FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a user-erectable and dismantable play structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The concept of providing a playground which may be erected and dismantled by the children who play on it, has been proposed in the past. However, the concept has proved rather easier to speak about than to translate into a workable practical system. The components must be of a practical size and weight, and thereby easily handled and manipulated, the interlocking devices must be suited to children's capabilities, and most importantly, the erected playground must be stable, safe - and consistently interesting to play on and re-arrange. International patent publication WO88/07885 (PCT/GB88/00298) describes a play structure comprising a series of posts each anchored firmly to the floor and a series of link units mounted between and interconnecting adjacent posts. The link units together with the posts form a fence-like assembly for enclosing the play area. Some of the link units may include items of play equipment. This structure, like all other prior art arrangements known to the present applicant, fails to describe a play structure which can be easily erected and dismantled by the children who use it. Other exemplary background art includes French patent specifications 2357282, 2447433, 2567033, German patent 1934089 and U.S. patent 3516659.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a play structure that can be easily erected and

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dismantled by children.

The invention accordingly provides a user-erectable and dismantable play structure comprising: a plurality of upstanding posts; a plurality of ground or floor supports for the posts; and one or more play accessories each secured to one or more of said posts by receipt of the post(s) through respective apertures in the accessory. The play structure preferably further comprises spacer elements slidably mounted on the posts to determine the position thereon of the play accessory or some of the play accessories.

The invention also provides a set of components for a user-erectable and dismantable play structure, comprising:- a plurality of upstanding posts; a plurality of ground or floor supports for the posts; one or more play acqessories, which accessories each include plural apertures dimensioned to receive respective said posts in an erected play structure; and preferably: spacer sleeves adapted to be slidably mounted on the posts to determine the position thereon of the play accessory or some of the play accessories.

In a further aspect, the invention still further provides a support foot for a user-erectable play structure comprising a unitary body having a relatively broader base and relatively narrower retention means upstanding from the base, which retention means defines a plurality of similar upright sockets adapted to receive and support respective upright posts, and means to latch the posts in the sockets against axial withdrawal. The ground or floor supports of the afore-defined play structure and/or of said set of components may each comprise the support foot just defined. There are four

of said sockets in each support foot arranged with their upright axes at the corners of an imaginary square. With this arrangement, discrete playground modules can be independently erected on multiple support feet disposed in a regular array.

There are advantageously further provided plural shaped tubular segments adapted to engage and interconnect the tops of said posts, and means to detachably effect this engagement or interconnection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a self-erected and dismantable playground according to a first embodiment of the invention, employing single socket ground or floor support feet; Figure 2 is a cross-section of one of the ground/floor support feet seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a playground according to a second embodiment of the invention, in which the ground or floor supports each have four post sockets;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the ground/floor support feet depicted in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the support foot shown in Figure 4 along the lines x-x and y-y shown in Figure 6, but depicting only one of the four post latching devices and showing a post in situ latched by this device;

Figure 5a is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 4 and showing the post with an attached spacer element;

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the support foot shown in Figures 4 and 5;

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Figure 7 is a top plan view of the base plate of the support foot shown in Figures 4 to 6;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a respective post latching device of the second embodiment; Figures 9 and 10 are side views of the housing member and the ball fitting;

Figures 11 and 12 are side elevational views of the male and female fittings of the coupler arrangement for detachably connecting the posts and U-shaped rails of the piayground;

Figure 13 is a half cross-sectional view of the assembled male and female fittings of the coupler arrangement.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The playground 10 shown in Figure 1 includes an array of upstanding tubular posts 12 positioned about the ground or floor by respective support feet 14. The array is interconnected and ordered by a number of primary play accessories 15, including in particular platforms 16, which are each secured to two or more of the posts 12 by receipt of the posts through respective apertures 18 in the accessory 15. Spacer elements 20, 21, also slidably mounted on the posts 12, determine the position thereon of some of the platforms 16. A variety of secondary play accessories 25 are also attached to the array of posts 12 and the posts are interconnected at their tops either by inverted U-shaped rails 30 or by roof components 31. Both posts 12 and rails 30 are metal tubes, e.g. steel tubes, of uniform gauge and diameter.

Platforms 16 comprise simple solid panels moulded in a strong plastics material. The panels are square and have rounded corners 17 and respective apertures 18 adjacent the corners. The centres of apertures 18 are at the corners of a 600mm square: this is accordingly the selected separation of the posts of each module in the

erected playground, the horizontal module dimension.

One of the support feet 14 is detailed in cross- section in Figure 2. It is a hollow unitary moulding in a suitable plastics material having an outer shell 31a and an inner tubular core 31b joined at the top by an annular web 31c. Shell 31a defines a broader frustoconical base 34 and the outer housing 36a of a relatively narrower retention means 36 upstanding from the base. The core 31b completes the retention means and defines a close fitting socket 35 for a respective tubular post 12. Socket 35 is closed at its bottom end, and rests on a circular stabilizing pad 37. The bottom of the foot may be closed completely, and either pad 37 or the bottom closure may include small studs or other projections for enhanced stability on uneven ground.

