Conventionally, apparatus which includes a bounce effect, such as a trampoline, is provided with a rigid frame formed of tubular metal or other rigid items and sheet material forming a non elastic mat is suspended between the frame via a series of springs which can be metallic springs of conventional form or elasticated cord acting as a spring. The frame carries out two functions, to support and form the apparatus and as an anchor for the springs. This type of apparatus, in use, allows the pressure of a person acting vertically on the mat to be translated to lateral extension of the springs and the relief of this pressure provides the desired bounce effect on the person It is also known to provide inflatable devices to be jumped on by children but these give no, or very limited and uncontrolled "bounce"effect. It has been found that when a person jumps on a conventional inflatable device two things happen. The air within the device is compressed and the sides or external edges of the device move in an uncontrolled manner so that pressure is dissipated and very little"bounce"is provided to the user.

To this end, the inflatable devices which are known actually suppress any bounce effect due to the ability of the inflatable member to expand outwardly in an uncontrolled manner in response to the movement of the volume of air caused by a person jumping on the device.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved form of play apparatus to provide a bounce effect which has at least one cavity which can be filled with a fluid and to avoid the need for a rigid external frame to be provided.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided play apparatus formed by sheet material defining at least one cavity for the reception of a fluid therein to move the apparatus to an in use condition and a portion onto which a person is expected to contact to obtain a bounce effect from the play apparatus, and wherein within said cavity or cavities there is provided an anchor member spaced inwardly from a wall of the apparatus and depending between and in connection with the anchor member and said wall is a spring or springs.

In one embodiment the spring is an elasticated cord material which passes around the anchor member at spaced intervals for the length of said anchor member. In an alternative embodiment a series of springs are attached between the anchor member and the wall of the apparatus at spaced intervals Typically the anchor member is a length of cord with the ends joined to form a loop and the cord has no elasticity or certainly less elasticity than the spring or springs. However it should be appreciated that the anchor member is flexible. The anchor member may be further held in position and/or act to define the wall shape, by ties which connect with the anchor member and depend from the walls of the apparatus.

Typically the anchor member is spaced inwardly from the side wall of the chamber.

In use, in accordance with the invention, the anchor member is located such that a restricting or controlling effect on the lateral expansion of the side walls of the apparatus is achieved when a person applies pressure onto the apparatus such as, for example by jumping on the same. Thus if a person applies pressure onto the apparatus, the air displaced by the application of the pressure forces the walls of the device to move in a direction, typically perpendicular to the direction of application of pressure. However as the sheet material of the walls is non elastic and the spring is attached to the anchor member which does not move outwardly to any significant extent, the spring expansion reaches a point whereupon the spring force is sufficient to move and return the side walls to the original state.

This return causes the creation of the bounce effect for the person to an extent and level which has not previously been achieved.

In one embodiment, the sheet material which is used is a polyurethane material which can be used as it is or may be bonded to a further material such as nylon.

Preferably, the anchor member, spring and ties can all be formed in their respective positions during manufacture of the apparatus and, prior to sale, the arrangement as herein depicted, can be sealed within the apparatus thereby preventing unauthorised access or alteration.

The apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is filled with air to move it to an in use condition.

Alternatively the cavity may be filled with water. Although the invention is described with respect to one cavity it is possible that a series of cavities or cavity partitions may be provided for certain designs and uses.

Preferably the apparatus is used with suitable securing means such as straps and pegs for insertion into the ground, which allow the apparatus to be held in location on a surface during use and prevents the same from moving.

In one embodiment the play apparatus of the invention can be incorporated into further play apparatus such that, for example the play apparatus of the invention forms a bounce effect zone in the larger play apparatus.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided play apparatus including at least one inflatable cell which defines an aperture and which aperture in use is covered by a sheet material, said sheet material joined to the cell by a spring member contacting with the cell and sheet material at spaced intervals and wherein an area of the sheet material over the aperture is defined as an area for impact by a person and the degree of inflation of the inflatable cell determines the tension of the sheet material and hence the bounce effect which can be achieved.

In one embodiment the inflatable cell is covered by a sheet material and which sheet material and inflatable cell are provided with engagement means through which the spring member in the form of an elongate elasticated cord passes.

In one preferred embodiment the elongate member is threaded through the engagement means at the time of manufacture of the product so that the product is initially available for purchase in a deflated but assembled condition.

In a further feature of the invention the aperture defined has a depth which matches the depth of the inflatable cell. In one embodiment, the sheet material is located within the aperture such that there is a greater depth on one side of the sheet material than on the other which allows the inflatable article to be turned over to provide the required depth of bounce depending on the users size and capabilities.

In addition or alternatively the sheet material is provided with elasticised means or is provided of a size and dimension so that it overlies a sufficient part of the inflatable cell so as to be secured in position and retained in position during use. In one embodiment the sheet material is placed over and retained in position on the inflatable article during inflation and deflation and in an alternative embodiment the sheet material can be placed in position on the inflatable article when the same is in a deflated position and the subsequent inflation of the same means that the sheet material is held in position.

It should be clear that the improvements as herein described are not restricted to a trampoline type of apparatus. It is envisaged that the invention is particularly suited to play apparatus in the form of play environments which can comprise a number of play apparatus in accordance with the invention and which, in many instances, may be separately inflatable and form a number of play sections and features. The play apparatus can be in a particular portion of the overall apparatus.

It should also be understood that the play apparatus in accordance with the invention need not be provided in the floor of play apparatus but rather can be provided as a feature of the wall or ceiling.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:- Figure 1 illustrates an inflatable device in accordance with the invention in a manner to illustrate how the same can be used; Figure 2 illustrates a part sectional view of apparatus according to one embodiment of a first aspect of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates a sectional plan view of the apparatus according to Figure 2; Figure 4 illustrates a perspective sectional view of the apparatus in accordance with the first aspect of the invention; Figures 5A to C illustrate further embodiments of apparatus in accordance with the first aspect of the invention; Figure 6 illustrates a schematic sectional elevation of apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention; Figures 7A and B illustrate the apparatus with support means; Figure 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention in detail.

Figure 9 illustrates a perspective view of play apparatus in accordance with a second aspect of the invention in a first embodiment; Figure 10 illustrates a cross sectional elevation of the apparatus of Figure 9; Figure 11 illustrates in detail one manner of attaching the sheet material to the inflatable cell in accordance with the second aspect of the invention; Figure 12 illustrates an alternative method of attaching the sheet material to the inflatable cell in accordance with the second aspect of the invention; Figures 13 and 14 illustrate a yet further embodiment of attaching the sheet material with the inflatable cell; and Figure 15 illustrates a further embodiment of the apparatus in accordance with the second aspect of the invention which incorporates features in accordance with the invention.

Dealing firstly with the play apparatus as shown in Figure 1 there is provided an inflated cavity 2 and an area 4 on which a person can jump up and down to use the apparatus as indicated by arrow 6. However, it will be explained with reference to the Figures 2-8 how the"bounce"effect can be created with this apparatus with respect to the need to control the movement of the end walls as they try to expand outwardly and laterally when pressure is applied by the person jumping to move the area 4 inwardly as indicated by the broken lines 18.

The invention is now described with reference to apparatus in accordance with a first aspect of the invention shown in Figures 2-8 and in this case in the form of a trampoline. However it should be appreciated that this does not in any way limit the scope of the invention as claimed and is for illustrative purposes only.

The invention as described in the Figures 2-8 is a trampoline device in various embodiments in accordance with the invention wherein there is provided apparatus formed from sheet material 100 which defines a cavity 102 which is inflatable and an area 104 which defines the"jump"area of the apparatus.

It will be appreciated that the device can be stored in a non inflated condition, and for use and upon inflation of the cavity, typically via any suitable pump and valve arrangement the apparatus can be provided to take the form of any of a range of shapes such as circular, square, hexagonal and so on.

Figures 2 to 4 illustrate internal views of a section through one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention and which shows the cavity 102. Within the cavity there is provided a locating portion 112 formed on the internal face of the side wall which in this case is formed by welded sheet material. The locating portion is annular and has a number of eyelets 120 at spaced intervals therearound. There is also provided an anchor member 114 which is spaced inwardly from the locating portion within the cavity. There is further provided a spring, in the embodiments shown in the form of an elasticated cord 116, which passes through the eyelets in the locating portion and around the anchor member as illustrated.

Figure 8 illustrates a cross section of an embodiment of the apparatus where there is shown the apparatus, with the anchor member 114, spring cord 116 and locating portion 112 internally of the apparatus and which lie within the cavity. In addition a series of ties 119 are provided between the anchor member and the walls of the apparatus which serve to retain the anchor member in position in the cavity and also to"pull"the walls of the apparatus into the required shape. The area upon which the person is to jump to obtain the bounce effect is preferably"domed"as shown such that when jumped on as is indicated by arrow 123, a relatively large proportion of the air in the cavity is displaced by the jump towards the side walls to cause the movement indicated by the arrows 121. Thus the volume of air which is displaced by the movement of the person forcing the sheet material downwardly into the cavity moves to cause the side walls to move outwardly. However, in accordance with the present invention, the locating portion 112 moves outwardly and the spring 116 expands but the anchor member 114 stays in the same position. In this condition the elasticity of the cord acting as the spring means that the side or external walls of the trampoline move outwardly under the control of the spring and anchor member. When the spring expands to a certain extent the spring causes the walls to move back inwardly towards the anchor member under the influence of the spring.

