US2823034A - Recreation enclosure - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 11, 1958 H. BINGHAM, JR

RECREATION ENcLosURm Filed Aug. 29, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /v Fig.

H/'ram Bing/mm, Jr.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY` Feb. 11, 1958 A H. BINGHAM, JR 2,823,034

RECREATIQN ENcLosuRE: v

Filed Aug. 29, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS nited States Patent RECREATION ENCLOSURE Hiram Bingham, Jr., Salem, Conn.

Application August 29, 1956, Serial No. 606,879

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-95) This invention generally relates to a novel recreation enclosure which will permit one or more persons t engage in various sports or physical activities and especially sports, games, or other physical activities involving the use of a ball or the like. More particularly this invention relates to a novel recreation enclosure constructed on the sides and top of Wire or wire-like material, said enclosure being supporting upon a substantially flat base or floor, and there being included within said enclosure a resilient means for absorbing, decelerating, dampening, deecting, bouncing, or otherwise acting against the force of the ball which is used by the player or players within the enclosure.

As is well known, recreational activities Iconstitute an important phase of the daily lives of millions of people all over the world and have an important bearing upon the general health of our nation. However, there are two problems which have always confronted those who wish to participate in sports, games, and other physical activities. In crowded city areas there is usually an ample number of people who Wish to participate in recreational activities Ibut unfortunately the problem is that there is usually a lack of space wherein sports can be safely and conveniently conducted. There are too few playgrounds and too little play space. On the other hand, in rural areas where there is ample space for sports and games the problem is that there `are frequently too few people within a given area who are available at a given time for those sports which require several participants or teams. Also, proficiency in many sports is most conveniently obtained by a person when that person can arrange to practice the basic rudiments of the game under conditions which roughly approximate those which exist in the sport, without the necessity of having other persons present. For example: in the game of tennis, prociency is often obtained by volleying a tennis ball against a wooden backboard; in golf, one may drive golf balls on a practice range; and in basketball, one may practice alone by shooting at the basket. It is seldom that adequate facilities are available for this purpose.

The aforementioned diiculties which confront those persons who are interested in participating in sports and recreational activities indicate that there is an area within which substantial improvements could be made to satisfy the needs of those who are faced with one or more of the above problems. It is believed that a single device or apparatus could be designed which would be capable of solving all of the aforementioned problems. Very briefly, it is believed that Such a device should be designed to enable persons to engage in sports in a small amount of space andein addition should permit the participants to exert approximately the same strenuous physical effort (with the exception of running) that they would normally exert when the sport is played without any space limitations. Such a device should also enable those persons who desire to do so to practice or other.-

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Wise engage in sports and related physical activities without the necessity of having any other person present. Preferably such a device should also be constructed so that there is the maximum access to fresh air and sunshine.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide" a novel and useful device which will enable one or more' persons to engage in games and physical activities within'v a limited area. Y

A further object of this invention is to provide a de vice which will permit participants in a sport to exert the same strenuous physical ei'rort that they would exert were there no space limitations.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device which will enable a person to engage in a sport involving the use of a resilient ball without the necessity of having any other .person present.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an enclosure which will enable a person or persons to strike a ball within the enclosure and to thereafter be assured that theball, after being deflected off of a suitablel resilient means, will return to the approximate area of the player.

This invention 'broadly relates to a recreational enclosure consisting of wire or the like which is adapted to retain the players tools and equipment of any particular sport within a restricted horizontal and vertical area, a base or floor beneath the recreational enclosure, and a resilient means located in one portion of the enclosure which is utilized by the player or players as a meansr for stopping or deflecting the ball which is used in the sport being engaged in.

Various other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will appear from the description of one species or embodiment hereinafter described and shown in the. drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire recreational enclosure;

Figure 2 is a side view of the enclosure of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the interior of said enclosure taken along line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a detailed view of `011e manner in whichV wire fencing may 4be attached to the enclosure pipe supports;

Figure 5 is a detailed View of one manner in which the inclined resilient means inside the enclosure may be yattached to the side of the enclosure;

Figure 6 is a partial perspective View of the recreational enclosure of this invention showing the arrangement of a protective netting in front of the inclined resilient means.

