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US 7,252,605 B2Granted
Articulated football goal including sacrificial crossbar
OwnerJames L. Sniderinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerJames L. Sniderinventor
Estimating the term…
An articulated athletic goal can be raised to a high position and/or a low position relative to the game position, for safety and security. The crossbar and uprights are supported on the end of a boom pivoted on a vertical column and powered by a hydraulic actuator, which may be operated remotely. Through either a parallel linkage or a separate hydraulic actuator, the uprights are held in a substantially vertical orientation throughout the pivoting motion. In a preferred embodiment, the boom is mounted on a single pivot and articulation enables the boom to be oriented substantially vertically downward. The boom is provided with a second, smaller, actuator, for releasing the crossbar/upright assembly when it is near the field, completely separating the crossbar/upright assembly from the boom. The sacrificial crossbar/upright assembly may then be removed by spectators without the dangerous and destructive mob action previously associated with after-game celebrations. A replacement crossbar/upright assembly is easily attached and readied for the next use.
An articulating football goal comprising a vertical column, a boom movably attached to said vertical column, said boom holding near its end a crossbar and uprights to form a goal when maintained at a height suitable for regulation football, said crossbar including a neck thereon for attachment to said boom and including a releasable stationary retaining member in said neck for retaining said neck in attached relationship to said boom,said boom being movable by at least one actuator to lower said crossbar and uprights to near field level, and means for releasing said crossbar from said boom.
A football goal comprising (a) a substantially vertical column, (b) a boom including a vertical column end and a remote end, said boom being attached at its vertical column end in pivotal relation to said substantially vertical column, (c) an actuator in said football goal for moving said boom, and (d) a crossbar and upright football goal assembly including a releasable attachment member for attachment of said assembly to the end of said boom, said releasable attachment member comprising a retaining surface for engagement with a complementary retaining surface within said boom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.