FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a play structure having one or more accessories selected from the group comprising elongate members, floor plates and play accessories such as slides, swings, roller slides, tunnels, upright panels and climbing chains or the like. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

It has been known to construct play structures utilising materials such as, for example, treated pine logs. Such structures suffer from the disadvantage that the horizontal members which are usually necessary to support the play accessories may be positioned only at certain limited positions on the uprights. It is also known to construct play structures using extruded metal uprights together with certain clamping arrangements for the horizontal members, some of which clamping arrangements allow for the horizontal members to be adjustably slidable up or down the upright. It would be desirable to provide a play structure having an improved means of coupling the accessories such as horizontal members to the uprights, or which at least provides an alternative to the arrangements of known play structures. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a play structure comprising at least two spaced generally tubular elongate upright members which are to be secured relative to the ground so as to extend generally vertically; one or more accessories selected from the group comprising elongate members, floor plates, and play accessories such as slides, swings, roller slides, tunnels, upright panels and climbing chains or the like, the or each accessory being supported by the two upright members at a predetermined position by respective mounting

means, the mounting means comprising: a bracket member having at least one first clamping face, one or more clamping members having a second clamping face, one or more fasteners connecting the bracket member and the or each clamping member such that the first and second clamping faces are spaced apart and face one another, said fastener being adapted to selectably move the bracket member and the clamping member towards or away from one another; the upright members having at least two longitudinally extending recesses angularly spaced from one another about the longitudinal axis of the upright member, each recess being open to the outside of the upright member by a longitudinally extending slot having a width which is smaller than that of the recess; wherein the clamping member is slidably receivable in one of the recesses with an edge portion of the upright member adjacent the corresponding slot being received between the first and second clamping faces so that each mounting means is selectably slidable along the upright and is clampable to the edge portion of the upright member to fixedly secure the or each accessory. Preferably, the clamping member is maintained in frictional contact with the edge portion when it is within the recess. More particularly, the mounting means may have a resilient member attached to the clamping member which resiliently bears against a surface of the recess opposite to the slot.

Preferably, the upright member is generally octagonal in cross-section. Alternatively, the upright member is triangular, rectangular, oval or circular in cross-section. Preferably, the mounting means has the bracket member having two parallel first clamping faces- which are spaced

apart, and two clamping members and fasteners associated with the respective first clamping faces of the bracket member. Further, the bracket member may have a form, between the two clamping faces, which is adapted to receive a portion of a horizontally extending member of the accessory such that, when the mounting means is clamped to the upright member, the portion of the horizontal member is clamped between the bracket member and the upright member. Alternatively, the bracket member has a laterally projecting portion which, in use, projects outwards from the upright member, the projecting portion being adapted to be connected to the accessory.

The upright members preferably have an outside wall, and a longitudinally extending box section on an inside of the wall forming each recess. The box sections have two side walls spaced from, and on respective sides of, the slot and a backwall which faces the slot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a play structure according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of one of the uprights showing the mounting means for the horizontal members.

Figure 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the components of the mounting means shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the arrangements shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the components of an alternative mounting means.

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the mounting means of Figure 5. Figure 7 is a series of schematic cross-sectional

views of alternative forms of the upright members. BEST METHOD OF PERFORMING THE INVENTION

The play structure 10 illustrated in Figure 1 shows one particular arrangement. It will be appreciated that the play structure 10 may take a variety of forms but will generally include a plurality of upright members 11, a plurality of accessories 13 which may be elongate members, 13a, floor plates 13b, play accessories 13c or the like, each of the accessories 13 being fixedly secured to at least two of the upright members 11 with respective mounting means 12. The play accessories 13c such as slides, swings etc may be mounted to the upright member 11 by horizontal members 13a, or alternatively, directly to the upright members 11. Referring to the upright member 11 shown in Figure 2, there is shown an extruded metal section being generally octagonal in cross-section. Each of the eight faces of the upright member 11 has an elongate slot 15, each slot 15 being associated with a corresponding recess 14. As such, the recesses 14/slots 15 are angularly spaced about the longtudinal axis of the upright member 11 and, therefore, face in different directions. The recesses 14 are generally formed by a box-section 33 integral with the outer wall 32 of the upright member 11. Other possible cross-sectional forms of the upright member are shown in Figure 7. The important features of each upright member 11 is the provision of at least two recesses 14/slots 15 which extend along the upright member 11 at spaced angular positions. In this way, a number of the upright members 11 are adapted to cooperate and provide support for the at least one, and preferably a number of, accessories 13.