Referring now to Figures l and 2, it will be seen that the recreational enclosure of this invention comprises side sections S, end sections E, a top section T, and a base or floor portion F. The side, end, and top sections as shown in the drawings consist of wire of the type commonly employed for fencing (e. g. chain-link fencing), an-d this wire is held in place by a plurality of vertical and horizontal pipe sections P. The interwoven wire need only be small enough so that a ball will not pass therethrough and may be fastened to the pipe sections P by welding, hooks, springs, or by the bracket-type connections M and K shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 2, one side of the recreational enclosure may contain a gate G, but it will be understood that a similar gate could be located just as well at either end of the enclosure. As shown in the drawings, the vertical pipe sections P extend downwardly to a point adjacent to the level of the base or oor F.

As shown in the drawings, the oor section is supported a short distance above the ground by a number,

of supporting members SM, and the oor area is prefere.

. ting N.

ably confined within the limits of the vertical pipe sections P. The floor section F may consist :of either a single expanse of board (e. g. multiply plywood) or a number of boards nailed together in much the.. sameA fashion that the boards in the floorfof a house are nailed,- If desired, the` floor may. be constructedl in together. i such a manner that it is portable. Ifthe floorF -is to be portable, a plurality of aligned boards, such as two by fours may be fastened together by braces, clamps, or the like. It is preferable, although not necessary, that the floor section shall contain an upstanding board FE (for instance, about six inches high) extending around the periphery-of the iloor area. The upstanding board may contain suitable small openings to permit rain to run off of the floor.

According to this invention, there is positioned within the cage a resilient deecting means inclined from the horizontal, and as shown in therdrawings, one means of positioning this resilient m-eans is adjacent to one end of the recreational enclosure. This resilient means as shown consists essentially of an approximately rectangular expanse of fabric netting N which contains a border B. The border B, in addition to being joined to the periphery of the netting, also contains a plurality of eyelets EY (Figure 5) which enable the netting N to be fastened to the top and sides of the recreational enclosure. As is best shown in Figures 2 and 3, springs R connect the top T to the upper periphery of the netting N. Springs R are adapted to expand and contract in accordance with the force -or pressure exerted against the net- In Figures 3 and 5 it will also be noted that along the sides S of the enclosure fastener hooks H join the eyelets EY to the side border B of the netting N.

the bottom corners of the netting extend to the sides S of the enclosure, but instead of going'directly to thel sides as do the fasteners F, tension springs TS extend in a somewhat diagonal direction toward the oppositel end of the enclosure.

It will also be noted in the drawings that the lower border B of the netting N is adapted to contain a weighted pipe WP along substantially the entire bottom portion of the netting. The border along this bottom section of the netting as shown in the drawings is of a substantially hollow cylindrical shape so that the weighted pipe-WP maybe easily inserted or removed therefrom. The bottom portion of the border B also is adapted to be fitted with a weight W which, of course, tends to tension the netting N in a downwarddirection.

Figure 6 also reveals that a small protective netting PN may be disposed across the same end-of the-enclosure in close proximity to the lower portion of'the main netting N; It willbe observed that the protective netting PN is simply tied at its lateral extremities to the side portions S of the enclosure by wires or cords C, and

It will also be noted that tension springs TS located nearv and bounced once.

stands near one end of the enclosure and by batting or l otherwise hitting a ball toward the opposite end of the enclosure where the netting N is located the ball will be lcaused to rebound from the netting N with a decelerated force back toward the player. Depending upon the force with which the ball is struck, or upon the degree of resiliency in the netting, or upon yother factors, the ball will either (l) rebound back to the player without hitting the oor; (2) rebound back to the player after taking one or more bounces; or (3) merely drop to the oor directly below the netting. The inertia of the Weight W and the relatively non-resilient lower portion 4 the netting to rebound upwardsespecially when the n etting is slanted up and away from the center of the court.

In such games as tennis or squash one would probably desire to adjust the resiliency of the netting so that the ball would rebound back to the player either without hitting the iioor or possibly after the ball has hit the oor However, for sports such as golf or baseball one might well desire the ball to hit the resilient netting in such a manner that the full force of the ball would be absorbed by the netting with the result that the ball would merelyl drop vertically downward from the netting.

A number of means for adjustingthe resiliency of the netting will be obvious to those skilled in the art. By way of example, the resiliency of the netting can easily be adjusted by merely increasing or decreasing the size of the weight W which is lsuspended from the bottom portion of the netting. Alternatively one might adjust the resiliency of the netting by either substituting springs R of'different size and different strength or by substitutingshorter or longer fasteners H around the periphery Vof the netting. Non-resilient fasteners H at the sides have a highly unexpected role in that they cause the balls hitting the net to rebound toward the center of the enclosure. Thetension springs TS may also be varied in size and'strength in order to vary the rebound characteristics of the netting N.

