Basketball safety return II

• US 6,416,431 B1
• Filed: 06/02/2000
• Issued: 07/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gorman E. Keehn Sr, Joseph J. Connelly
• Original Assignee: Gorman E. Keehn Sr, Joseph J. Connelly
• Inventors: Keehn, Gorman E. Sr., Connelly, Joseph J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sewell, Paul T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAMBERS, MICHAEL S
• Application Number:
  US09/587,252
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 473/472, 473/473, 473/476, 473/451, 473/447
• US Class Current: 473/472
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/12 specially adapted for children
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0071 for basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/022 Backstops, cages, enclosures or the like, e.g. for spectator protection, for arresting balls

Abstract

A basketball safety apparatus which comprises sections of netting adapted to be used in conjunction with a basketball goal, movable pole support bases which are adapted to be positioned in proximity to the basketball goal and a driveway that connects to a street, and a plurality of poles adapted to be mounted vertically in the pole support bases. The sections of netting are connected to the vertically mounted poles or to the basketball goal. The netting has mesh size is sufficiently small to stop a basketball, and the poles and bases are mounted and arranged so that the netting forms a barrier in one or more directions from the basketball goal and across the driveway.

Claims

1. A basketball safety apparatus to be used in conjunction with a basketball hoop and backboard mounted on a basketball goal post, comprising:

sections of netting, quadrilateral in shape, sloping downwardly, from a maximum height slightly above the basketball hoop at or near the basketball goal post to a lesser height away from the goal post, each section having strips of cloth sewn to the four edges thereof forming borders therearound, said netting having a maximum interstitial space between strands thereof narrow enough to stop a basketball;

a plurality of movable pole support bases;

a plurality of poles adapted to be mounted vertically in the movable pole support bases;

a plurality of connectors for connecting the sections of netting to the vertically mounted poles; and

the poles and bases being mounted and arranged such that the sections of netting form a barrier in two approximately orthogonal directions in which at least one section of netting forms a barrier across a driveway which connects to a street and other sections of netting form a backdrop behind the backboard of the basketball goal post.

2. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pole support bases are comprised of containers adapted to receive one end of the vertical mounted poles said containers being adapted to be filled with ballast.

3. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ballast is sand.

4. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ballast is water.

5. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vertically mounted poles are comprised of lengths of polyvinyl chloride pipe (PVC) pipe approximately five-and-one-half feet long wherein said lengths may be readily joined for assembly.

6. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sections of netting are removably connected to the vertically mounted poles by two rectangular strips of cloth each sewn to the vertical side borders of two adjacent sections of netting forming a sleeve adapted to slide over a vertically mounted pole when connecting two adjacent sections of netting to a pole situate therebetween.

7. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sections of netting are removably connected to the vertically mounted poles by a single rectangular piece of cloth whose vertical parallel edges are both sewn to a vertical side border of a section of netting forming a sleeve adapted to slide over a pole when connecting a section of netting to a pole situate at the end of said section of netting.

8. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sections of netting are connected to the vertically mounted poles by a plurality of fasteners and wherein there are a plurality of grommets installed in the vertical side borders of each said section of netting.

9. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two sections of netting at or near the location of maximum height forming the backdrop behind the backboard are removably connected to the basketball goal post by C-hooks, one end of each C-hook hung over a vertical support bar of the goal post and the other end hooked under the top border of a section of said netting.

10. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two sections of netting at or near the location of maximum height forming the backdrop behind the backboard are removably connected to the basketball goal post by strips of hook-and-loop material, each strip of hook-and-loop material looped over a vertical support bar of the goal post and under the top border of a section of said netting.

11. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each fastener comprises an eyenut, an eyebolt, and a hook-spring wherein the eyenut is connected to the eyebolt through an opening drilled through a vertically mounted pole, the eye of said eyebolt is attached to one end of a first hook-spring, the other end of the first hook-spring is attached to a grommet secured to the vertical side border of one of two adjacent sections of netting, the eye of said eyenut is connected to one end of a second hook-spring, and the other end of the second hook-spring is attached to a grommet secured to the vertical side border of the other of the two adjacent sections of netting, when connecting two adjacent sections of netting to a vertical pole situate therebetween.

12. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each fastener comprises an eyenut, an eyebolt, and a hook-spring wherein each the eyenut is connected to the eyebolt through an opening drilled through a vertically mounted pole, the eye of said eyebolt is attached to one end of a hook-spring, the other end of the hook-spring is attached to a grommet secured to the vertical side border of a section of netting, when connecting a vertical pole to a single section of netting.

