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Safety features of a climbing apparatus for use in a water environment

Safety features of a climbing apparatus for use in a water environment description/claims

This application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to the provisional U.S. patent application filed May 25, 2007 and identified by Application No. 60/940,133, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present is related to attorney's docket number 08-AQUA-01, SAFETY FEATURES OF A CLIMBING APPARATUS FOR USE IN A WATER ENVIRONMENT, and to attorney's docket number 08-AQUA-02, SAFETY FEATURES OF A CLIMBING APPARATUS FOR USE IN A WATER ENVIRONMENT, both filed on even date herewith.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

With use of various aquatic devices and apparatus in or near bodies of water, such as pools, lakes, the ocean, etc., there are many safety issues that must be considered. Many devices and apparatus suitable for use in bodies of water, such as slides, diving boards, mechanized games, and the like must be concerned with issues of user safety, such as user entrapment and user falling for users of such devices, as well as for persons just in proximity to such devices. The use of aquatic climbing walls and apparatus carries similar concerns.

A falling user condition is a condition in which a user of a climbing wall may be at increased exposure to falling from the climbing surface of the climbing apparatus or other portions of the climbing apparatus. For instance, a climber who seeks to stray from the intended climbing portion of the climbing surface, such as attempting to climb around the sides, top or bottom of the climbing apparatus or attempting to access the climbing wall from the pool deck or from the top is at increased risk of falling. Thus, a condition in which the user may use the climbing apparatus in an unintended manner, and thus increase his chances of falling, may be considered a falling user condition.

An entrapment condition is another type of user condition which, if unmitigated, may cause a user of a climbing apparatus or a person in proximity to the climbing apparatus to be entrapped while attempting to use or simply be in proximity to the climbing apparatus. Entrapment conditions may be caused by pre-existing physical properties of a body of water, like a pool, that become dangerous when a climbing apparatus is used in the environs of the body of water. Thus, an entrapment condition may be formed by the position of the climbing apparatus proximate a support structure, such as a pool deck and a pool wall, which provides support for the climbing apparatus in or near the body of water. An entrapment condition, then, may be formed by one or more of a gap between the first substantially vertical lower portion and the pool wall, and a gutter proximate the pool deck and the climbing surface.

The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, which describes certain exemplary embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate front, side and top views of a 1×3 climbing apparatus, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate various side views of a frame suitable for use with 1×3 various climbing apparatus, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate front and top views of a 2×3 climbing apparatus, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate front and top views of a 3×3 climbing apparatus, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate front and top views of a 4×3 climbing apparatus, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate front and top views of a 1×4 climbing apparatus, in accordance with various embodiments.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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