Abstract:
A flexible collapsible curtain for hanging up as a football pitch backstop characterised by a flap protruding from the plane of the curtain to define a goal having a goal mouth in the plane of the curtain, wherein, in use, the edges of the goal mouth are defined by tension in the curtain.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    This invention relates to football goals for use in domestic gardens and more particularly to collapsible football goals and netting to prevent loss of a game ball into neighbouring areas. 
         [0002]    One of the biggest frustrations of playing football in the garden, playground or any confined space is that if you kick the ball at the goal and miss, the ball may fly over the fence into an area belonging to a third party, break a window, or damage property. 
         [0003]    In addition, if the goals used (whether a formal plastic or metal structure, or simply two jumpers on the ground) have no mesh or netting, then even a successfully scored goal can leave the football some way away or cause damage. 
         [0004]    Therefore there is a need for a football goal that helps prevent the ball from escaping from the end or ends of the pitch. 
         [0005]    Solutions exist in the form of low cost plastics frames supporting netting that may be tethered to the grass by means of pegs or hooks. These are considered undesirable as when not in use they damage the grass and are unsightly. They also only capture the ball when a goal is scored and provide no means of preventing escape of the ball onto other people&#39;s land. 
         [0006]    It would therefore be advantageous to provide a football goal that could be quickly and easily collapsed when not in use. 
         [0007]    According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a football goal and backstop in the form of a curtain as set forth in claim  1  of the appended claims. 
         [0008]    The present invention provides an all-in-one football goal curtain that acts as both a football goal and backstop to prevent the ball from escaping, without requiring the use of structural poles, that collapses and can be drawn away like a curtain. 
         [0009]    According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a method of creating a collapsible football goal as set forth in claim  16  of the appended claims. 
         [0010]    Of course the invention is not limited to use on a football pitch, but may be applicable to any game involving a projectile and a goal, such as hockey. 
         [0011]    The prior art discloses a number of Patents and Applications such as WO 2009/149402 A1; U.S. 2007/0158913 A1; U.S. 2009/0209372 A1; U.S. Pat. No. 6,849,009 B1). As is shown, conventional solutions for providing a backstop system involve attachment to an existing goal, and/or include a goal portion made of rigid poles. The present invention seeks to improve on this by providing an integral goal and backstop curtain having no rigid members to provide the structure of the goal. This makes it very easily erectable and collapsible. As erection of the goal and the backstop is provided entirely by tensioning either the net or the rope, in the absence of any rigid members such as those shown in the prior art, removal of the tension enables the entire goal and backstop to be collapsed or retracted, and if desired folded for storage. 
         [0012]    One exception to the above is provided by U.S. Pat. No.  5 , 277 , 430 . This patent discloses an all in one backstop and goal portion formed from a one piece net or curtain. In the embodiment disclosed it is intended to be attached over the mouth of an open garage. One limitation of the disclosure is the requirement to insert a rigid goal mouth to help define its shape. This inclusion prevents the goal and backstop from being quickly and easily retracted and makes the collapsed apparatus significantly heavier and bulkier than the solution proposed by the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which  FIGS. 1-4  successively illustrate the stages of assembly of the collapsible football goal according to the present invention, from a collapsed stage ( FIG. 1 ) to a fully erected stage ( FIG. 4 .). 
         [0014]    A cable  1  is suspended above a desired goal-line from a solid location at opposing sides  2  of an intended play area. The solid location could be a tree, a post, a fence, a wall, a designed pole, or any other suitable tethering point, the term solid merely indicating its capacity to support the weight of the cable  1  and subsequent curtain mesh supported thereby. The cable  1  may be permanently attached, or with hooks, allowing it to be selectively removed or retracted to one end, much like a retractable washing line. 
         [0015]    A substantial area of curtain  3 , including within it, a goal mouth, is supported so that it hangs from the overhead cable. It is free to slide along the cable, so that it opens and closes like a conventional window curtain. It may be attached by curtain hooks or loops, or the cable may be threaded through the netting or a sleeve attached to the top of the netting. The curtain may be made from any suitable material, mesh or otherwise, but is typically a nylon material. 
         [0016]    The hanging curtain  3  is larger than the goal mouth within it, ideally as wide and high as possible, so as to cover as much of the width and height of the goal line as possible to prevent the ball from escaping. 
         [0017]    The hanging curtain  3  and/or goal portion may be tensioned widthways by at least one tether, or for example a tethering rope  9 . In the preferred embodiment, the tethering rope  9  is secured such that it is unable to slide relative to the cross bar of the goal mouth. By securing the distal ends of the tethering rope  9  to similar fixed supports, the additional tension provided aids in clearly defining the goal mouth. 
         [0018]    In practice, it is preferable to secure the distal ends of the tethering rope  9  above the desired height of the cross bar. As stated, the tension in the rope  9  is what most effectively defines the shape and position of the cross bar of the goal. The cross bar may then be pulled downwards by additional vertical ropes and anchored to the ground. As a result of having to pull the cross bar down to its desired height, a vertical component of the tension in the tethering rope  9 , serves to tension the vertical ropes therein clearly defining the goal posts. 
         [0019]    Vertical tension in the remainder of the curtain may be provided by additional tethers at ground level. This may be achieved by the use of tent pegs or the like. Alternatively weights may be used to hold the base of the curtain at ground level. These also help the goal form a structured goal mouth shape without the need for rigid posts and help to prevent a ball rolling under the curtain. 
         [0020]    The preferred embodiment is therefore capable of performing all the required functions of a back stop and a goal without the need for rigid posts to be inserted as a framework into the back stop, goal mouth or goal in order to provide structure. It may still be desirable to provide such a frame work in order to provide a more rigid post or crossbar. The framework may consist of interlocking plastic or metal tubes or may be inflatable. The framework is typically inserted into sleeves within the curtain provided at the edges of the goal mouth. This enables players of the game to determine without ambiguity if a ball has ‘hit the post’ such as may occur when playing with a permanent goal structure. What is essential is that the goal back stop and goal mouth may be erected and clearly defined without the need for such support members, and their use should be deemed as optional. 
         [0021]    In the goal area  4  of the curtain  3 , the mesh may be modified with extra side panels  5  of netting inserted to allow it to retain the ball when the flap (goal) is pulled out of the plane of the curtain into the shape of a football goal. The mouth of the goal may be co-planar with the curtain, or alternatively, the curtain may form the back panel of the goal, with additional portions protruding out of the curtain  3  to provide the goal mouth. This latter embodiment is less preferable since it is more likely to require additional tensioning of some sort to provide structure to the goal mouth. 
         [0022]    The preferred embodiment, shown in the figures, has the goal mouth ‘cut-out’ from the curtain  3 , with a protruding flap  6 , forming the back and optionally the sides  5  of the goal. When the flap is pulled into position, the resulting back and optional side panels of the goal may then be attached to the ground either by pegs  7  in key locations, weights, or any other suitable method. This is both to establish the shape of the goal and to prevent ball from escaping under the net. 
         [0023]    The remainder  8  of the width of the main curtain  3  may be attached to the ground in the same way as above. 
         [0024]    It may be that the vertices of the goal mouth are marked or have some form of material attached so as to give the appearance of goalposts and crossbar. 
         [0025]    Alternatively the goal mouth or entire goal may be coloured differently to make it more easily distinguished from the remainder  8  of the curtain  3 .