Recreational stairway slide

• US 7,789,761 B1
• Filed: 06/09/2005
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: His Ministry Of Saginaw, Inc.
• Original Assignee: His Ministry Of Saginaw, Inc.
• Inventors: Lumsden, Piper
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIEN T
• Application Number:
  US11/148,797
• Time in Patent Office: 1,916 Days
• Field of Search: 472/116, 472/117, 472/128, 472/129, 472/134, 472/136, 472/137, 182 48- 50, 244/137.2
• US Class Current: 472/116
• CPC Class Codes: A63G 21/02 without rails

Abstract

A stairway slide assembly including an anchoring approach pad at the top of the stairway, an intermediate inflatable slide section for overlying the stairway steps and an deceleration section at the bottom of the stairway. A slide section includes a plurality of inflatable, longitudinally extending air passages which are formed by sealing laterally spaced apart elongate confronting portions of a pair of air impervious sheets. An inflatable support base is coupled to and underlies the slide and includes transversely extending inflatable air passages received on the steps and supporting the underside of the slide in spaced relation with the underlying steps.

Claims

1. A recreational stairway slide assembly adapted for removable installation on an inclined stairway having a plurality of treads spaced from one another by vertical risers of selected height and extending between an upper floor and a lower landing, said slide assembly comprising:

an elongate inflatable slide member of such length as to overlie said treads and extend from said upper floor to said landing;

an inflatable base member underlying said slide member; and

a plurality of inflatable tubular sections carried by and underlying said base member and being spaced from one another a distance corresponding to that of said treads thereby enabling said tubular sections to be supported by said treads,

each of said tubular sections having a height so related to the height of said risers that when said tubular sections are supported by said treads said slide member occupies a level above that of said treads.

2. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable base and said inflatable slide are coupled together.

3. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 2 wherein said inflatable slide comprises a first pair of upper and lower confronting sheets of material sealed together at a plurality of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending portions to define a plurality of elongate inflatable tube sections therebetween;

and

wherein said base comprises a second pair of upper and lower confronting sheets of material sealed together along a plurality of longitudinally spaced, laterally extending portions.

4. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 3 wherein said upper sheet of said first pair of sheets and said lower sheet of said second pair of sheets are integral and said lower sheet of said first pair and said upper sheet of said second pair are integral.

5. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 including coupling means for detachably coupling said inflatable stairway slide assembly to the stairway.

6. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable slide lies in a first plane and includes an entrance end at one end of said slide and an exit end at the opposite end of said slide;

an entrance end section integral with said entrance end for disposition on said upper floor; and

a deceleration exit end section integrally coupled to said exit end for disposition on said lower exit landing.

7. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 6 wherein said entrance end section and said deceleration exit end section are foldable downwardly and upwardly, respectively, relative to said first plane to lie in second and third parallel planes, respectively.

8. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 7 wherein said deceleration exit end section is inflatable independently of said inflatable slide and includes a first deceleration portion having a predetermined height and an adjacent terminal deceleration bumper having a substantially greater height relative to said predetermined height.

9. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 7 including anchoring means for detachably anchoring said entrance end section to the stairway.

10. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable slide includes an upstream entrance end and a downstream exit end;

and said stairway slide assembly further includes

a non-inflatable approach pad integrally coupled to said upstream entrance end, and

means for detachably coupling said approach pad to the upper floor.

11. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 10 further including an inflatable deceleration section integrally coupled to said downstream exit end;

and first and second inflation means independently connected to said inflatable slide and said inflatable deceleration section, respectively, for independently inflating said inflatable slide and said inflatable deceleration section, respectively.

12. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable slide includes a plurality of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending inflatable tubes.

13. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable base and said inflatable slide are integral.

14. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 13 wherein said inflatable slide includes upstream and downstream ends;

and said slide assembly further includes an independently inflatable deceleration section integrally, swingably coupled to said downstream end of said inflatable slide; and

an approach pad integrally, swingably coupled to said upstream end of said inflatable slide.

15. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable tubular sections are right circular cylinders.

16. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable tubular sections are triangular in cross-section;

and said stairway slide assembly further includes means detachably coupling said inflatable tubular sections to said inflatable slide.

17. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said inflatable slide comprises a first pair of upper and lower confronting sheets of air impervious material sealed together at a plurality of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending portions to define a plurality of elongate inflatable tube sections therebetween;

and said base comprises a second pair of upper and lower confronting sheets of material sealed together along a plurality of longitudinally spaced, laterally extending portions to define said transversely disposed tubular inflatable sections therebetween.

18. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 17 wherein said upper sheet of said first pair of sheets and said lower sheet of said second pair of sheets are integral and said lower sheet of said first pair and said first pair and said upper sheet of said second pair of sheets are integral.

19. The assembly according to claim 1 wherein said slide member and said base member are of substantially corresponding width, said width being less than that of said stairway.

20. A stairway slide assembly for facilitating one'"'"'s sliding down an inclined stairway having a plurality of treads disposed between an upper entrance end and a lower end, said slide assembly comprising:

a first pair of upper and lower, elongate air impermeable sheets disposed in confronting relation with each other and including confronting portions sealed together to form

an elongate inflatable slide section lying in a first predetermined plane;

a non-inflatable anchoring section at one end of said slide section, and

an inflatable decelerating end section at an opposite end of said slide section;

portions of said upper and lower sheets in said non-inflatable anchoring section being sealed together and downwardly foldable to lie in a second plane inclined relative said first plane;

means for detachably coupling said portions of said upper and lower sheets in said anchoring section to the upper entrance end of the stairway;

said decelerating end section being upwardly foldable relative to said elongate slide section to lie in a third plane inclined relative to said first plane, to extend outwardly away from the lower end of the stairway.

21. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 20 wherein said third plane is parallel to said first plane.

22. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 21 wherein second confronting portions of said upper and lower sheets in said inflatable slide section are sealed together to form at least one transversely extending air passage in open fluid communication with each of said tubular sections.

23. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 20 wherein laterally spaced apart longitudinally extending portions of said upper and lower sheets are sealed together to define a plurality of longitudinally extending inflatable tubular sections therebetween.

24. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 20 further including an inflatable base comprising a transversely disposed cushioning member disposed on each of the treads for supporting longitudinally spaced portions of said slide sections in spaced relation with the treads.

25. A stairway slide assembly for mounting along less than the full width of an elongate, vertically inclined stairway having a plurality of adjacent treads;

said slide assembly comprising;

an elongate, independently inflatable slide section having an upstream entrance end and a downstream exit end and adapted when inflated to lie in a first predetermined plane;

a non-inflatable approach pad integrally, swingably coupled to said upstream entrance end for movement to an inclined position lying in a second plane inclined relative to said first plane;

an independently inflatable deceleration section integrally, swingably coupled to aid downstream exit end for movement, when inflated, to a position lying in a third plane inclined relative to said first plane and parallel to said second plane; and

means for detachably anchoring said approach pad to the stairway.

26. The stairway slide assembly set forth in claim 25 wherein said inflatable slide section, said non-inflatable approach pad, and said inflatable deceleration section are formed from a pair of upper and lower juxtaposed, air impervious sheets having

confronting contiguous upstream end sections sealed together to form said noninflatable approach pad;

confronting downstream end sections including first confronting contiguous sheet portions sealed together, in air impervious relation to define an inflatable airway therebetween in said inflatable deceleration section; and

confronting intermediate sections having upstream and downstream ends integrally coupled to said upstream end sections and said downstream end sections respectively;

said confronting intermediate sections including second longitudinally extending, laterally spaced apart confronting contiguous sheet portions between said upstream and downstream ends sealed together in air impervious relation and second inflatable sheet portions between said sections contiguous sheet portions which define inflatable airways for said slide section.