This movement creates the"bounce effect"for the user of the trampoline.

Thus, the locating portion, anchor member and spring cord as described herein act as a means to control the outward movement of the trampoline during use and hence provide the bounce effect to the user. In order to avoid the possibility of the device bursting or splitting it is envisaged that the chamber will not be filled or inflated to its full capacity and furthermore that the anchor member is positioned with respect to the walls of the apparatus in a manner which allows even displacement and movement of the walls with respect to the anchor member along the length of the anchor member.

In use, there can be a tendency for the device to move during use and Figures 7A and B illustrate how the device can be provided with a securing means 124 in this case in the form of an air or water filled device 126 which can be secured to lie alongside the trampoline to retain the same in position.

However a space 128 is required to be left around the apparatus to allow for the expansion of the walls. These figures also illustrate how the apparatus of the invention can be used along with other items of apparatus or as an integral part of a larger item of play apparatus Figures 9 to 15 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention.

Figures 9 and 10 illustrate a first embodiment of the second aspect of the invention which comprises an inflatable cell 202 formed as a ring which defines an aperture 204 when inflated.

Suspended across the aperture is sheet material 206. The sheet material in this embodiment is attached at a position such that when the article is in the position shown there is a relatively narrow depth 208 between the sheet material and the surface and when in the position shown in Figure 10 there is a relatively greater depth between the sheet material. It is envisaged that when the article is used as a trampoline the embodiment shown in Figure 10 will be used when the user has more confidence and therefore requires a greater depth of bounce and the article will be reversed when the user is small or a beginner.

The sheet material is preferably attached to the inflatable cell in a manner to allow the same to be attached at the time of manufacture and then packaged, shipped and purchased in a ready to use format so that when the user wishes to use the article all that they have to do is inflate the inflatable cell. In a further feature the level of inflation used by them allows them to exert a degree of control on the tension of the sheet material and hence the degree of"bounce"achieved.

Figures 11A and B illustrates one method of attaching the sheet material to the inflatable cell and this is achieved by using a cover 212 which passes around the inflatable cell and which includes a series of apertures 214. The sheet material also includes a series of apertures and an elongate member, in this case in the form of elasticated cord 216 which is threaded through the holes in the manner shown so as to attach the sheet material and suspend it across the aperture. Figures 12A and B illustrate an alternative embodiment but in which the same reference numerals depict the same components but in a slightly different configuration.

Figures 13 and 14 illustrate a yet further embodiment of the invention and in this case the sheet material 220 is provided to cover the aperture in the inflatable article but also to continue around at least a portion of the inflatable cell itself so as to locate on it. This is shown in Figure 14 which illustrates a cross sectional view of the article and illustrates how the sheet material passes around the inflatable article from the top surface 224 to lie underneath, or nearly underneath 226. In this case the sheet material has a degree of elasticity but is shaped and sized such that when inflated the sheet material applies pressure onto the walls of the inflatable cell so as to in effect grip onto the inflatable cell. This in turn allows the sheet material to be held in position around the inflatable cell. In order to assist this gripping action it is envisaged that the sheet material can be provided with an elasticated opening edge 228 as indicated in Figure 14 and/or with securing means (not shown) which allow the sheet material to be engaged in position.

Turning now to Figure 15 there is illustrated one embodiment of the invention wherein there is provided an inflatable article 230 in accordance with the invention and said article comprises a series of inflatable cells (not shown) each having inflating/deflating valves.. The inflatable cells are arranged such that when the article is fully inflated there is defined a floor space 231 and a wall 232. Depending on the use of materials and printing, a series of play sections can be defined in the inflatable article and this can be further enhanced by the provision of the apertures 234,236, in this case, one on the wall and one on the floor. The apertures are covered by the sheet material 238 in accordance with the invention and so it will be appreciated that the inflatable article now has a trampoline area on the floor surface defined by the sheet material and a wall area onto which articles and persons may be thrown or fall to get a"bounce" affect and this further improves the utility of the inflatable article.

Although the invention is described with reference to a trampoline there are many other uses such as with water filled toys, paddling pools, and other air or gas filled applications incorporating the same concept and invention as herein described and protected.