GB2441911A

GB2441911A - Portable slide

Info

Publication number: GB2441911A
Application number: GB0722160A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert James Scarborough
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-07-28
Filing date: 2006-05-02
Publication date: 2008-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 2026-05-02
Also published as: GB0722160D0; GB2441911B

Abstract

A portable slide 6 comprises hollow tubular pegs 1 to anchor the slide in sandy beach conditions or on other soft substrates. Then slide may be used either horizontally or inclined and wet or dry. The slide has versions that can be multi or single lane, various lengths, one piece, or requiring assembly from a plurality of pieces. In some versions the slide surface is rollable polythene or similar plastics material, with tubular lane dividers and securing pegs.

Description

2441911

1

SLIDE Description

When going to the beach, people often like to take a number of novelty fun items which will allow them to take part in a range of enjoyable activities. The beach environment poses unique problems e.g. wind, loose sandy surfaces and salt water; which may restrict the range of products suitable for use, or require specialised design features to be an inherent part in the successful manufacture and use of such items.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable slide, for the purpose of playing outdoors, with means of securing to sand or other substrate comprising tubular pegs inserted into the substrate below. The slide can be used wet or dry, either horizontally or inclined, is preferably lightweight, portable and can be quickly secured on the beach in usable form as a slide; making use of the natural substrate below for support with or without prior intervention and modification. The invention would have the advantages of being able to withstand the prevailing conditions; in particular loose sand or other substrate, wind and salt and be quickly dismantled and packed into an easily transportable form after use. It will be a simple matter to store, transport and erect the slide either on a horizontal sand or other substrate, base close to water as a wet slide requiring personal momentum for use, or if secured to an incline such as a grass bank, sand dune/sandbank or man made sand hill, a traditional slide, based on gravitational force could be made and used either wet or dry, allowing hours of fun with only a short set up and pack away sequence.

The main inventive concepts of the slide relate to the means of anchorage, portability and use of existing natural support encompassed within the design. According to the present invention there is provided a means of anchorage involving the use of plastics tubular pegs; which can easily be pushed into the sand or other substrate, the substrate being forced into the tube providing weighting and additional stability. These pegs could be either fitted permanently to the slide; or require assembly to form part of the slide on site.

With further modification to the strength and design of the final ground fixing utensils, the slide may be used in the aforementioned ways at other types of location for example gardens, grass banks or parkland.

The present invention of a slide, may be manufactured in a number of versions varying in size as well as design; dependant on further studies and tests to establish the most appropriate methods and materials for manufacture of a successful working product. Some versions may also vary in order to appeal to separate markets, for example a multi- lane version which may be suitable for commercial hire; a mini version suitable for toddlers to use; as well as a standard version of medium length for children or adults. All versions may follow the basic design principles and inventive concepts, of being portable, lightweight, usable wet or dry, with means of securing to loose sand or other substrate which supports the slide either in a horizontal or inclined plane in a range of adverse conditions.

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he invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings including a number of possible variations in the way the invention could be made or operated.

With reference to the drawings:

Fig.l Shows a top view of version 1 of the slide, when ready to roll up for transport, but omitting the plastics shrouding which may be necessary between tubular peg tops.

Fig.la shows the shrouding plastics, between tubular peg tops, viewed from above, ready to roll up. Fig.2 Shows an underneath view of the version 1 slide, when ready to roll up.

Fig. 3 Shows a top view of the version 1 slide when ready to use.

Fig. 4 Shows a side view of the version 1 slide when ready to use.

Fig.5 Shows detail of the fixing method of the plastics tubular pegs to the side of sheet on version 1 of the slide.

Fig.6 shows close up of'envelope' design.

Fig.7 Shows how the envelopes are filled with sand or other substrate and buried if necessary. Fig.8 Shows a close up of the lane boundary/dividing tubes, which may be inserted into sewn over sleeves; with T and Elbow connectors to connect tubular pegs for downward insertion into the sand or other substrate for anchorage as in a version 2 of the slide, multi or single lane, large, medium or toddler sized.

