FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a play kit made of detachable plastic components capable of forming either a lounge chair, a slide assembly, a merry-go-round assembly or a teeter assembly, using an elongated plastic playboard as a basic element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Play kits made of detachable components that can be put together to form different assemblies are already known (see U.S. patent nos 2,839,299; 3,109,645; 3,110,047; 3,451,672; 4,544,125; 4,780,469; 4,831,934). However, none of these know play kits is really versatile and have components that can be put together to form a lounge chair, a slide assembly, a merry-go-round assembly or a teeter assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a play kit especially, although not exclusively, intended for children or young people and of which selected components may be made into a playboard, which can be used alone as a rocking lounge chair or which can be -associated with other components of the kit to form a slide assembly. By another selection of the components, the playboard may be built into a teeter assembly and a merry-go-round assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a kit of which the components are all made of plastic material and built so that they can rapidly be assembled and

dismounted. In dismounted form, the components can be stored in a relatively small space.

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an elongated plastic playboard having a longitudinal axis that lies in a flat plane. This playboard has, in the lengthwise ^* direction, a wavy configuration made up of two short end portions of equal length, interconnected by an intermediate curved portion of greater extent, the end and the central portions gradually merging into one another. This playboard is shaped as a slide having a central flat part and side protection ramps that extend lengthwise of and on the lateral edges of the central flat part, the latter and the ramps being symmetrical with respect to the playboard longitudinal axis. The playboard is preferably constructed in two identical and separate members symmetrical with one another relative to a transverse plane normal to the longitudinal axis and the flat plane aforesaid, centrally between the end portions. These members are held in end abutment one against the other in the said transverse plane by means joining the two symmetrical members together in the said end abutment to form the wavy configuration.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a play kit comprising the playboard described hereinabove and a plurality of other elements which, when connected to the playboard, form therewith a slide assembly. The other elements of the slide assembly comprise: playboard attachment releasable means , on each of the playboard end portions , identical with one another and symmetric al wi th respec t to the longitudina l and transverse planes ; - a plas tic support having support at tachm ent releasable means at one of its ends releasably coupling w ith the playboard at tachment m eans f or hol ding the

playboard in upright position.

Plastic strut members are releasably connected, at their ends, to the playboard and to the ..support. The latter is molded with footsteps in order that it may act as a ladder.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided another play kit comprising again the playboard described above, and further elements, which, all together may be assembled to form a dismountable teeter assembly. These further elements include a ground-engageable plastic support which is preferably the same support that was used for the slide assembly. Means from the kit are used for dismountably joining the playboard and the support, at the intermediate portion of the playboard, such joining means being constructed to allow the playboard to teeter about an axis lying in the playboard transverse plane and to rotate about an axis normal to the teeter axis.

A non restrictive description will now be given of a preferred embodiment of the invention having reference to the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a playboard, made according to the teaching of the invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded view, in cross section, showing the coupling means for joining the two identical and separate members that make up the playboard of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a slide assembly;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the slide assembly in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, of the upper end of the slide assembly in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, of the connection between the playboard and the slide support;

Figure 7, first sheet of drawings, is a perspective view of a teeter assembly; —

Figure 8 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the teeter assembly of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a partial transverse cross section of the teeter assembly of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a top plan view of a seat construction for use with the teeter assembly;

Figure 11 is a longitudinal cross section of the seat assembly of Figure 10, and

Figure 12 is a cros s s ectional view of a deta il o f the seat assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, there is shown an elongated playboard 1 made of sturdy plastic material and having a longitudinal axis 3 (Fig. 4) lying in a flat plane, i.e. a playboard which is straight when viewed from above. It has, seen sideways and in the lengthwise direction, a wavy configuration made up of two short end portions 5, 7, of equal length interconnected by an intermediate curved portion 9 of greater extent; the end and central portions gradually merging one into the other, as shown. The end portions 5, 7, are straight but may also be slightly- curved. As can be gathered, the playboard may be used alone as a rocking lounge-chair.

The playboard 1 is also shaped like a slide in that it has a central flat part 11 and two parallel side protection ramps 13, 15, running the full length of the playboard 1 along the lateral edges of the central part 11; the latter and the ramps 13, 15 being symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis 3. Each protection ramp 13, 15, includes an outward lateral flange 17, 19, (Fig. 9) which is slightly resilient due to the nature of the plastic material and for a purpose to be determined hereinafter. Additionally, the playboard is preferably constructed in two identical and separate members A and B that are symmetrical with one another relative to a transverse plane (containing boundary line 21 in Figs. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8) normal to the longitudinal axis 3 as well as to the longitudinal flat plane aforesaid. These members A and B are in end abutment one against the other in the transverse plane which contains the boundary line 21 and, for this purpose, are each formed with a pair of coplanar transverse webs 23, 25, as shown in Fig. 9. Means shown in Fig. 2 are used to join the two symmetrical members together. These means comprise tubular male and female coupling elements 27, 29, cooperating in pairs at the abutting ends to lock the members A, B, together; the male elements 27 once inserted into the female elements 29 being connected thereto by means of bolts and nuts 31, 33. As illustrated in Fig. 9, the male elements 27 are on the inward side of the playboard member A and the female elements are on the outward side. The disposition of the elements are reversed on the playboard member B. This arrangement advantageously allows the members A and B to be molded in one and the same mold.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the playboard 1 when used as a slide 34, in which case the playboard 1 is dismountably held in upright position by a plastic support 35; the latter and the playboard 1 being provided, for that purpose, with suitable attachment means that are releasable.