A bayonet fitting is provided in socket 35 by means of a pair of thin integral lugs 38, which project inwardly from the wall of the socket in a common axial plane. Each post 12 has a longitudinal slot 40 to receive lugs 38, and a pair of arcuately extending notches 42 which branch from slot 40. The post 12 is introduced into socket 35 by aligning slot 40 with lugs 38 until the lugs are in register with notches 42. On rotation of the post, the lugs 38 engage the notches 42 and the post 12 is locked against axial withdrawal.

The arrangement of Figure 1, with only single socket support feet 14, has the limitation that it is not possible to independently erect discrete modules in four directions from each support. To overcome this problem, a modified version of the support foot 14' has been devised. The modified support foot 14' is shown in Figure 4.

The support foot 14' has four sockets 35' arranged, when viewed from above, at the corners of an imaginary square. Each of the sockets 35' is effectively an open- ended tube and is splined such that the distance between diametrally opposed splines 35a' is slightly greater than

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the outer diameter of the posts. This allows the posts 12' to be slid in and out of the socket 35'. The contact area between the posts 12' and the splines 35a' is lower than when the socket 35' is not splined thereby resulting in a reduction in the frictional forces between the socket 35' and post 12' . This makes the parts easier to assemble and decreases the likelihood of wear between the parts.

Figure 3 shows a playground incorporating the modified support foot 14' . The modified support foot 14' enables up to four different connections to be made at any one support foot 14' . The support foot 14' is open at its bottom end and is designed to rest on a circular base plate 50 (Figures 5 to 7). The base plate 50 has a pair of upstanding annular ribs 52a, 52b on its top face 54 which extend adjacent to and around the entire edge of the base plate 50. The ribs 52a, 52b are complementary to the bottom of the support foot 14' such that when the base plate 50 is pushed into the bottom of the support foot 14' the ribs 52a, 52b lie between the inner wall of the outershell 31a, and the outer wall of the core 31 _b . In this embodiment, outer shell 31a extends about only the lower part of the support foot 14' .

The ribs 52a, 52b define a groove 53 therebetween which is best seen in Figure 5. The groove 53 is shaped to receive each of four webs 58 on the bottom of the foot support 14' which webs bridge shell 31a to core 31b, one for each socket 35' . The groove 53 has a central ridge 56 which is broken at four places to form four quarter ridge portions 59. When the support foot 14' and base plate 50 are assembled, each quarter portion 59 is located between two adjacent webs 58. The quarter ridge portions 59 thereby locate the support foot 14' in the base plate 50 and prevent rotation of the support foot 14'. The method by which the support foot 14' and base plate 50 are secured together will be described subsequently.

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The base plate 50 has four drain holes 60 each drain hole 60 being positioned such that it aligns with one of the four sockets 35'. On the bottom of the base plate 50 adjacent each of the drain holes 60 there is an annular foot pad 61. The foot pads 61 space the base plate 50 from the ground in order to allow water to drain through the drain holes 60.

As the sockets 35' are splined it is not practicable to use a bayonet fitting to secure the posts 12 to the foot support. Instead, each post 12 is secured with its respective socket 35' by means of a post latching device 60. The post latching device 60 comprises a housing member 62 and a ball fitting 64. (See Figures 8 to 10) The housing member 62 comprises a cylindrical body 66 having a bore 67 and a flange 68 on one end. The cylindrical body 66 is longitudinally slit to define two tongue portions 68a, 68b. The end of each tongue portion 68a, 68b has an inwardly projecting annular rib 70a, 70b. A housing member 62 is fitted into the bottom end of the foot support 14' adjacent each socket 35' such that the bore 67 of the housing member 62 lies centrally within the respective socket 35' . The housing member 62 is centrally located by means of a lug 69 on the flange 68 of the housing member 62. This lug 69 is received between adjacent splines of the socket 35'. Each housing member 62 is secured in this position by a threaded fastener 71a which passes through a counter sunk hole in the flange 68 and bites into the foot support 14' . The base plate 50 is then pushed into the foot support 14' sandwiching the housing members 62 therebetween. The base plate 50 is secured to the foot support 14' by four threaded fasteners. The fasteners each pass through a countersunk hole in the base plate 50 adjacent one of the drain holes 60 and bite into the core of foot support 14'.

