US3586324A - Vertically adjustable basketball goal - Google Patents

Abstract

A basketball goal is carried by upper and lower pairs of parallel arms which are pivoted to a support so that the goal may be vertically adjusted by means of a flexible cable passing over a pulley carried at the top of the support. The goal is held in adjusted position by a lever which is pivotally carried by the upper arms and is spring biased so that the lower end of the lever is normally held against selected, spaced stop means carried by the support. The cable passes through an eyelet carried by the lever whereby the lever may be selectively moved out of engagement with the stop means.

Description

United States Patent 2,881,003 4/1959 Drew 3.462,102 8/1969 Rivers.

ABSTRACT: A basketball goal is carried by upper and lower pairs of parallel arms which are pivoted to a support so that the goal may be vertically adjusted by means of a flexible cable passing over a pulley carried at the top of the support. The goal is held in adjusted position by a lever which is pivotally carried by the upper arms and is spring biased so that the lower end of the lever is normally held against selected, spaced stop means carried by the support. The cable passes through an eyelet carried by the lever whereby the lever may be selectively moved out of engagement with the stop means.

PATENTEO JUN22 IQYI FIG. I

BENHARD M. BEARSON INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY FIG.3

\"ERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE BASKETBALL GOAL I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to basketball goals and more particularly it has reference to basketball goal which may be adjusted vertically. On regulation basketball courts the basket is positioned at a height which IS much too high for use by children so that they are unable to develop proper playing skills. On a playground, a basketball goal of a fixed height will not accommodate all of the children of a wide range of heights who desire to play the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple yet efficient structure for moving a basketball goal vertically into selected adjusted position. Other objects are to provide such a structure which can be produced at a minimum cost by performing relatively simple mechanical operations on material which is widely available; and to provide a goal which can be adjusted easily and safely held in adjusted position.

According to the invention, upper and lower pairs of parallel arms are pivotally connected at their respective ends to a vertical support member and a front member which carries the backboard and hoop. The goal is held in adjusted vertical position by means ofa lever which is pivotally carried between the upper pair of arms and extends downwardly and inwardly into operative engagement with stop means which are spaced vertically along the support member. A spring connected to the lower pair of arms and the upper end of the lever normally urges the lower end of the lever into engagement with the stop means. The goal may be moved vertically by means ofa flexible cable which is fastened to the lower portion of the front member and extends upwardly over a pulley at the upper part of the support member and thence downwardly through an eyelet carried by the lever adjacent its lower end portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a basketball goal embodying the invention, with parts broken away.

FIG. 2 is a view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken online 33 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings wherein indicates a vertical support member which may be attached by suitable means to a post, wall of a building or the like. Thesupport member 10 which is U- shaped in cross section and has the twosides 11 and 12 may conveniently be formed of stock material such as channel iron. Forwardly extending upper arm means comprising a pair ofparallel arms 13 and 14 are pivoted, respectively, at thesides 11 and 12 at the upper portion ofmember 10 by means of thepin 15. The forward end portions ofarms 13 and 14 are pivoted, respectively, at thesides 16 and 17 of thefront member 18 by means of thepin 19. Similarly, the lower arm means comprise the pair ofparallel arms 20 and 21 which have their rear ends pivoted, respectively, at thesides 11 and 12 by thepin 22 and their forward ends pivoted respectively, to thesides 16 and 17 ofmember 18 by thepin 23.

Fixedly secured to the frommember 18 by any suitable means such asarms 24 is thebackboard 25 on which is mounted the hoop orbasket 26. Since thefront member 18 and the fixed support member I0 are pivotally connected to the upper and lower parallel arms l3, l4 and 20, 21, thehoop 26 will move vertically with the movement of thefront member 18. The front member is moved vertically by means of a flexible cable, such as arope 27. which has one end secured to theeyelet 28 at the lower part ofmember 18 and extends upwardly and over apulley 29 mounted at the upper part ofsupport member 10. Thefront member 18 and the attachedbackboard 25 andhoop 26 are held in adjusted vertical position by means of thelever 30 which has its upper end pivotally mounted by means ofpin 31 between the upperpair ofarms l3 and 14 Biasing means such ascoil spring 32 has its lower end secured topin 33 between thearms 20, 21 and its upper end secured at 34 to the upper end oflever 30. Thespring 32 normally acts to move a part such asend portion 35 carried by thelever 30 into operative engagement with the stop means formed by a plurality of rods orpins 36 which extend between thesides 11 and 12 ofsupport member 10 and are vertically spaced along this member.

As indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, the goal comprising thebackboard 25 and attachedloop 26 may be selectively moved up and down. Pulling downwardly on therope 27 will cause the pivoted parallel arms to move upwardly to thereby raise thefront member 18 and the attached backboard andhoop 26. As thearms 13 and 14 turn aboutpivot pin 15 and move upwardly, thelever 30 also moves upwardly with itslower end 35 riding over the rod stop means 36 until a selected position is reached and thelever 30 acts to hold the goal in such position. Therope 27 passes downwardly from thepulley 29 through opening means carried by thelever 30 such as theeyelet 37 supported at one side oflever 30.

To lower the goal, therope 27 is pulled downwardly and also forwardly away from thesupport member 10. Since therope 27 passes through theeyelet 37 carried bylever 30, such manipulation of the rope will free theend 35 oflever 30 from engagement withstop means 36. With thelever 30 held in such position, tension on therope 27 may be released in such a manner as to permit the goal to move downwardly to a selected position. The rope is then moved rearwardly to permit theend 35 oflever 30 to engage one of the stop means 36 and thereby hold the goal in fixed, adjusted position.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the invention provides a relatively simple, yet efficient means for selectively adjusting a basketball goal in a vertical direction. Thesupport member 10 can be made from standard channel iron and the parallel arms, lever and from member can be made of such standard material as steel tubing. Hence, the entire structure can be made and assembled with a minimum of mechanical operations and thereby reduce manufacturing costs. When in adjusted position, the goal is securely held without reliance upon the loosening or tightening of wing nuts, for example, which are employed in some of the prior art structures. Various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A basketball goal comprising a fixed vertical support member, a front member, upper arm means and lower arm means extending between the two members, the end portions of the upper and lower arm means being pivotally connected to the respectively adjacent members, a backboard and attached hoop carried by the front member, means for raising and lowering the from member and the attached backboard and hoop comprising a pulley carried at the upper portion of the support member, a flexible cable having one end secured to the front member and extending upwardly over the pulley and thence downwardly, means for selectively holding the front member and attached backboard in adjusted vertical position comprising vertically spaced stop means carried by the support member, a lever having an end portion pivotally carried by the upper arm means and extending downwardly and inwardly towards the support member, and biasing means normally urging a part carried by the lower end portion of the lever into operative engagement with said stop means, means carried by the lever for providing an opening, said cable extending downwardly from the pulley and through said opening whereby the part carried by the lower end portion of the lever may be selectively moved out of operative engagement with the stop means.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the vertical support member is U-shaped in cross section, the stop means comprise spaced rods extending between the sides of the support member and the lower portion of the lever carries an eyelet down through which the flexible cable extends.

Claims (2)

1. A basketball goal comprising a fixed vertical support member, a front member, upper arm means and lower arm means extending between the two members, the end portions of the upper and lower arm means being pivotally connected to the respectively adjacent members, a backboard and attached hoop carried by the front member, means for raising and lowering the front member and the attached backboard and hoop comprising a pulley carried at the upPer portion of the support member, a flexible cable having one end secured to the front member and extending upwardly over the pulley and thence downwardly, means for selectively holding the front member and attached backboard in adjusted vertical position comprising vertically spaced stop means carried by the support member, a lever having an end portion pivotally carried by the upper arm means and extending downwardly and inwardly towards the support member, and biasing means normally urging a part carried by the lower end portion of the lever into operative engagement with said stop means, means carried by the lever for providing an opening, said cable extending downwardly from the pulley and through said opening whereby the part carried by the lower end portion of the lever may be selectively moved out of operative engagement with the stop means.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the vertical support member is U-shaped in cross section, the stop means comprise spaced rods extending between the sides of the support member and the lower portion of the lever carries an eyelet down through which the flexible cable extends.

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