Rock climbing is an activity enjoyed by many people, however climbing natural rock faces of ten requires traveling considerable distances. Climbing wall facilities have thus become popular as they provide practice and training for climbers locally. These facilities typically provide a vertical climbing wall with a variety of climbing holds mounted, i.e., bolted, on the surface that simulate a natural rock face. Facilities may include, but are not limited to, elementary schools, high schools, business establishments specializing in rock climbing, and gymnasiums.
A continuing challenge for operators of climbing wall facilities is to provide new, more challenging and varied climbing routes by varying the location or rotation of the climbing holds. The holds also are of diverse forms or shapes to further vary the climb. Nuts and bolts must be screwed or unscrewed each time a climbing hold is installed, removed, rotated, moved, or changed on or from the climbing wall.
Systems to provide a diversity of climbs are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,587 to Ulner, et al. discloses a series of metal tracks attached to a wall with bolts or the like, with a variety of holds adapted for attachment to the tracks at any location on the track. U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,058 to Savigny discloses a modular rough surface for attachment to a wall to provide a climbing surface wherein the rough surface provides the holds that the climber grasps during a climb.
Conventionally, many climbing walls use a grid of t-nuts mounted into a plywood or fiberglass wall surface as a means of bolting the climbing holds onto the wall. Some walls have permanent features sculpted onto the surface but use a t-nut grid to attach additional climbing holds. The holds may be relatively simple steps or bars, such as illustrated in the '587 patent to Ulner, or molded from plastic, fiberglass, or the like to resemble features that would be found on a natural rock face. In the climbing wall of Savigny, molded feature portions or modules are attached to the wall to form a unified climbing feature that substantially covers the wall. Such larger climbing features covering a portion of the climbing wall are desirable as well.
Climbing holds are designed for climbing, training, and exercising on a wall, on an artificial climbing surface, or on an individual mechanical device. Climbing holds are grabbed and stepped by a climber in order to ascend up and down the wall. It is important for the holds to be rigidly secured to the climbing wall in order to prevent the hold from rotational or translational movement under the weight of the climber.
Known removable holds are fixed to their support by means of a mechanical bolt. Such a bolt fixing system enables the climbing hold to be installed, removed, rotated, moved, or changed only with the use of a box or allen wrench or both. Such a bolt fixing system requires considerable time and effort of a person capable of handling these tools, and the time and effort is multiplied by the number of climbing holds to be installed, removed, rotated, moved, or changed on or from the climbing wall.
Typically, artificial climbing walls are designed to enable the climbing hold to be securely fastened to the wall by the presence of the mechanical bolt, which is passed partially through an aperture extending through the middle area of the climbing hold and then threaded into some type of receiving nut, t-nut, or other fastener. The nut, t-nut, or other fastener may be permanently secured to the wall, or the nut or fastener may be threaded onto the mechanical bolt from behind the wall.
The holds are generally manufactured from molded resin material, and the presence of a large aperture for passage of the bolt generally in the middle area does however cause a weakening of the mechanical strength of the climbing hold. When the bolt is tightened too tightly, or from forces caused during the climber's normal climbing exercise, this type of hold can break. When the bolt is tightened too loosely, or from forces caused during the climber's normal climbing exercise, this type of hold will spin or rotate right or left.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,327 to Franklin describes a climbing hold, which is capable of being securely bolted to a climbing wall without fracturing. A reinforcing sleeve is therefore secured within the aperture of the hold body, so as to support a portion of the hold body. The sleeve includes a tubular portion extending partially through the aperture, and radially extending end faces to prevent translation of the hold body when bolted to the climbing wall.
Safety is always a concern with any sport, and the ability to remove the lower climbing holds from a climbing wall when not in use would help to prevent unauthorized or unsupervised climbing. Nevertheless, the climbing holds are generally left on the climbing wall when the wall is not in use because of the time and expense necessary to remove them. Some facilities remove the lower climbing holds or place a tarp over the climbing holds in order to eliminate unsupervised climbing. There would be a large time and expense benefit, not to mention safety benefit, for the removal of these climbing holds in a relatively quick and easy manner.
There is a need for a climbing hold that overcomes the problems associated with known climbing holds by providing a climbing hold that can be removably attached, rotated, and detached quickly and easily.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds