Sports field barrier and method of constructing same

• US 4,290,602 A
• Filed: 04/27/1979
• Issued: 09/22/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert B. Kennedy
• Original Assignee: Robert B. Kennedy
• Inventors: Kennedy, Robert B.
• Primary Examiner(s): KUNDRAT, ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US06/034,126
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: 256/45, 256/35, 256/33, 256/34, 256/36, 256/32, 256/1, 256/12.5, 256/26, 256/27, 256/23, 273/29 R, 273/29 A, 273/26 A, 273/411, 272/3
• US Class Current: 472/94
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/022 Backstops, cages, enclosures or the like, e.g. for spectator protection, for arresting balls
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 17/05 Wire mesh or wire fabric

Abstract

A sports field barrier is disclosed for arresting the flight of a ball moving in one direction over a field of play and for rebounding the ball in another direction generally and usually reciprocal to the one direction and with the barrier being erected uprightly along a zigzag course adjacent the field of play. Where the sports field is a tennis court the barrier may be constructed by the steps of intertwining wire coils to form a section of wire mesh fencing, crimping the fencing section or mounting it to forms so as to form the wire coils into a zigzag shape, and mounted the fencing section to a fence frame with the coils stretched between a pair of upright stanchions.

Claims

1. A sports field barrier for arresting the flight of a ball moving in one direction over a field of play and for rebounding the ball in another direction generally and usually reciprocal to the one direction and with the barrier being errected uprightly along a zigzag course adjacent the field of play and comprising a pair of mutually spaced stanchions mounted uprightly along said course supporting a beam, and wire mesh fencing including a plurality of intermeshed wire coils extending generally horizontally along said zigzag course mounted to said pair of stanchions and suspended from said beam.

2. A sports field barrier for arresting the flight of a ball moving in one direction over a field of play and for rebounding the ball in another direction generally and usually reciprocal to the one direction and with the barrier being errected uprightly along a zigzag course adjacent the field of play and comprised of a frame having a pair of mutually spaced stanchions mounted uprightly along said course, a plurality of zigzag-shaped forms extending generally horizontally between said stanchions along said zigzag course, and wire mesh fencing comprised of a plurality of intermeshed wire coils extending generally vertically along said zigzag course mounted to said zigzag-shaped forms thereby shaping said fencing.

3. A fence for a tennis court comprising at least one pair of stanchions adapted to be mounted uprightly adjacent one side of the tennis court, an upright wire mesh barrier extending along a zigzag course between said stanchions comprised of a plurality of intermeshed wire coils extending generally horizontally along said zigzag course, and a beam supported by said pair of stanchions from which beam said wire mesh barrier is suspended.

4. A tennis court comprising a playing surface outlined with at least one field of play thereon and a wire mesh fence errected along a course that zigzags back and forth repeatedly between opposite sides of a linear path adjacent said field of play, whereby tennis balls hit against the wire mesh fence tend to be rebounded back towards the field of play in the general direction from which they were hit.

5. A tennis court in accordance with claim 4 wherein said wire mesh fence includes a plurality of intermeshed wire coils extending generally horizontally.

6. A tennis court comprising a playing surface outlined with at least one field of play thereon, and a wire mesh fence errected along a zigzag course adjacent said field of play that includes a plurality of generally horizontally mounted zigzag forms against which a plurality of intermeshed wire coils are secured, whereby tennis balls hit against the wire mesh fence tend to be rebounded back towards the field of play in the general direction from which they were hit.

7. A method of constructing tennis court fencing comprising the steps of:

(a) intertwinning a plurality of elongated wire coils to form a section of wire mesh fencing;

(b) crimping the fencing section so as to form the elongated wire coils into zigzag shapes; and

(c) mounting the fencing section to a fence frame with the coils streched between a pair of upright stanchions and with the fencing section suspended from a beam spanning the stanchions.

8. A method of constructing tennis court fencing comprising the steps of:

(a) intertwinning a plurality of elongated wire coils to form a section of wire mesh fencing;

(b) intertwinning a plurality of zigzag-shaped forms through the section of wire mesh fencing transverse to the elongated wire coils; and

(c) mounting the section of fencing between a pair of upright stanchions with the coils oriented generally parallel with the stanchions whereby the fencing section follows a zigzag course between the stanchions.

9. The method of constructing tennis court fencing in accordance with claim 8 wherein steps (a), (b) and (c) are performed sequentially.