US20150290485A1

US20150290485A1 - Under trampoline safety fence

Info

Publication number: US20150290485A1
Application number: US14/250,601
Authority: US
Inventors: Darlene Depalma
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-04-11
Filing date: 2014-04-11
Publication date: 2015-10-15

Abstract

An under trampoline safety fence for providing a barrier that blocks access to the area under the trampoline bed. The under trampoline safety fence comprises a mesh fence body having a top border edge, a bottom border edge, and two side edges, as well as a plurality of fasteners to attach the mesh fence body to the legs of a trampoline. The mesh fence body is an elongated member sized to be able to span around the entire circumference of a conventional trampoline. When in place around a trampoline, the side edges are placed in contact with one another and the fasteners are wrapped around the legs of the trampoline. By placing the side edges in contact with one another, they are fastened together enabling the mesh fence body to form a contiguous barrier. This barrier is held in place by the fasteners attachment to the trampoline legs.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to safety accessories and, more particularly, to a safety fence which is mountable under a trampoline to restrict access under the trampoline.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The design and use of trampolines is well established. Trampolines, customarily defined by a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using a plurality of coiled springs, are commonly owned by consumers, including families, to be used for exercise and/or fun. It is well known, however, that can be very dangerous both to those using them and to those in the vicinity thereof. One particular problem which still exists is that children and/or pets can be injured if they enter the area beneath the trampoline while someone is bouncing on the trampoline as conventional trampolines do not include any barrier which to restrict access under the trampoline. Thus, there remains a need for an under trampoline safety fence which can be attached to and around the a conventional trampoline circumferentially to block access to the area under the trampoline. It would be helpful if such an under trampoline safety fence included fasteners that enabled it to be removably attached to the area around the a trampoline's edge, underneath its trampoline bed. It would be additionally desirable for such an under trampoline safety fence to be removably attachable to the legs of a trampoline.
The Applicant's invention described herein provides for a safety fence adapted to be attached to a trampoline to block from access the area under the trampoline. The primary components in Applicant's under trampoline safety fence are a mesh fence body and a plurality of hook and loop fabric fasteners. When in operation, the under trampoline safety fence enables a user to attach a barrier around the edge of a trampoline to prevent children and/or pets from entering thereunder. As a result, many of the limitations imposed by conventional structures are removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An under trampoline safety fence for providing a barrier that blocks access to the area under the trampoline bed. The under trampoline safety fence comprises a mesh fence body having a top border edge, a bottom border edge, and two side edges, as well as a plurality of fasteners to attach the mesh fence body to the legs of a trampoline. The mesh fence body is an elongated member sized to be able to span around the entire circumference of a conventional trampoline. In this regard, the mesh fence body provides a means for blocking around the circumferential edge of a trampoline from the bottom of the trampoline bed to the ground surface on which the trampoline is disposed. When in place around a trampoline, the side edges are placed in contact with one another and the fasteners are wrapped around the legs of the trampoline. By placing the side edges in contact with one another, they are fastened together through a magnetic fastener integrated into the side edges, holding the ends of the mesh fence body together and forming a contiguous barrier. The barrier is held in place by the fasteners attachment to the trampoline legs. In this manner, the fasteners form a means for removably attaching the means for blocking to the legs of a trampoline
It is an object of this invention to provide an under trampoline safety fence which can be attached to and around the a conventional trampoline circumferentially to block access to the area under the trampoline.
It is another object of this invention to provide an under trampoline safety fence that includes fasteners that enable it to be removably attached to the area around the a trampoline's edge, underneath its trampoline bed.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an under trampoline safety fence that is removably attachable to the legs of a trampoline.
These and other objects will be apparent to one of skill in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of an under trampoline safety fence built in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of an under trampoline safety fence built in accordance with the present invention attached to a conventional trampoline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and in particular FIG. 1, an under trampoline safety fence 10 is shown having a mesh fence body 11, a top border edge 12, a bottom border edge 13, and a plurality of fasteners 14. The mesh fence body 11 is constructed of a flexible plastic material in the preferred embodiment and terminates at its top end into the top border edge 12 and at its bottom end at the bottom border edge 13. The top border edge 12 and bottom border edge 13 are each constructed in the preferred embodiment of a flexible plastic material. Each side end of the mesh fence body 11 terminates into an identical side edge 15. In the preferred embodiment, the side edges 15 are defined by opposing magnetic fasteners which enable the side edges 15 to be fastened together.
The plurality of fasteners 14 are defined by an elongated flexible strip having both a fabric hook fastening surface at one end and a loop fastening surface at the other end. This configuration enables one end of each fastener 14 to be wrapped around a leg of a trampoline and fastened the other end of the same fastener 14, effectively attaching the fastener 14 to the leg of the trampoline. The fasteners 14 are arranged in pairs, with each pair of fasteners 14 on the same horizontal plane of the mesh fence body 11, with one of the pair attached to the top border edge 12 and the other of the pair to the bottom border edge 13.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mesh fence body 11 is an elongated member contemplated to be sized to be able to span around the entire circumference of a conventional trampoline 16. When the under trampoline safety fence 10 is in place around a trampoline 16, the side edges 15 are placed in contact with one another and the fasteners 14 are wrapped around the legs 17 of the trampoline. By placing the side edges 15 in contact with one another, they are fastened together to hold the ends of the mesh fence body 11 together, forming a contiguous barrier. It is contemplated that if the mesh fence body is too long, slack/extra portion of the mesh fence body 11 can be folded over itself and placed between the fastened side edges 15 to hold it in place. Furthermore, with the fasteners 14 being fastened around the legs 17, the under trampoline safety fence 10 is fully secured to the trampoline 16.
It is contemplated that the under trampoline safety fence 10 can be constructed in a variety of lengths and/or heights to enable to fit around and fully block underneath trampolines of all sizes.
The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An under trampoline safety fence for attaching to a trampoline, comprising:

a mesh fence body having a top end, bottom end and two opposing side ends, wherein the mesh fence body is sized to be placed around the circumferential edge of a trampoline and to span substantially from the bottom of the trampoline bed to the ground surface on which the trampoline is disposed; and

at least one fastener adapted to attach the mesh fence body to the legs of a trampoline around which the mesh fence body is disposed.

2. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 1, additionally comprising a top border edge integral with the top end of the mesh fence body.

3. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 1, additionally comprising a bottom border edge integral with the bottom end of the mesh fence body.

4. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 1, additionally comprising two side edges, wherein each side edge is integral with one of the opposing side ends of the mesh fence body.

5. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 4, wherein said side edges are adapted to be removably attached together.

6. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 1, wherein a plurality of fasteners are attached to said mesh fence body, arranged in at least one vertically aligned pairs on the mesh fence body on the same horizontal plane, enabling each pair of fasteners to attach to the same trampoline leg in different locations.

7. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 6, wherein each pair of fasteners includes one fastener affixed to the top border edge and one fastener affixed to the bottom border edge.

8. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 7, wherein said fasteners are permanently affixed to the mesh fence body.

9. The under trampoline safety fence of claim 1, wherein each fastener is defined by an elongated flexible strip having both a fabric hook fastening surface at one end and a loop fastening surface at the other end.

10. An under trampoline safety fence for attaching to a trampoline, comprising:

a means for blocking around the circumferential edge of a trampoline from the bottom of the trampoline bed to the ground surface on which the trampoline is disposed; and

a means for removably attaching the means for blocking to the legs of a trampoline.