Circular boxing ring
United States Patent 1 Jensen 1 1 CIRCULAR BOXING RING [76] Inventor. Marvin G. Jensen, 8416 S. 1700.  
 West. West Jordan, Utah 84084 [22] Filed: Aug. 6, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 386,038  
 [52] US. C1 272/3; 256/26 [51] Int. Cl. A63C 19/00 [58] Field of Search 272/3; 256/131. 34. 35. 256/24. 25. 26. 47. 53; 24/283; 49/9. 34  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 359.604 3/1887 Hanna 256/35 453.542 6/1891 Buchanan 256/47 509.731 11/1893 Grove 256/47 521.328 6/1894 Berdan.... 256/35 UX 2.008.132 7/1935 Engle 256/34 X 2.119.327 5/1938 Gunnarson...... 272/3 2.295.205 9/1942 Fraser 49/9 2.785.897 3/1957 Lennon 272/3 X 3.332.667 7/1967 Armstrong 256/24 X 1 Apr. 8, 1975 3.385.564 5/1968 Persicke 256/111 3.436.057 4/1969 Mazelsky 256/131 3.451.657 6/1969 Roberts 256/47 X 3.713.625 1/1973 Trudell 256/34 X Prinmry E.\&#39;aminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-R. T. Stouffer Attorney. Agent. or Firm-Trask 8t Britt {57] ABSTRACT A circular sporting ring is disclosed having a platform and supporting posts mounted thereto. Extending radially from each post is a connecting rod. having a fixed member mounted to the post and a slidable member attached to a resilient arcuate guard member which. when connected at their ends to other arcuate members. form a circle outlining a sporting ring. Normally three or four completed circles or circular rungs are vertically spaced from each other by vertically extendible spacers to form a regulation boxing or wrestling ring. Each of the completed circles are similarly mounted.  
 12 Claims. 7 Drawing Figures CIRCULAR BOXING RING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a sporting ring and particularly to a circular ring adaptable to boxing, wrestling and like sporting events.  
 2. State of the Art A prerequisite of boxing and other like spectator sports is that the contestants be enclosed within a desig nated area such thatt there is minimum obstruction of the spectatorsview. This is normally accomplished by enclosing the contestants in a square &#34;ring. Many times during a boxing contest one of the contestants will be trapped in a corner and is unable to escape the ensuing onslaught of his opponent. This may result not only in a serious physical injury to the trapped fighter, but also detracts from the art and skills of the sport.  
  Although several types of circular boxing rings have from time to time been proposed, they all possess deflciencies or shortcomings of one type or another. In some instances a circular ring. or one that was substantially circular. would require a vast number of posts which would seriously limit the spectatorsview. In another instance a solid curved guard rail was proposed (US. Pat. No. 2.119.327) in which the rigid rails were attached by springs to the post supporting members. This particular approach was found to be unsatisfactory as the vertical stability of the guard rails was lost. causing the rails to sag. When a force was applied against the guard rails. the fighters could easily topple over or be forced through the guard rails. If the spring attachments were tightened to give greater vertical stability, the resiliency of the rails was substantially reduced creating a precarious situation for the fighters when they were forced against the rails.  
 OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of this invention to overcome the problems and deficiencies found in existing boxing rings. Another object of this invention is to provide a boxing ring which is inherently less hazardous to the contestants. Another object is to provide a circu lar boxing ring wherein vertical movement of the arcuate guard rails is substantially minimized. Still another object is to provide a circular ring which can be easily assembled and which can utilize the support posts now being used for square boxing rings. Still another object is to provide a circular ring wherein the resiliency of the arcuate guard rails is equivalent to the cableenforced ropes now in use for conventional boxing rings. Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the disclosure which subsequently follows.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are achieved by the circular boxing ring of this invention which includes at least three equidistant. spaced-apart vertical support posts and a plurality of resilient arcuate guard members connected at their ends to form a circle. The arcuate members are held to the support posts by a number of radially extending connecting members which include a first fixed member and a second member in slidable communication therewith. The first fixed member is mounted to the post while the second slidable member is attached to the arcuate member. With the above circular ring. any forced applied to the resilient arcuate members is immediately transferred and absorbed by all of the arcuate members.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a three dimensional view of the circular ring of this invention.  
  FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view of one of the arcuate guard members used in forming the circular ring.  
  FIG. 3 is a top exploded view showing one embodiment by which the ring is attached to the post member.  
  FIG. 4 is a side view of one form of spacers used in maintaining vertical separation between the arcuate members.  
  FIG. 5 is a side view of one of the lower support members used in supporting the bottom rung ofthe arcuate member.  
  FIG. 6 is a side view of another embodiment wherein the fixed member is pivotally mounted to the post support member.  
  FIG. 7 is a top front view showing another embodiment of a connecting member by which the ring mem bers can be connected to the post member.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG. I, the circular ring of this invention includes a circular or square padded platform It] to which are mounted four main support posts [2, I4. 16 and 18. Four floating secondary post members 20, 22. 24 and 26, are connected by a number of guy lines 30, fitted with turnbuckles 32 or other line-tightening means to the main support posts. The main support posts and the secondary post members are normally required when an existing square ring is converted into a circular ring. The support posts of the square ring would be used as the main support posts of the circular ring. In the absence of existing support posts, the floating secondary post members could be eliminated and only a main support post would be used. In such a case the ring members would then be supported directly to the main support post.  
 At least three and preferably four tubular ring mem bers rungs) 40, 42, 44 and 46 are suspended in a vertically spaced relationship to each other by means of a connecting member 48. The connecting member is attached at one end to the ring members and at the other end to the floating post members or to the main support member depending on whether the support posts from a square ring are available. Preferably the tubular ring member of the type shown in FIG. 2 is constructed from a number of arcuate members 50 formed from to inch pipe or rods and preferably from V2 inch black pipe. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the arcuate members 50 is covered with a spongy padding S3 and has at its ends a flattened eye 52 whichh overlaps the flattened eye 54 of a second arcuate member 56. The arcuate members are held to the connecting member 48 by a bolt 60 and nut 62.  
  The connecting member 48 comprises two main parts, a hollow cylindrical fixed member 64 passing through an opening in the secondary post member 20 and held thereto so that it extends radially therefrom by means of a weld or other suitable fastening means and a piston member 65 in telescopic and slidable communication with the fixed member. The end of the piston contains an annular ledge 66 which meets with a stop member 68 positioned along the edge of cylindrical fixed member which prevents movement beyond the cylinder. To protect the participants in the ring, the end of the connecting member, which is attached to the arcuate member. is covered with a soft padding 70. Two of the paddings are colored white to represent neutral arcs while the remaining two are colored red and blue or other suitable colors to represent the arcs (corners) of each fighter.  
  A compressed spring 67 is carried within the hollow fixed member which continuously urges the rod radially outward towards the center of the ring. A threaded cap 69 retains the spring within the hollow fixed member. If greater or lesser resiliency of the ring members is desired, the cap 69 can be removed and a stronger or weaker spring inserted. If desired, a supporting bracket may be mounted to the secondary support member and the connecting member 58 to insure that the connecting member extends inwardly towards the center of the ring in a substantially radial manner.  
  As shown in FIG. 7, the connecting member 48 has been modified wherein the fixed member is a connecting rod 71 having a longitudinal slot 72 at one end thereof. The slidable member is, in this case, a threaded bolt 74 which connects the arcuate members with the fixed member&#39;by passing the bolt through the eyes of both the arcuate members and the fixed members. The  
 nut 76 is then fastened to the threaded bolt in a manner such that the bolt is capable of sliding within the eye if a force is exerted on any one of the arcuate members.  
  In either embodiment, the slidable action above referred to functions much like conventional hydraulic or pneumatic shock absorber which could, after minor modifications, be used in place of the piston and cylinder shown in FIG. 3 or the rod and bolt shown in FIG 7. Any arrangement capable of functioning as a shock absorber or shock transference means may be used, provided that the fixed member; i.e., the member fixed to the support post, possesses little and preferably no vertical movement. Lateral flexing or lateral movement is highly desirable to provide additional shock absorbing properties when a force is applied to the arcuate members. If vertical movement is not contained or at least controlled, any force applied to the arcuate mem bers could cause separation of the arcuate members and increase the chances that the fighter will go through the ropes and possible cause himself and/or the spectators serious injury.  
