Climbing wall assemblies

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11525262-B2
Application number	US-202016856279-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2020
Priority date	Jul 25, 2017
Publication date	Dec 13, 2022
Grant date	Dec 13, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to climbing wall assemblies having a variety of improvements. For instance, the climbing wall assemblies may include connectors to attach the surface panels to the framework, in which the connectors may be mounted substantially anywhere along the front of the framework and at substantially any angle, providing for the securement of climbing panels in various geometries. The climbing wall assemblies may also include braces that may easily be adjusted to a desired length and configuration during construction of a climbing wall. The climbing wall assemblies may also include variable-angle, integral front posts, which provide for the easy and stable securement of climbing panels in various geometries. These improvements provide climbing wall assemblies that may be easily assembled to produce a desirable climbing wall structure having few framework components.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A climbing wall comprising:
a framework comprising front posts, support posts, and braces;
one or more surface panels affixed to the front posts by a plurality of connectors; and
a plurality of climbing holds arranged along the one or more surface panels;
wherein at least one of the front posts is a variable-angle front post comprising at least a first portion extending at a first angle relative to a vertical axis, and a second portion extending at a second angle relative to a vertical axis, wherein the second angle differs from the first angle;
wherein at least one of the braces is an adjustable brace in which the length of the brace is adjustable; and
wherein the adjustable brace has a first end attached to the variable-angle front post and a second end attached to one of the support posts.

2. The climbing wall of claim 1 , in which the first end of the adjustable brace comprises a first mounting plate and the second end of the adjustable brace comprises a second mounting plate, and wherein the adjustable brace is configured so that the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate may be positioned either substantially parallel with one another or substantially perpendicular to one another.

3. The climbing wall of claim 1 , wherein the adjustable brace comprises an outer element and an inner element, a portion of the inner element being received within the outer element and a portion of the inner element extending from an end of the outer element, wherein the position of the inner element relative to the outer element may be adjusted so that the portion of the inner element extending from an end of the outer element has a desired length.

4. The climbing wall of claim 3 , wherein
a longitudinal span of the outer element comprises a plurality of opposing apertures, and
a longitudinal span of the inner element comprises a plurality of opposing apertures.

5. The climbing wall of claim 4 , wherein the inner element is secured at a desired length by at least one fastener extending through opposing apertures of the outer element and opposing apertures of the inner element.

6. The climbing wall of claim 5 , wherein
a. a longitudinal span of the outer element comprises a second plurality of opposing apertures, the second plurality of opposing apertures being circumferentially offset from the plurality of opposing apertures by about 90 degrees,
b. a longitudinal span of the inner element comprises a second plurality of opposing apertures, the second plurality of opposing apertures being circumferentially offset from the plurality of opposing apertures by about 90 degrees, or
c. both a. and b.

7. The climbing wall of claim 3 , wherein the inner element is rotatable relative to the outer element; and wherein the inner element may be secured in at least a first position and a second position, the second position being circumferentially offset from the first position by about 90 degrees.

8. The climbing wall of claim 4 , wherein
a. adjacent apertures along the longitudinal span of the outer element are spaced apart from one another by between about 0.5 inches and about 1.5 inches,
b. adjacent apertures along the longitudinal span of the inner element are spaced apart from one another by between about 0.5 inches and about 1.5 inches, or
c. both a. and b.

9. The climbing wall of claim 4 , wherein adjacent apertures along the longitudinal span of the inner element are spaced apart from one another by between about 0.5 inches and about 1.5 inches, and adjacent apertures along the longitudinal span of the outer element are spaced apart from one another by between about 4 inches and about 8 inches.

10. The climbing wall of claim 3 , wherein an end of the outer element comprises a first mounting bracket and an end of the inner element comprises a second mounting bracket.

11. The climbing wall of claim 10 , in which the first mounting bracket is secured to the outer element by at least one fastener extending through opposing apertures of the outer element.

12. The climbing wall of claim 11 , in which the second mounting bracket is secured to the inner element by at least one fastener extending through opposing apertures of the inner element.

13. The climbing wall of claim 1 , wherein the adjustable brace may be adjusted within any one of the following ranges:
a length between about 14 and about 19 inches,
a length between about 26 and about 60 inches,
a length between about 26 and about 32 inches,
a length between about 32 inches and about 50 inches, or
a length between about 50 inches and about 81 inches.

14. The climbing wall of claim 1 , wherein at least one the second end of the adjustable brace is mounted directly to a square support post of the support posts.

15. The climbing wall of claim 1 , wherein at least one the first end of the adjustable brace is mounted to a round front post of the front posts, the round front post comprising a square mounting block.

16. The climbing wall of claim 1 , wherein the adjustable brace is stainless steel or galvanized steel.

17. The climbing wall of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the variable angle front post and the second portion of the variable angle front post are integral.

18. The climbing wall of claim 1 , further comprising at least two adjacent surface panels,
wherein each of the two adjacent surface panels comprises a rounded edge, and wherein the rounded edges of the two adjacent surface panels contact one another to form a joint.

19. A climbing wall comprising:
a framework comprising front posts, support posts, and braces;
one or more surface panels affixed to the front posts by a plurality of connectors; and
a plurality of climbing holds arranged along the one or more surface panels;
wherein at least one of the braces is an adjustable brace in which the length of the brace is adjustable; and
wherein at least one of the connectors comprises a pane and a securing bracket, in which the securing bracket is affixed to a front post and the pane is affixed to a surface panel.

Assignees

• Everlast Climbing Ind Inc

Inventors

• Sudeith Timothy Shawn
• Howard Sarah Mae
• Greenblatt Joel
• Sweeney Joseph

Classifications

• A63B2071/0694

  Visual indication, e.g. Indicia · CPC title

• E04B1/19

  Three-dimensional [3D] framework structures · CPC title

• A63B69/0048 Primary

  for mountaineering, e.g. climbing-walls, grip elements for climbing-walls · CPC title

• E04G11/56

  of telescopic type · CPC title

• E04B2/56

  {Load-bearing} walls of framework or pillarwork; Walls incorporating load-bearing elongated members (E04B2/74, E04B2/88 take precedence; pillars E04C3/30) · CPC title