Safe Compactible Play Structure

Abstract

A child's play ramp, of flexible sheet material, leading up to a play room. Ramp is for climbing and sliding. The playroom is open to the ramp, but part of that opening is covered by a screen. Barriers prevent dangerous falls in directions other than down the ramp. A safety mat is included at ramp bottom. The product is compactible into the form of a box. There is: a specific foothold construction; a specific way of lining side fall barriers; and a specific method of attaching a safety mat to the low end of the ramp.

Description

CLAIMING BENEFIT OF PROVISIONAL APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 490,919 filed on Jul. 30, 2003.BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0002] This invention is in the field of amusement devices, specifically: body slides; play area climbing arrangements; foldable toy habitations; devices including container for storing their parts; and play structures including safety enclosures and / or safety mats. [0003] Slides for children are well known. [0004] Typically the slide, including its climbing feature, is constructed of rigid material. Rigid slides may be less fun than a flexible sheet slide. Using rigid material for a slide also limits the ways in which it can be compacted. [0005] Slide toys typically do not come with integrated safety mats for the bottom end of the slide and bottom end of the climbing feature, and parents may neglect to add safety surfaces when purchasing slides. [0006] Slides typically do not come with fall barriers, apa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] The object of the invention is to provide: a flexible, therefore more fun, play ramp; a climbing feature which can also serve as a bumpy slide; a low friction slide adjacent the climbing feature; and a playroom with a hiding area. And the object is to provide a play structure which largely contains children playing on it, and to provide a safety mat below the structures open side. And the object is to provide a play structure which can be compacted. And the object is to provide a play structure that can be built with readily available materials, using ordinary tools, and requiring minimal capital investment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The invention provides: a ramp with a climbing portion 1b and a sliding portion 1a; a play room 2 at the top end of, and open to, the ramp; a screen 8 partly covering the open side of the play room; vertical fall barriers 4a and 4b along the inclined edges 11 of the ramp; fall barrier liners 6a, attached to the inclined edges of the ramp and extending up the fall barriers; a safety mat 5 at the bottom of the ramp; and a brake 7a and 7b over and in front of the ramp, to discourage children from running down the ramp at full speed, and to discourage children from climbing up and out of the structure. The playroom and the upper end the of the ramp are supported by a base.

Problems solved by technology

Rigid slides may be less fun than a flexible sheet slide.

Using rigid material for a slide also limits the ways in which it can be compacted.

Slide toys typically do not come with integrated safety mats for the bottom end of the slide and bottom end of the climbing feature, and parents may neglect to add safety surfaces when purchasing slides.

This increases the area of the support surface that may receive a falling child, and therefore increases the area needing padding.

Slides typically do not offer a fun way to descend their climbing feature, to complement to the fun children have climbing the sliding surface.

The low end of a slide is typically some inches above the support surface, causing the whole structure to be higher, and, in that way, more dangerous and more expensive.

On the other hand, a slide ending at the support surface level may encourage children to use the slide dangerously, as a runway.

These items are bulky.

Plastic is, for some people, less pleasing than cloth or wood.

Manufacturing start-up costs are high, as molds must be produced first.

Connecting a flexible ramp to rigid fall barriers may be difficult.

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