Patent Publication Number: US-6342015-B1

Title: Double wall slide with varying sloped slide bed playground slide

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to slides and, more specifically, to molded playground slides for residential use. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Playgrounds can be found in every city. Although the equipment varies considerably among playgrounds, a common objective of all playground equipment is to provide a safe and entertaining atmosphere for children of all ages. 
     One piece of equipment found in most residential playgrounds is the slide. Typically, residential playground slides include a slide bed with a supported top surface and a bottom surface that rests on a separate footing, connected to the underside of the slide bed. When a typical slide bed is installed, the slope of the slide bed is somewhere between 30° and 60°. Slide beds are generally made from wood, metal, plastic or any other materials with a low friction coefficient, or materials that can be treated to reduce the friction coefficient. For safety reasons, slide beds are bounded by attached side walls to keep the user from falling off the slide. Most slide bed walls are a few inches in height. 
     Typical residential playground slides have many disadvantages. First, most residential slides are molded with a single wall design. This is inferior because a single wall provides less stability from flexing and requires that the slide walls be thick enough to provide the necessary stability of a safe slide. Additionally, the added thickness results in increased weight and costs associated with manufacturing. Second, most residential slides contain constant sloped slide beds reducing the slide speed. In addition, residential slides contain separate footings. These footings can separate from the underside of the slide bed overturning, creating a potentially dangerous condition. Finally, typical residential slides have very low side walls for stopping the user from falling of the slide bed. 
     Most residential playground slides are molded from plastic material, such as polyethylene or similar material. Plastic molded residential slides generally contain a single wall design. Single wall slides are disadvantageous in that they flex when weight is applied to the slide bed. The flexing of the slide bed destabilizes the overall slide. Such instability can result in serious injuries. To counteract the instability, manufacturers of single wall slides may add additional supports to the slide; for example, a strut may be placed under a portion of the slide bed. However, this solution adds expense and assembly complexity to the slide. 
     Another disadvantage of residential slide beds is that their slide beds have a constant slope design with transitions at the entrance and exit areas. The transition areas are generally of a reduced slope allowing for easy ingress on and egress off the slide. The constant slope provides a slow and uneventful ride down the slide. Thus, children become bored and find other methods of traversing the slide, such as sliding down while standing up, which can cause severe injuries. 
     Stable slide beds are imperative for providing safe playground equipment in the residential market. Current residential slide beds contain separate footings for resting on the ground. Generally, the footing is connected, during installation, to the underside of the slide. Unfortunately, a separate footing weakens the overall stability of the slide, especially under heavy use conditions. 
     Lastly, the most important function of residential playground slides is to provide a piece of equipment that keeps the user from falling off and injuring themselves. But common residential slides contain flat slide beds with low side walls. The side walls function to keep the user on the slide bed and from injuring themselves. 
     The above mentioned disadvantages are overcome by the slide of the present invention as described below in the summary of the invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is a double wall, scooped slide with a variable slope bed and integrally formed footing for use in residential playground setups. A rotational molded process forms the slide as a single piece. The slide includes a foot for raising the bottom end of the slide bed off the ground. The slide bed&#39;s surface and walls are formed as a generally U-shaped, semi-circular slide bed, allowing for increased safety and structural support. The scooped shape provides a geometric contour and higher side walls that collectively help prevent the user from falling off the slide. The built-in footing lowers manufacturing costs. In addition, the unitary, single piece slide bed and footing increases stability and safety of the slide. The increased safety and stability result because the footing will not separate from the slide bed during operation of the slide. 
     The slide is rotationally molded from plastic, for example, polyethylene. The mold forms a double wall design increasing structural stability and eliminating the need for attached support structures. In addition, the present invention contains a variable sloped slide bed. The variable slope design allows the user to accelerate while traversing the slide. The acceleration is accomplished without increasing the height of the slide or jeopardizing the safety of the user. 
     The present invention seeks to accomplish the following objectives: 
     to provide a slide with a double walled design increasing strength and stability; 
     to cost effectively provide a double walled slide; 
     to provide a slide with an integrated molded foot, thereby further decreasing manufacturing costs and increasing overall slide stability; 
     to provide a slide with a variable slope slide bed surface for increasing acceleration of the user; and 
     to provide a safe slide producing increased speeds. 
     Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary slide of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the slide of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of the slide of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view, from the bottom, of the slide of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a double wall scooped slide (“slide”)  10 . Slide  10  may be formed from plastic, such as, polyethylene or some similar material using a rotational molding process, or other suitable process for molding plastic. Slide  10  has a first end  16  and second end  14  between which ends  14 , 16  is a slide bed  15 . The first end  16  is the entrance area and the second end  14  is the exit area. The first end  16  attaches to a platform. An integrated molded foot  12  raises second end  14  approximately 7 inches off the ground. Foot  12  is manufactured as part of the underside of slide bed  15  during the rotational molding process. 
     Slide bed  15  is shaped as a U-shaped scoop with integrally coupled side walls  18  and  20 . The scooped U-shaped form creates a generally semi-circular slide bed  15 . Slide bed  15 , integrated side walls  18  and  20 , and integrated molded foot  12  are formed from a one piece double walled design (see FIGS.  3 - 4 ). Slide  10  also includes preformed, integrated, molded ribs  22  and  23  that run along the longitudinal axis of the semi-circular slide bed  15 . Ribs  22  and  23  provide added stability and structural strength to slide bed  15 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, slide  10  omits the ordinary constant sloped design of common residential slides. Instead, slide  10  contains a shallow slope at the first end  16 , with a varying slope between points  17  and  19 , at which point the slope begins to shallow out again at end  14 . The transition from a shallow to increased and back to a shallow slope creates a dip  25 , that deviates from a constant slope line  11 , running from first end  16  to the second end  14 , as best seen in FIG.  2 . Dip  25  forms an area of the slide bed  15  that accelerates a user in speed while she traverses the length of slide bed  15 . The acceleration down the slide is due to the force of gravity exerted on the user and an angle theta (θ) between a line parallel to the ground and a line tangent to the slope of the slide bed  15 , along any given point on slide bed  15 . Therefore, as the angle theta (θ)  12  increases due to an increasing slope the acceleration of the moving body along this portion of slide  15  increases, and as the angle theta (θ)  13  decreases along this portion of slide  15 , deceleration of the moving body occurs. 
     As best illustrated in FIG. 2, a slide bed with a constant slope is represented by the dashed line  11 . The varying slope design is clearly seen by comparing slide bed  15  of the present invention with line  11  representing the constant sloped slide bed. Slide bed  15  dramatically dips below line  11  because of the varying slope. Although the slope of slide bed  15  produces accelerated speeds, safety is never compromised because of the scooped wall design resulting in high sturdy walls  18  and  20 . 
     The forgoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, and describing embodiments of the present invention, a U-shaped, double wall, varying sloped residential slide with integrated footing. Modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.