Dual-use tennis court parking lot construction methods and apparatus

• US 3,982,758 A
• Filed: 11/06/1974
• Issued: 09/28/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Charles L. Howes Jr
• Original Assignee: Charles L. Howes Jr
• Inventors: Howes, Charles L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pinkham, Richard C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, T.
• Application Number:
  US05/521,516
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 273/29 R, 273/95 H, 273/30, 273/128 R, 273/1 B, 273/1.5 R, 273/29 A, 273/29 BB, 272/3, 256/19, 256/24, 256/52
• US Class Current: 473/474
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/028 Floor sockets for removable poles

Abstract

Apparatus for constructing a temporary, removable tennis court on a paved vehicle parking lot are described. Provisions are made for two contrasting types of pavement markings, and for two sets of socket holes in the pavement which receive complementary posts for nets and fencing, allowing quick and easy change from parking lot use to tennis court use and back again.

Claims

1. A dual-purpose paved parking lot-playing court assembly convertible between primary use as a parking lot and alternative primary playing court use as tennis courts, badminton courts, volleyball courts or the like comprising:

a. means forming a substantially level pavement graded for drainage and marked in a first color with parking indicia designating a plurality of side-by-side vehicle parking locations;

b. playing court border indicia positioned on the pavement and applied in a second color contrasting with the parking indicia'"'"'s first color and with the pavement surface color for high visibility;

c. temporary fencing removably mountable on the pavement in an extended configuration forming a border around at least a portion of the playing court border indicia;

d. at least two post anchoring sockets embedded in the substantially level pavement at points centrally located between opposed, facing end lines forming a portion of said border indicia; and

e. net means incorporating

3. The convertible dual-purpose court assembly defined in claim 1, further including permanent fencing installed on the pavement around a portion of the playing court border indicia, with the removable temporary fencing having ends positionable closely adjacent to the permanent fencing, providing an enclosure around a major portion of the periphery of the playing court border indicia.

5. The paved court assembly defined in claim 3, wherein the flexible netting is supported by poles secured to the netting at spaced intervals therealong and having anchor ends extending downwardly from the lower edge of the netting, and further defined by means forming concave anchor sockets embedded in the pavement and having upward-facing pole-receiving open ends, arrayed at spaced intervals around the playing court border indicia and thereby defining the position of the flexible netting when its supporting poles are telescopingly inserted in the anchor sockets to extend the flexible netting into its temporary fencing configuration enclosing the playing courts.

7. The paved court assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the net post anchor sockets comprise two rigid tubular post-receiving sleeves embedded in buried concrete blocks.

9. The dual-purpose paved court assembly defined in claim 1, further including an associated storage container-cart dimensioned to receive the removable temporary fencing for storage when it is removed from the pavement.

11. The dual-purpose paved court assembly defined in claim 1, further including an associated storage container-cart dimensioned to receive the nets, net posts and removable temporary fencing and supporting poles for the temporary fencing for combined storage and transportation when they are removed from the pavement.

2. a net, anda pair of net posts, the lower ends of which are securely mountable within the anchoring sockets, providing rigid, upstanding supports for maintaining the net extending therebetween taut and secure,

whereby a paved parking lot is easily convertible to function alternatively as either a pre-marked vehicle parking area or a pre-marked playing area complete with peripheral fencing and rigid, tautly held netting in the playing court.

4. The convertible paved court assembly defined in claim 2, wherein the removable temporary fencing comprises an elongated panel of flexible netting retractable into closely packed storage configuration, and deployable into an extended configuration to form with the permanent fencing a fencing enclosure around a major proportion of the periphery of the playing courts defined by playing court border indicia.

6. The paved court assembly defined in claim 4, wherein said poles are formed with mating portions sandwichingly securing the flexible netting therebetween.

8. The paved court assembly defined in claim 6, wherein the concrete blocks are substantially elongated in the direction in which the net is supported between the net posts for maximum overturning resistance, to counteract net tension and form a stable net post anchor support.

10. The dual-purpose paved court assembly defined in claim 8, wherein the storage container-cart is provided with removable wheels and a removable towing tongue, whereby the container-cart is adapted for conversion to a non-rolling storage container.

12. A dual-purpose paved parking lot-playing court assembly convertible to temporary sport use as tennis courts, badminton courts, volleyball courts or the like, comprising:

a. means forming a substantially level pavement graded for drainage and marked in a first color with parking indicia designating vehicle parking locations;

b. playing court border indicia positioned on the pavement and applied in a second color contrasting with the first color and with the pavement surface color for high visibility;

c. temporary fencing removably mountable on the pavement in an extended configuration forming a border around at least a portion of the playing court border indicia, and formed of an elongated panel of flexible netting retractable into closely packed storage configuration and deployable into an extended configuration, having secured thereto at spaced intervals a plurality of sleeves having upper blind ends and lower open ends;

d. a corresponding plurality of supporting poles telescopingly engaged in the sleeves and having anchor ends extending downwardly beyond the lower edge of the flexible netting; and

e. means forming concave anchor sockets embedded in the pavement and having upward-facing pole-receiving open ends, arrayed at correspondingly spaced intervals around the playing court border indicia and thereby defining the position of the flexible netting when its supporting poles are telescopingly inserted in the anchor sockets to extend the flexible netting into its temporary fencing configuration.