Fig.9 Shows the slide, with sand envelopes on all sides; used to keep the slide surface sheet taut. Fig. 10 Shows version 2 of the slide, with sewn over sleeves at edges and between lanes if applicable, viewed from above.

Fig. 11 Shows Version % view of the underside, multi-lane slide, showing holes for protruding tubular pegs.

Description of parts labelled on diagrams:

1. Plastics tubular pegs for pushing into sand or other substrate for anchorage.

2. Open envelope type pockets for weighting with sand or other substrate and burying.

3. Version 1, attachment bolts to trap sheet in tubular peg.

4. Version 1 cut in the tubular pegs into which plastics sheet edge is slid and trapped.

5. Main sliding surface of slide.

6. Version 1 turned up edge of sheet.

7. Version 1 tapered angles at each end of slide, allowing turning up of sheet edge.

8. Version JLsewn over sleeve at edges of slide or lane divisions/boundaries.

9. Sand or other substrate.

12. Version 2, holes in underside of sheet, through which tubular pegs protrude for anchorage into sand or other substrate below.

13. Hollow plastics tubes used as lane divisions/boundaries or edges to sheet versions of the slide.

14. T connectors between plastics tubes and tubular pegs.

15. Elbow connectors between plastics tubes and tubular pegs

16.Version 1 Plastics shroud, overlapping sheet edges,from the top of the tubular pegs.

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All versions of the slide are to be made from suitable plastics, the main slide base having properties that render it slippery when wet or dry in its own right or with the addition of a silicone or similar polish, but also durable and flexible to a degree, dependant on whether each version requires rolling or folding for transport. Tubular pegs or lane divider/boundary tubes to be corrosion resistant, strong but lightweight. Fixing bolts or thread to be nylon or similar.

At each end, or down the sides could be a flap or envelope 2. enclosed on three sides, creating open pockets which can be filled with sand or other substrate and buried if required. This would secure and prevent the ends of some versions of the slide being caught or torn by stray limbs etc. as the user enters or exits the slide. At the bottom of the slide a more gently inclined run off area, or mini jump may be created due to the flexibility of the plastics, if required.

figs. 1-11

Figures 1 and 2 show the version 1 slide from above and below when ready to roll up, this version can be made in a variety of lengths and is single lane. The sheet 5 is made of a flexible plastics material, like polythene, to enable rolling or folding for transport and storage. It is narrower at each end by the width of the sides 6 ( the ends do not need sides as they are to be buried in the sand or other substrate.) The corners 7 between the ends 2 and the main sheet surface 5 are not right angles but tapered to allow a fold and crease when the sides are folded up; this could allow water to be retained within the sheeted area 5, if needs be. In this case the under sides of the sheet ends would be mounded up 9, also to help retain water. The sheet would be a convenient width for its proposed use, probably between 300-600mm, with sides 6 turned up around 100mm. Length of the sheet would vary from about 900mm-1500mm total for a mini toddler fun slide, to perhaps 4.5m for a fast fun slide for older age groups, with the option to overlap and thereby join more than one slide sheet to create a slide for a huge sand dune or a long seafront slide run.

In Fig.2, the hollow tubular pegs 1 are shown lying parallel to the sheet 5 as they would be when about to be rolled up for transportation.

Fig.la, shows the slide viewed from above when ready to roll up, with extra shrouding strips in place between the post tops, these will prevent stray feet etc. from hitting the post tops that protrude from the sand or other substrate.

Figures 3 and 4 show the sheet as it would be when pinned down to the surface of the sand 9. The plastics tubes could be used like tent pegs and pushed into the sand or other substrate to create a turned up sheet edge 6 securing the sheet to the sand or other substrate; and keeping sand etc. off the slide, or water on the slide for longer if required, whilst providing a surface onto which the user can slide in the normal way if the slide is mounted on an incline, or run and slide or dive and slide, if the slide is horizontal. If the ends are mounded up as previously described a shallow depth of water would be retained, if the slide is horizontally mounted; in which one could splash around as in a paddling pool.

