion     31  Spring     32  Bed     33  Spring Inside Connection     34  Spring Outside Connection     40  Enclosure     41  Enclosure Pole     42  Enclosure Upper Support     43  Enclosure Upper Connector     44  Enclosure Connector Receiver     45  Enclosure Pole Lower Connector     46  Pole Vertical Section     47  Indent     48  Step     50  Enclosure Net     51  Inside Enclosure Net     52  Outside Enclosure Net     53  Zipper     54  Enclosure Net Upper Connection     56  Net To Net Interface     57  Buckle     58  Zipper Lead Strip     59  Net Openings     60  Pad System     61  Buttress Pad     62  Wall Pad     63  Padded Spring Cover     64  Sheet Spring Cover     65  Pad System Spring Indent     66  Step Side Pad     67  Pad System Apex     68  Pad System Hollow     69  Inflatable Torus     71  Apex Angle     72  Inside Angle     73  Outside Angle     74  Wall Pad Inside Surface     75  Wall Pad Outside Surface   

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Generally, the trampoline has a trampoline bed  32  suspended on springs  31 . Springs  31  attach between the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30  and the trampoline bed  32 . The spring inside connection  33  connects the spring  31  to the trampoline bed  32 . The spring outside connection  34  connects the spring  31  to the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30 . The spring outside connection and the spring inside connection can be formed as hooks formed on both ends of the spring  31 . The hook ends can extend into the trampoline frame hollow portion  30 , which can be formed as a tube. 
     The trampoline leg  20  can be formed as a continuous rim, U-shaped members, or as simple vertical posts. The trampoline leg  20  shown in the drawings has a number of sections including a leg angled portion  21  extending at an angle from a leg vertical portion  22 . The leg vertical portion  22  is connected to the leg horizontal portion  23  at a leg base connection  26  to define a U-shaped leg member. The trampoline leg  20  connects to the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30  at a leg frame connection  25 . The trampoline leg  20  extends slightly beyond the circumferential periphery of the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30 . 
     The enclosure  40  is connected to the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30 . The enclosure  40  has an enclosure net  50  to retain users within the jumping area of the trampoline bed  32 . The trampoline bed  32  has a periphery attached to the springs. The periphery of the trampoline bed is covered by a pad system  60 . 
     The enclosure  40  includes enclosure poles  41  that connect to enclosure upper supports  42  via enclosure upper connectors  43 . The enclosure upper connectors preferably have enclosure connector receivers  44  that can be formed as sockets for receiving tubular ends of the enclosure upper support  42 . The enclosure pole  41  has an enclosure pole lower connector  45  that connects the enclosure pole  41  to the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30 . 
     The enclosure net upper connection  54  connects the enclosure net  52  the enclosure upper support  42 . The enclosure net upper connection  54  can be formed as a sleeve formed on the enclosure net  50 . The sleeve can form a hollow long cavity that receives the enclosure net upper support. The enclosure net upper connection  54  can also be stitched to the enclosure upper support  42 . 
     Preferably, the enclosure net  50  includes an outside enclosure net  52  and an inside enclosure net  51 . The outside enclosure net  52  has a different weave structure than the inside enclosure net  51 . The outside enclosure net  52  is preferably connected to the inside enclosure net  51  at a net to net interface  56 . The net to net interface  56  is formed as a strip that passes around the circumference of the enclosure  40 . The inside enclosure net can have net openings  59  that are less than 1 cm and the outside enclosure net can have net openings  59  that are greater than 1 cm. 
     A zipper  53  is preferably formed through both layers, namely the outside enclosure net  52  and the inside enclosure net  51 . The zipper  53  is sewn to both the outside enclosure net  52  and the inside enclosure net  51 . The zipper  53  has a zipper lead strip  58 . The zipper lead strip  58  is also sewn to the inside enclosure net  51  and the outside enclosure net  52 . The zipper lead strip  58  can also be sewn to the net to net interface  56 . The zipper  53  can be supplemented or replaced by a set of buckles  57 . The buckles  57  can be placed at a bottom or lower edge of the enclosure net  50  or at a middle of the enclosure net  50 . 
     When entering the zippered opening of the enclosure  40 , a user can use a step  48 . The step  48  is formed on an indent  47 . The step  48  can be made of a plank or thick sheet of plastic such as high density polyethylene. It could also be made of wood or steel, but a thick plastic sheet is preferred. The step  48  when made as a plank preferably overlies the springs to allow a user a safe entry. The plank can be enclosed in a foam pad and placed inside a fabric cover. 
     The indent can be supported by a step side pad is six and a wall pad  62 . The indent is formed between the pair of step side pads  66  which are triangular shaped side pads. The enclosure net is preferably connected to the net lower connection  55  either at the pad system apex  67  or lower near the spring inside connection  33 . 
     The pad system  60  can be padded or just a thin sheet. The pad system  60  includes a wall pad  62  that extends upwardly from the bed  32 . The wall pad  62  has a supplemental support of a buttress pad  61 . The buttress pad  61  has a larger diameter than the wall pad  62  and is angled toward the wall pad  62  so that the buttress pad  61  connects to the wall pad  62  at a pad system apex  67 . The pad system apex  67  joins the buttress pad  61  with the wall pad  62  to form a pad frame. The pad frame is formed of pad material which can be foam or sheeting or both in a combination such as a laminate construction. The foam is preferably covered by the sheeting. The buttress pad  61  and the wall pad  62  have a pad system hollow  68  formed between the buttress pad  61  and the wall pad  62 . The pad system hollow  68  has space for receiving an inflatable torus  63  that can be formed as a bladder that can be made in sections and inserted into the pad system hollow  68 . The cross-section of the pad system hollow  68  is generally triangular, and the pad system  60  also generally has a triangular cross section. 
     When a user falls on the pad system, the user contacts the pad system apex  67 . The pad system apex  67  supports the user resiliently to push the user away from the trampoline frame horizontal portion  30 . The lower end of the buttress pad  61  and the lower end of the wall pad  62  are preferably connected together by a sheet spring cover  64  or by a padded spring cover  63 . 
     The triangular cross section of the pad system  60  produces a variety of geometric configurations that have definable measurements including an apex angle  71 . The apex angle  71  is an angle of the surfaces of the buttress pad  61  and the wall pad  62 . The inside angle  72  is the angle between the padded spring cover  63  and the wall pad  62 . The outside angle  73  is the angle between the buttress pad  61  and the padded spring cover  63 . The wall pad inside surface  74  is the inside surface of the wall pad that faces the trampoline bed  32 . The wall pad outside surface  75  is the outside surface of the wall pad that faces the buttress pad  61 . The apex angle  71  is taken between the wall pad outside surface  75  and the buttress pad  61  inside surface. The apex angle  71  is preferably acute and preferably less than 60°. The height of the wall pad  62  is longer than the spring  31  when the spring  31  is not in an elongated position but rather is in a neutral resting position. 
     The wall pad preferably includes a lower extension that forms a pad system spring indent  65  that fits over at least a portion of the spring  31 . The pad system spring indent  65  conforms to a profile of the spring  31 . 
     The trampoline pad is formed of a pair of annular flexible foam members. Each of the flexible foam members are attached to each other at a folding junction. The foam members can be encapsulated within a fabric shell. Thus, when a user falls on the pad system and contacts the pad system apex  67 , the pad system apex  67  folds over the spring  31  and trampoline horizontal frame tube  30 . The folding action resists force because it requires a deformation of the entire pad system. Also, the folding action optionally compresses the inflatable member  69 .