The purpose of the protective netting PN is to guard against-the possibility that when a player strikes or hits a ball with great velocity toward the lower portion of the netting N where the pipe WP is located, the protective netting PN will either stop the ball before it hits the pipe or will catch the ball as it rebounds with great velocity from the pipe. In some instances it is quite possible that the player may desire to entirely omit protective netting PN. In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the sides of the netting N are arranged in such a fashion that the entire resilient means R pre-4 sents a somewhat concave target for the ball being struck by the player which in turn means that when a ball hits near the side edge of the netting, the tendency will be for that ball to rebound directly back toward they player rather than being deflected o-if toward the sides of the enclosure.

The tension of the netting can also be adjusted by changingthe weight W. If the tension is too great a pitched or'batted ball may rebound so fast that it would be somewhatdangerous for either a pitcher or a batter at `such close range. Experiments have indicated that a-twenty-iive to thirty pound weight is usually satisfactory in returning a tennis ball `to a server on the first bounce-and a'pitched baseballtoV the pitcher on the first bounce.

lnaccordance'witha preferred embodiment of this invention, the recreationalenclosure is twelve feet wide at each vend, twelve feet high, and twenty-four feet along each side. It is obvious that these specified preferred dimensions .could'be varied at will, depending upon the particular use to .which the enclosure is to be put. As a general/rule, however, it isnbelieved that the optimum dimensions for the recreational enclosure of this invention should range as follows: eight to-twenty feet wide at each-end, eight to thirty feet high, and fifteen to fifty feet along eachside.

Although this invention has beendescribed with particular reference to the use of resilient balls, it will be understood that it is:possible that one might instead wish toV use the-.'shuttlecocks, such as ane used in the game of badminton, or other similar objects. The floor, instead ofbeingmadei of wood may be formed of concrete, and itjmay either be on the ground orV raisedV above it. The `supporting pipes -P` may be replaced with equivalent, wooden supports if desired. The wire surrounding the sides and top of the court could consist of heavy webbed netting. The top or any of the sides could be covered with canvas to eliminate rain, snow, wind, or the sun. The netting N can be of cotton, nylon, flexible metal, etc.

It should also be understood that under certain circumstances, it would `be possible for one to eliminate the end section E which is located closest to the resilient means. This would be possible, for example, if the resilient means was stretched across substantially the entire area at one end of the closure so that there would be no substantial danger of the ball passing behind the resilierit means. This might also be feasible if one desired to place one end of the enclosure u-p against a solid wall. Other Variations are readily apparent.

Also, whereas the vertical pipe sections P have been shown as resting upon a lsmall platform, it will of course be obvious that they could be permanently set in concrete footings, or could even contain roller wheels so that the entire enclosure could be rolled from one location to another.

In conclusion, it should then -be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention,A and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted herein otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A recreational enclosure comprising: (a) at least four sides and a top portion consisting at least partly of wire mesh; (b) a substantially at oor portion within said enclosure; (c) a separate resilient deecting means disposed Iacross a substantial portion of the enclosure adjacent one end thereof; (d) said resilient means compri'sing inetting material which is bounded on its periph ery by non-netting material which permits the netting material to be more easily and securely joined by fastening means to adjoining portions of said enclosure; (e) said resilient means being joined at its upper portions by means of resilient .springs to upper portions of the adjacent enclosure; (f) said resilient means having Weighting means located adjacent the lower portion thereof which affect the resiliency of said resilient means; (g) said resilient means containing attachment means for attaching the lower portions thereof to adjacent parts of the enclosure; and (h) said attachment means being adapted to move the bottom of said resilient means so as to vary the angle of said resilient means with respect to said flat floor portion.

2. A recreation-al enclosure in accordance with claim 1 which in addition has la separate protective netting means positioned across the same end of the enclosure adjacent the lower portion of said resilient means and in protective relationship therewith.

3. A recreational enclosure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said weighting means of (f) comprises an elongated metallic pipe disposed along the bottom portion of said resilient means.

4. A recreational enclosure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the sides of said resilient means are attached tothe sides of said enclosure by means of hook-type fasteners.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,556,046 Taylor Oct. 6, 1925 1,660,339 Kaufmann Feb'. 28, 1928 1,677,442 Hall July 17, 1928 2,076,911 Monson Apr. 13, 1937 2,331,236 Schaefer Oct. 5, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,832 Great Britain 1900

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