Such tubular pegs would be able to rotate through 90 degrees from the rolled up transport position in order to be pushed into the sand or other substrate, while keeping the sheet taut and anchored to

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the soft sand or other substrate.

Figure 5 shows the lightweight tubes 1 that are about 40 mm diameter if required to secure a medium length slide for use by children or adults, but could be as little as 20mm diameter for a toddlers slide, or considerably larger diameter (60- 100mm) for a large and heavy duty ; multi-lane slide. In one possible fixing method there is an angled cut 4, in the tube 1 to around half it's diameter in an upward angled direction. The edge of the sheet 6 slides into the slit before being trapped and secured with a round headed bolt 3 or similar. Tubes may be spaced at about 300-600mm intervals down each side of the sheet.

Figure 6 shows the end sections of the slide sheet, with stitching or similar bonding method to form envelopes to be filled with sand if necessary to secure the slide top and bottom , in the sand . These may be omitted if it is found that a simple flap of plastic is sufficient to secure ends of sheet.

Figure 7 shows how sand or other substrate may be formed into a mound if needed to provide raised ends to the sheet.

By changing the strength and design of the tubular type pegs to solid type, then the fun slide could be used on different mediums like grass and soil.

Version 2 of the fun slide involves the sewing over, (or other appropriate fixing technique); of the edges of the sheet or a 'pinch' of sheet at lane divisions to create sleeves 8, into which can be slid a plurality of plastics tubes which could act as lane dividers/boundaries or edgings, depending on whether a single or multi lane fun slide is required. An above view of a multi lane slide is shown in Fig. 10. If the underside of the sleeves have exit points 12 as shown on the Fig.l 1, cut into the sheet sleeves 11, then T pieces 13, or elbow connectors 14 can be inserted, thus connecting the individual lane divider tubes with some shorter tube pegs which would protrude at right angles to the slide base, enabling the anchorage of the slide to the sand or other substrate by pushing the tube pegs down into the substrate in the same way as version 1 of the fun slide. The detail of the assembly of such tubes is shown in Fig.8

Application of the various techniques of anchorage, lane division and edging of the aforementioned versions and variations of the slide, together with the variations in material composition and rigidity/foldability could be mixed resulting in further hybrid versions of the slide, best suited to their individual proposed use. A good example of this hybridisation of techniques maybe referred to as version 3 , where the requirement of the finished slide product, is a large,heavy duty, multi-lane version. This may incorporate the use of fixed tubular pegs to the slide edges as in version 1 and tubular lane dividers/boundaries within sleeves, with or without connected right angled tube pegs, as in version 2. In addition it may be necessary to provide buried envelope style anchorage on all four sides at regular spacing.

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Claims

1. A portable slide, for the purpose of playing outdoors, with means of securing to loose sand or other substrate comprising tubular pegs inserted into the substrate below.

2. A slide according to claim 1 which can be used wet or dry.

3. A slide according to claims 1 and 2 which can be used horizontally or on an incline.

4.A slide according to claims 1-3 wherein attached plastics tubular pegs to the sides of the slide, can be pushed into the sand or other substrate to secure the slide to the surface.

5. A slide according to claims 1-4 which, when pegged down has upright edges.

6. A slide according to claims 1-5 which, when mounted horizontally can have all sides and ends turned upwards allowing water retention within the slide area.

7. A slide according to claims]-6 wherein plastic shroud strips overlap the slide edges between the tubular pegs.

8. A slide according to claims 1-3 wherein sleeves are provided for insertion of tubes at the lane boundaries and edges of the slide surface.

9. A slide according to claim 8 wherein connectable plastics tubes, can be inserted into the aforementioned sewn in sleeves, forming lane boundaries, downwardly protruding tubular anchorage pegs may also be connected,.

9. A slide according to any of the previous claims wherein turned up side edges with attached tubular pegs are provided, as well as tubular lane boundaries; some of which may have attached tubular securing pegs

11. A slide according to any of the previous claims which has plastics envelopes to fill with sand at top and bottom of the slide.

12. A slide according to any of the previous claims, in which plastics envelopes filled with sand may be used all around the edges of the main slide surface.

13. A slide substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.