13. A basketball safety apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sections of netting forming the backdrop behind the backboard are connected to and supported by the basketball goal post by fasteners, each fastener comprises an eyenut, an eyebolt, and a hook-spring wherein each eyenut is connected to an eyebolt through an opening drilled through the basketball goal post, the eye of said eyebolt is attached to one end of a first hook-spring, the other end of the first hook-spring is attached to a grommet secured to the vertical side border of one of two adjacent sections of netting, the eye of said eyenut is connected to one end of a second hook-spring, and the other end of the second hook-spring is attached to a grommet secured to the vertical side border of the other of the two adjacent sections of netting, when connecting two adjacent sections of netting to the basketball goal post, situate therebetween.

14. A kit for assembling a basketball safety structure, the kit to be assembled for use in connection with a basketball hoop and backboard mounted at a height on a basketball goal post in proximity to a driveway which connects to a street, comprising:

a plurality of sections of netting, quadrilateral in shape, said plurality of sections including two sections each having opposite ends and which slope in height from a maximum height at least about equal to the height of the basketball hoop at one end to a lesser height at the opposite end, each section having strips of cloth sewn to the four edges thereof forming borders therearound, said netting having a maximum interstitial space between strands thereof narrow enough to stop a basketball;

a plurality of movable pole support bases;

a plurality of poles adapted to be mounted vertically in the movable pole support bases;

a plurality of connectors for connecting the sections of netting to the vertically mounted poles; and

the poles, bases, and sections of netting being adapted to be mounted and arranged such that the sections of netting form a barrier in two approximately orthogonal directions in which at least one section of netting forms a barrier across the driveway which connects to the street and the two sections of netting being arranged and located with their vertical borders of maximum height substantially together to form a backdrop behind the backboard of the basketball goal post.

15. A kit for assembling a basketball safety apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the pole support bases are comprised of containers adapted to receive one end of the vertical mounted poles said containers being adapted to be filled with ballast.

16. A kit for assembling a basketball safety apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the vertically mounted poles are comprised of lengths of polyvinyl chloride pipe (PVC) pipe approximately five-and-one-half feet long wherein said lengths may be readily joined for assembly.

17. A kit for assembling a basketball safety apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the sections of netting are adapted to be removably connected to the vertically mounted poles by two rectangular strips of cloth each sewn to the vertical side borders of two adjacent sections of netting forming a sleeve adapted to slide over a vertically mounted pole when connecting two adjacent sections of netting to a pole situate therebetween.

18. A kit for assembling a basketball safety apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the sections of netting are adapted to be removably connected to the vertically mounted poles by a single rectangular piece of cloth whose vertical parallel edges are both sewn to a vertical side border of a section of netting forming a sleeve adapted to slide over a pole when connecting a section of netting to a pole situate at the end of said section of netting.

19. A kit for assembling a basketball safety apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the two sections of netting at or near the location of maximum height forming the backdrop behind the backboard are adapted to be removably connected to the basketball goal post by C-hooks, one end of each C-hook hung over a vertical support bar of the goal post and the other end hooked under the top border of a section of said netting.

20. A kit for assembling a basketball safety apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the two sections of netting at or near the location of maximum height forming the backdrop behind the backboard are adapted to be removably connected to the basketball goal post by strips of hook-and-loop material, each strip of hook-and-loop material looped over a vertical support bar of the goal post and under the top border of a section of said netting.

21. A kit for assembling a basketball safety structure, the kit to be assembled for use in connection with a basketball hoop and backboard mounted at a height on a basketball goal post in proximity to a driveway which connects to a street, comprising:

a plurality of sections of netting, quadrilateral in shape, said plurality of sections including two sections each having opposite ends and which slope in height from a maximum height at least about equal to the height of the basketball hoop at one end to a lesser height about one-half the maximum height at the opposite end and at least one additional section of height about one-half the maximum height, each section having strips of cloth sewn to the four edges thereof forming borders therearound, said netting having a maximum interstitial space between strands thereof narrow enough to stop a basketball;

a plurality of movable pole support bases;

a plurality of poles adapted to be mounted vertically in the movable pole support bases;

a plurality of connectors for connecting the sections of netting to the vertically mounted poles; and

the poles, bases, and sections of netting being adapted to be mounted and arranged such that the sections of netting form a barrier in two approximately orthogonal directions in which at least the at least one additional section of netting forms a barrier across the driveway which connects to the street and the two sections of netting being arranged and located with their ends of maximum height substantially together to form a backdrop behind the backboard of the basketball goal post.