The slots 15 have a width B which is substantially smaller than the width C of the recesses 14. Accordingly, there is an edge portion 16 of the outside wall of the

upright members 11 which is adjacent each slot 15.

The mounting means 12 comprises a bracket member 20 (refer Figure 3) having first and second base portions 28 which are generally co-planar, and a formed portion 27 defining an internal recess 26. Each of the base portions 8, 29 are provided with an aperture 24.

The mounting means 12 further comprises two clamping members 22 which are generally flat, each of which have a threaded aperture 25. Further, there are two fasteners 21 each having an enlarged head 32 and a threaded shank 33, the threaded shank adapted to be received in and to engage the threaded aperture 25 in the clamping members 22. The enlarged head 36 is larger than the apertures 24 in the bracket member 20. Accordingly, the mounting means 12 is assembled by inserting the shanks 37 of the fasteners 21 through the respective apertures 24 in the bracket member 20, and which then engage the threaded apertures 25 in the respective clamping members 22 such that the base portions 28, 29 of the bracket member 20, and the clamping members 22 are generally parallel, spaced and face one another. Alternatively, the mounting means 12 comprises a bracket member 40 (refer Figure 5) having a base portion 41 and a laterally projecting portion 42 forming a horizontal support surface 43 and having an aperture 44. The base portion 41 has two apertures 45 similar to bracket member 20 and connects to the upright member 11 in a similar manner.

The mounting means 12 further comprises a spring element 23 which cooperates with the clamping member 22. That is, the spring element 23 comprises two generally parallel end flanges 35 which are spaced apart slightly less than the height of the clamping member 22, and an arched back 31. Accordingly, the spring element 23 may be "clipped" over the clamping member 22 so that its end flanges 35 bear against the top and bottom edges of the

clamping member 22, and whereby the back 31 projects away from the back surface of the clamping member 22.

The mounting means 12 is ountable to the upright member 11 by inserting each of the clamping members 22, together with their associated clip elements 23 into one of the recesses 14 from the end of the upright member 11. When the clamping members 22 and their corresponding spring element 23 are received in the recesses 14, front surface portions 30 of the clamping members 22 abut and bear against the edge portions 16 of the upright member 11. That is, the spring elements 23 are caused to bear against the back surface 17 of the recess 14 such that the front surface portions 30 of the clamping members 22 bear against the edge portions 16. Further, the base portions 28, 29 of the bracket member 20 lie against the outside surface of the upright 11, with the fasteners 21 extending through the slot 15.

Accordingly, the mounting means 12 is slidable along the recess 14 of the upright member 11, and has a certain amount of friction due to the spring element 23 such that the mounting means 12 will not slip down the upright member 11 without a predetermined amount of force being applied thereto.

The recess 26 in the bracket member 20 is adapted to receive a portion of the accessory 13. For example, a horizontal member 13q may be a straight elongate member extending between respective upright members 11 with end portions of the member 13a being received in the recess 26. Alternatively, a play accessory 13e can have one or more projecting portions which are adapted to be received in the recess 26. Further, the recess 26 is sized such that, when the mounting means 12 is fixed to the upright member 11, an edge of the portion of the accessory 13 will bear against the outside surface of the upright 11 and thereby be clamped between the bracket member 20 and the

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upright member 11.

In the alternative embodiment of bracket member 40 (refer Figures 5 and 6), the accessory 13 such as a floor plate 13b is attached directly to the projecting portion 42 by a fastener 46 which is received through the aperture

44.

When the mounting means 12 and the accessory 13 is at the desired position along the upright member 11, the fasteners 21 can be rotatably driven by a suitable tool (not shown) so as to move the clamping members 22 towards the base members 28, 29, and thereby clamp the edge portions 16 of the upright member 11 there-between. The mounting means 12 is thereby clamped to the upright member 11 such that accessory 13 is securely supported. The portions of the slots 15 which are exposed, that is, which are not covered by a bracket member 20, 40, may be closed by an elongate insert 18 (refer Fig. 2) for aesthetic reasons. The insert 18 has a flat strip 47 which extends along the slot 15 and a retention portion 48 received within the recess 14 and serving to retain the strip 47 flush with the outside surface of the upright member 11.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET