Punching bag and support

• US 4,953,852 A
• Filed: 04/26/1988
• Issued: 09/04/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Patrick T. Donohue
• Original Assignee: Patrick T. Donohue
• Inventors: Donohue, Patrick T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crow, Stephen R.
• Application Number:
  US07/186,453
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 272/76, 272/77, 272/78, 272/130, 272/71, 84/327, 446/222, 446/220, 446/221, 446/224, 273/65
• US Class Current: 482/87
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/12 specially adapted for children
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2209/14 with form or shape memory materials
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/055 used for fixing
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/093 Height
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/62 Inflatable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/222 suspended from a fixed support
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/023 Supports, e.g. poles

Abstract

In a light duty punching bag and mounting arrangement, the bag is made from two balloons. A first balloon is inflated inside another, the two uniting to form a durable suitably resilient bag. Basis for suspension of the bag is a collar sandwiched between the walls of the two balloons and held there by a clamping force resulting from inflation pressure. Articulated connection to an overhead rebound board is by a short flexible tube and a ball pivot in tandem. These help produce a desirable rebounding characteristic, close to that of a professional punching bag. Several mounting methods are disclosed including at least one which provides a convenient height adjustment.

Claims

1. A punching bag assembly comprising:

a first bag, inflatable and having a wall of a first elastic material and an inflation orifice;

a second bag having a wall of a second elastic material and an opening in the wall, said first and second materials having substantially similar material properties, the first bag being contained within the second bag with the inflation orifice in register with the opening and inflated so that it exerts pressure outwards and distends the second bag, the elasticity of the materials helping to establish a tension in the walls of both bags so that said walls substantially unite to define a single resilient envelope; and

suspension means having a collar including an orifice and disposed in the opening of the second bag so as to be captured by the bags upon inflation of the first bag and retained between said walls by the tension established in the respective walls so that the opening of the second bag is distended elastically over the collar and the suspension means is substantially integrated with the walls and the first bag inflation orifice is accessible through the collar orifice.

2. The punching bag assembly of claim 1 wherein the suspension means includes an articulated connection comprising, in tandem, a universal swivel and a short flexible element.

3. The punching bag assembly of claim 2 wherein the universal swivel comprises a ball and socket.

4. The punching bag assembly of claim 2 wherein the flexible element is an elastic tube.

5. The punching bag assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and second bags comprise similar inflatable balloons.

6. A punching bag for suspension when in use comprising:

an inflatable elastic bag,

an elastic casing for surrounding the inflatable bag and having a wall and an opening in the wall;

an adapter including a neck having an outer end and an inner end, and a skirt extending outwardly and substantially concentrically from the inner end; and

,

in assembly, the adapter being inserted into the casing with the neck emerging from the casing opening and the bag being inserted into the casing, bag and casing being sized so that when the bag is inflated it distends the casing so that the skirt of the adapter is retained between bag and casing.

7. The punching bag of claim 6 and including an attachment cap for capping the neck of the adapter and means for securing the attachment cap to the adapter and a suspension connection element extending from the cap.

8. The punching bag of claim 7 wherein, in assembly, the attachment cap may be manipulated to bias the casing against the skirt of the adapter.

9. The punching bag of claim 7 wherein the means for securing the cap includes mating screw threads on the tubular neck of the adapter and on the attachment cap.

10. The punching bag of claim 6 wherein the inflatable bag and the casing are both made from a similar imperforate elastic material and wherein in assembly the inflatable bag is inflated so that casing and bag are substantially contiguous overall, so as to define a substantially unitary resilient ball.

11. The punching bag of claim 6 wherein in assembly, with the bag inflated, the retention of the skirt of the adapter between bag and casing depends entirely on the inflation of the bag.

22. The punching bag of claim 10 wherein the inflatable bag and the elastic casing comprise similar inflatable balloons.

12. A punching bag and suspension comprising, in combination:

a punching bag including an inflatable elastic bag and an elastic casing for enveloping the bag so that when the bag is inflated the casing is brought into intimate contact with the bag;

a connecting collar including a connecting portion and a skirt portion depending from the connecting portion, the collar being disposed so that upon inflation the skirt is held between the bag and the casing and the connecting portion is directed generally radially outwards from the punching bag;

a peg carried by the connecting portion and in assembly extending generally radially from the punching bag;

a ball and socket pivot, including a ball having a radially extending peg and a socket for attachment in a depending relationship to a generally horizontal overhead surface, so that the ball may be retained in the socket with the peg extending downwards; and

a flexible connecting element comprising a short length of elastic tubing having opposite open ends, the first and second pegs being insertable, one each in the opposite open ends of the tubing, tubing and pegs being sized so that the tubing grips the pegs sufficiently to maintain the punching bag connected to the overhead surface during normal punching bag operation.

13. The punching bag and suspension of claim 12 wherein, when the punching bag is suspended from the overhead surface, the connecting element is in tension and wherein the elastic tubing and the first and second pegs are sized so that the tubing is released from at least one of the pegs, when a predetermined tension is exceeded.

14. The punching bag and suspension of claim 12 wherein at least one of the first and second pegs is tapered so that progressive insertion of said peg into an open end of the elastic tubing increasingly distends said tubing.

15. A punching bag and mounting comprising, in combination:

a punching bag including an inflatable elastic bag and an elastic casing enveloping the inflatable bag, so that when the bag is inflated the casing is distended and conforms to the shape of the bag;

a platform for suspending the punching bag and having means for releasably mounting the platform on an upright surface; and

articulated suspension means extending between the platform and the bag for swingably suspending the bag and including, in tandem arrangement, a swivel having a pivot center and a short normally linear flexible element.

16. The punching bag and mounting of claim 15 wherein the pivot center of the swivel is retained in a fixed relationship to the platform.

17. A method of making a punching bag comprising the steps of:

procuring first and second similar balloons, each having an inflation neck defining an orifice;

b. inserting a stiff collar having a central aperture into the inflation neck of the first balloon so that the orifice of the first balloon and the aperture of the collar register, and so that the wall of the balloon overlaps the collar;

c. inserting the second balloon through the aperture of the collar;

d. inflating the second balloon so that it distends the first balloon and so that inflation pressure is sufficient to secure the collar between the walls of the first and second balloons; and

e. suspending the punching bag by connecting the collar to a fixed support.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of suspending the punching bag includes attaching a cap to the collar and the further step of adjusting the cap so as to create an additional biasing of the wall of the first balloon onto the collar.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of connecting to a fixed support, includes connecting the cap to said support.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of suspending the punching bag includes connecting a flexible element and a swivel in tandem between the collar and the fixed support.

21. The method of claim 17 including the additional step of removing the inflation neck from the first balloon so as to enlarge the orifice of said balloon.