  To further insure that the vertical movement of the arcuate members will be restricted, spacers 80 are provided which support the various rungs (circular ring members) in spaced relation to each other (FIG. 4) by passage through hollow holders 81. Preferably, these spacers will comprise a rod 82 and a padded tubular member 84 which telescopically engage each other. With this type of slidable spacer, fighters and guests may enter the ring by separating the tubular member from the rod and forcing the rungs upward. Although the weight of the rungs will normally be sufficient to prevent inadvertent separation of the arcuate members, a locking means 88 may be included to lock the rod within the tubular member.  
  As shown in FIG. I, a spacer 80 is vertically positioned in between each of the arcuate members and intermediate each of the support members. If three or more than four posts are used, the number of spacers would be increased or decreased accordingly.  
 legs 96 and 98. This particular feature provides additional radial shock-absorbing properties.  
  In FIG. 6 another embodiment is shown whereby the connection between the post 26 and the arcuate member( not shown) is by a vertical pin 100 passing through an opening 102 in the end ofa connecting rod 103 slidably held by a hollow tubular member 105 and an aper tured female member 106 mounted to the support post 26. The pin 100 provides pivotal movement of the connecting member along a horizontal plane but prevents pivoting along a plane vertical to the post. If desired, the rod and tubular member may be replaced by a conventional pneumatic or hydraulic piston and cylinder.  
  It is evident from the above that many variations of the connecting members could be used to obtain comparable results. However, it should be noted that in each case the connecting member must be capable of radial, slidable movement and still more preferably additional movement through a plane horizontal to the platform. Vertical movement along a vertical plane of the connecting member is to be substantially avoided. The object of the above connecting members is to provide maximum shock-absorbing or shock-transferring capabilities with a minimum of vertical movement and thereby prevent separation of the arcuate members when a force is applied thereagainst.  
  While the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, it is understood that changes may be made by one skilled in the art and would not thereby depart from the spirit and scope of the invention which is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.  
 I claim:  
  1. A circular boxing ring comprising a platform and at least three, spaced-apart main vertical support members mounted thereto, a plurality of vertically spaced circular rungs, a plurality of radially extending connecting members connecting said main vertical support members to said rungs and a plurality of spacers for supporting the circular rungs intermediate the vertical support members wherein at least one of said spacers includes at least two relatively movable parts, the combination of which is extendible vertically to such an extent as to facilitate substantial displacement of said rungs thereby permitting ingress and egress into and from said boxing ring.  
  2. The circular boxing ring of claim I, wherein said connecting members comprise a fixed member and an engaging slidable member and wherein said fixed member is connected to said vertical support member and said slidable member is attached to one of said circular rungs.  
  3. The circular boxing ring of claim l, wherein said circular rungs are formed from a plurality of arcuate members joined at their ends.  
  4. The circular boxing ring of claim 3, wherein the arcuate members have flattened end sections with openings therein.  
  5. The circular boxing ring of claim 4, including means adjacent the bottom of at least one of said spacers extending radially away from one of said cirucular rungs and downward into fixed engagement with said platform to provide support for one of said rungs.  
  6. The circular boxing ring of claim 5, wherein said spacers are extendible to permit controlled vertical movement of said rungs.  
  7. The circular boxing ring of claim 1 including a second vertical member positioned intermediate said main vertical member and said rungs wherein said vetical support member is connected to one of said radially extending connecting members and wherein said second vertical member is connected to said main vertical member by means of an adjustable guy line.  
 8. The circular boxing ring of claim 2, wherein said fixed members comprises a hollow tubular member and wherein said slidable member comprises a rod slidably held within said tubular member and connected to said circular rung slot.  
  9. The circular boxing ring of claim 8, wherein said rod is springbiased.  
  10. The circular boxing ring of claim 8 wherein said fixed member is pivotally mounted to said vertical support member to permit movement through a plane horizontal with said platform.  
  11. The circular boxing ring of claim 1, wherein said connecting member is a fluid resistance shock absorber.  
  12. The circular boxing ring of claim 2, wherein said fixed member comprises a slotted rod capable of movement along a plane horizontal with said platform and wherein said slidable member is a bolt and nut connected to said circular rung.