Such means, in the case of the playboard, are provided at each end portion 5, 7; are identical with one another and are symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal and transverse flat planes, mentioned above. Referring to Fig. 5, the playboard attachment means, at each end portion of the playboard 1, comprise a ^" pair of transverse cheeks 37, 39, depending on the playboard central portion 11, which cheeks cooperate with parts of the adjacent ramps 13, 15, to define a lock keeper 41. The attachment means of the support 35, on the other hand, comprise a hollow lock bolt 43 which, as shown, is shaped and sized to fit snugly and releasably into the lock keeper 41. The latter and the bolt 43 are parallelepipedic in cross section, although they may alternatively be rectangular. In this manner, the support 35 may be coupled with either one of the playboard end portions 5, 7, simply by slidably fitting its bolt 43 into the desired one of the playboard keepers 41.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the plastic support 35 to be made of a pair of essentially flat outer flanges 45, 47, interconnected by a broken web C defining a bottom step 49, a central step 51 and a top step 53, equally spaced from one another. The ends of the flanges 45, 47, are rounded and bulge away from the web C in the direction of the playboard 1. The playboard 1 and the support 35 are kept from collapsing by means of a pair of elongated parallel latticed struts 55, 57 (Figs. 3, 4, 6), molded of plastic material and provided on either side of the playboard and of the support. These struts have, at their ends, locking lugs 59, 61, projecting in the direction of the playboard and of the support. The lugs 59, 61 are sized and shaped to fit snugly into suitable apertures, through the flanges 17, 19, 45, 47, respectively, of the playboard 1 and of the support 35, so as to be pressed fitted into the apertures. The struts are freed simply by finger-pushing the lugs out of the apertures.

Adding to the fun of using the playboard 1 as a slide assembly, are water sprinkling holes 63 provided through each end portion 7. As shown in Fig. 5, these holes communicate with a water-connector 65 of which the bore is threaded for receiving the end noz,zle 67 of a water hose 5 69. In the arrangement of Fig. 5, the connector 65 extends into the lock keeper 41 and, for this purpose, the top and bottom of the hollow lock bolt 43 are slitted at 71, 73. The sprinkler holes 63 and the water connector 65 may of course be provided outside the keeper 41. A hole 10 75 is provided at the bottom of the web C for the passage of the hose 69.

As mentioned before, the playboard 1 and the support 35 may be used as a teeter assembly 75 as in Figs. 7 through

15 12. In that case, the support 35 lies flatly on the ground. Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate means allowing the playboard 1 to be dismountably joined with the support 35 and constructed to allow the playboard to teeter about a horizontal axis 79 lying in the transverse plane 21 as

20 well as to rotate about a vertical axis 81 at the center of the support 35. Accordingly, a central outwardly ribbed cylindrical post 83 has one end removably slid into the bore of a bearing sleeve 85. The post has a shoulder 87 which rests in an annular seat 89 formed, along with 5 the sleeve 85, at. the center of the broken web C of the support 35; the shoulder and seat acting as a trust bearing. A pair of rollers 91 is mounted on and diametrically across the free end of the post 83, on a transverse bar 84 thereof, for rotation about the teeter 0 horizontal axis 79. The playboard 1 is guided during teetering by a pair of first accurate ribs 93, each defining a half circular seat for straddling the rollers 91, and by a pair second ribs 95 that extend laterally of the rollers to prevent lateral swaying motion of the 5 playboard; both ribs 93, 95 depending from the central part 11 of the playboard 1.

For use as a teeter board, the playboard 1 is provided with a pair of special seat constructions 97, each of which is dismountably fixed to one of the end portions 5, 7. Each construction comprises a generally flat seat 99 and, solid with it, a mounting part 101 projecting radially from the seat. Part 101 has, on each side, an inverted U-shaped saddle 103 (Fig. 12) defining parallel lateral flanges 105, 107. The saddles 103 are sized and shaped for snugly fitting over the ramps 13, 15, formed at the corresponding end portions 5, 7 of the playboard. As shown in Fig. 12, each saddle 103 has its outward flange 105 overlapping the outward flange 17 of a relevant ramp 13. In order to hold the seat 99 fast in mounted position but removably from the playboard 1, the outward flanges 17, 19 of each ramp are provided with outwardly projecting ears 109 that are snap-fitted into suitable apertures of the flanges 105 of the saddles 103 (Fig. 12). To ease in removing the seat construction, the lower edges of the saddle flanges 105 are made to move away from the lower edges of the ramp flanges 17 for prying the saddle flanges loose from the ears 109.

The central portion of each seat mounting part 101 is formed with a bridge 111 holding a handle bar 113.