The ball fitting 64 comprises a cylindrical body 72 having a ball 74 attached via a neck portion 73 to one

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end of the body 72. The body 72 is longitudinally slit to define two tongue portions 76a, 76b. The end of each tongue portion 76a, 76b is rimmed to define a shoulder 78. A ball fitting 64 can be pushed into the end of a post 12, compressing inwardly the tongue portions 76a,

76b to allow the shoulder 78 to snap into a complementary groove on the inner wall of the post 12. The ball fitting 64 is then locked within the end of the post 12. To secure a post 12 within a socket 35' of the foot support 14' the post 12 with ball fitting 64 attached is pushed into the socket 35' until the ball 74 contacts the tongue portions 68a, 68b of the housing member 62. Sufficient downward force is then applied to the post 12 to deflect the tongue portions 68a, 68b radially outwardly to allow the ball 74 to enter the bore 67 of the housing member 62. The tongue portions 68a, 68b are then snapped back into their original positions with the annular ribs 70a, 70b adjacent the neck portion 73. The ball 74 is thereby latched within the housing member 62 and can only be removed by applying sufficient upward force on the post 12 to deflect the tongue portions 68a, 68b radially outwardly to release the ball fitting 64.

Latching device 60 has the advantage that it is axially symmetric and does not require a specific angular presentation for engagement nor a separate rotational movement of the post 12 for initial latching and subsequent release. The latching device 60 is thus particularly suitable for pre-schoolers.

Figure 3 depicts, perhaps better than Figure 1, a number of spacer elements which determine the positions of accessories such as platforms 16 on the posts 12, and also serve as post connectors to further define the module sizes. The spacer elements include elongate rails 20, smaller sleeves 152 and larger sleeves 154, and all have complementary apertures 151 to slide up and down posts 12. The apertures in the spacer elements are splined in a manner similar to the sockets 35' in the

support 14' , to reduce friction with the posts 12 and also to obtain maximum strength with minimal material.

The apertures of rails 20 are again 600mm apart at their centres - the horizontal module dimension already discussed in connection with platforms 16. The selected vertical module dimension is 100mm: the axial length of sleeves 152 and the height of rails 20. Sleeves 154 are exactly twice as long as sleeves 152 and this longer length is exactly equal to the sum of the height of a support foot 14 and the thickness of a platform 16.

Two further spacer elements are a double length rail being a stretched version of rail 20 and a double 100mm spacer being a spacer with two post apertures spaced to register with any adjacent pair of sockets in the four- socket posts. Such a spacer is waisted between and parallel to the apertures (in a similar fashion to the waisting 36a of support foot 14' - Figure 4) and might substitute, e.g., for the pair of single sleeve spacers 152a, 152b in Figure 3. Such double spacers are also useful for branching laterally off posts 12 that is for joining a tubular element beside a post. A large U- shaped spacer element is shown at 21 in Figure 1.

The depending arms of U-shaped tubular rails 30 are detachably connected to tubular posts 12 by the coupling arrangement shown in Figures 11 to 13. The ends of the U-shaped tubular rails 30 and posts 12 carry complementary male and female fittings 80 and 82. The female fitting 82 shown in Figure 12 comprises a sleeve 84 with a rim 86 at one end. The sleeve is longitudinally slit to define two tongues 90a, 90b. The female fitting 82 is locked within the end of the post 12 or rail 30 in a manner similar to that of the ball . " fitting 64. When the female fitting 82 is locked within the post 12 or rails 30 the outer surface of the rim 86 is flush with the outer surface of the post 12 or rail 30.

The male fitting 80 shown in Figure 11 comprises a

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body 88 with a central rim 90 which divides the body 88 into a first body portion 88a and a second body portion 88b. The first body portion 88a which is secured into the end of the post 12 or rail 30 is longitudinally slit to define two tongues. The first body portion 88a of the male fitting is locked into the post 12 or rail 30 in a manner similar to that of the ball fitting 64 and the female fitting 82. The second body portion 88b which mates with the female fitting 82 has four longitudinally slits 88c to define two tongues 94a, 94b with rimmed ends. The second body portion 88b of the male fitting 80 is latched into the female fitting 82 in a manner similar to that of the ball fitting 64 in the end of the post 12, the tongues 94a, 94b latching behind a chamfered internal rib 96 in the female fitting 82. The male fitting 80 can be released from the female fitting 82 by applying inward pressure to the central rim 90 at the tongues 94a, 94b, to release the tongues while pulling the fittings 80, 82 away from each other. It will be appreciated that the described and illustrated play structure presents excellent opportunities for construction and educational activity, especially for children in the pre-school and infant age groups. Children, perhaps helped by adults, could erect a playground from a kit of components comprising multiple support feet 14, slotted steel tubes 12, platforms 16 and other accessories, spacer elements 150, 152, 154 and U- shaped tubular rails 30. The children simply arrange the support feet about the floor or ground, insert and latch or lock posts as required into the sockets, and then slide the other components onto the posts to build up a modular array. The U-shaped rails are then snap engaged to the posts and the secondary accessories added. The children can erect playgrounds to suit a wide variety of play concepts, and can readily dismantle or re-arrange the playground when required. The design of the support feet is such that it is not necessary to secure them to

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- li ¬ the ground in order to ensure stability of the play structure. The structure is therefore highly stable and safe.

The described arrangement has been advanced merely by way of explanation and many modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which includes every novel feature and combination of novel features herein disclosed.

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