Inflatable game structure

Abstract

A game apparatus including at least one rebound surface upon which a player can jump, flexible material extending substantially vertically up from the at least one rebound surface dividing the at least one rebound surface into at least two individual play areas having the at least one rebound surface as a floor, an opening between the play areas a preset distance above the rebound surface to allow a play object to move between play areas includes an inflatable flexible material mounting frame supporting the flexible material. An inflatable rebound surface mounting frame can also be provided for supporting the rebound surface.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM[0001]Priority is claimed to copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 266,077 filed Dec. 2, 2009, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The invention is in the field of game apparatus including a trampoline and structure above the trampoline for playing games while jumping on the trampoline.[0004]2. Related Art[0005]In the early eighties I invented a game, with several variations, which utilized one or more trampolines and structure above the trampoline surface or surfaces. These game apparatus are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,433,838 and 4,569,515, and are available commercially under the trademarks AEROBALL and HIBALL from Maze, Inc., Springville, Utah. The HIBALL game apparatus includes a single trampoline with single dividers and goals. Two or four players participate in the game. The AEROBALL game apparatus includes two or four separate trampolines with double dividers and ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]According to the invention, a game apparatus including at least one rebound surface upon which a player can jump, flexible material extending substantially vertically up from the at least one rebound surface dividing the at least one rebound surface into at least two individual play areas having the at least one rebound surface as a floor, and having an opening a preset distance above the rebound surface between the play areas to allow a play object to move between play areas is constructed using an inflatable flexible material mounting frame supporting the flexible material, thereby eliminating the steel flexible material frame and the assembly associated therewith. Further, the flexible material supported by the inflatable flexible material mounting frame is generally attached to and forms an integral part of the flexible material mounting frame so that complete assembly of the flexible material mounting frame and of the flexible material to define the individual play areas is accomplished by inflation of the inflatable flexible material mounting frame. The flexible material mounting frame can be completely sealed and inflated with a pump through a valve which is closed when the frame is inflated to maintain the inflation indefinitely, or the inflatable flexible material mounting frame may be inflated by a blower which operates on a continuous basis during use of the game apparatus to maintain the inflation during such use.

[0008]In addition, while the inflatable flexible material mounting frame can be used with an at least one convention trampoline rebound surface and rebound surface mounting frame supporting the at least one rebound surface, the invention can provide at least one convention trampoline rebound surface with an at least partially inflatable rebound surface mounting frame or can provide an inflatable at least one rebound surface and rebound surface mounting frame. This further eases assembly and disassembly of the game apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

The play apparatus as shown in cited U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,433,838, 4,569,515, and 7,762,927 generally work well but the steel frames make them time consuming to set up and take down, making the game structures difficult to set up for temporary use, such as for use just during parties.

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