WO2010009541A1

WO2010009541A1 - Sport landing pad

Info

Publication number: WO2010009541A1
Application number: PCT/CA2009/001001
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aaron Coret; Stephen Slen; Edward Shaljyan
Original assignee: Katal Innovations Inc.
Priority date: 2008-07-21
Filing date: 2009-07-17
Publication date: 2010-01-28

Abstract

A landing pad for overlying the landing site of a ski/snowboarding terrain park tabletop or similar jump having a wedge shaped cushion with a downhill end that is lower than the uphill end. The upper and lower surfaces of the landing pad are close together at the downhill end to permit seamless ride off of the landing pad to permit users to continue skiing or snowboarding down the mountain.

Description

SPORT LANDING PAD

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U. S. C. §119(e) to U.S.A. provisional application No. 61/129,802 filed July 21 , 2008, the entire disclosure of which is herein expressly incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Freestyle skiing and snowboarding are increasingly popular sports. This includes increasing popularity of learning and practicing various aerial maneuvers off of jumps, often referred to as "tricks". Attempting various aerial maneuvers can be dangerous with a higher level of risk of injury by participants, including the risk of very serious injuries causing permanent disabilities. This risk is exacerbated by the fact that landing areas downhill of jumps are often hard packed snow or ice due to repeated landing by participants. These landing area surfaces can often be as hard as concrete.

As a result, many serious injuries are sustained from attempting to learn new aerial maneuvers (tricks) on jumps with hard packed or icy snow landings. Even experienced participants can land badly after performing a trick, injuring themselves.

As a consequence, there is a need for a system for cushioning the landing area of a jump to mitigate the risk of injury by participants. One type of such system is a landing pad, usually an air or foam filled pad that is positioned over all or a part of the landing area of a jump. These types of landing pad systems serve the general purpose of acting as a cushion placed in the landing area of a terrain park jump to cushion the landing of users of the jump. Participants land on the landing pad after finishing their trick and the landing pad cushions their fall by absorbing a portion of impact forces of the participant. These devices primarily act to catch the user, thereby stopping them in order to prevent a bad landing and potential injury. To applicant's knowledge, there are only two landing pad devices that attempt to address this problem in this manner. They are identified as Bigairbag (www.bigairbag.com) and Bagjump (www.bagjump.com). Prior art landing pads are generally box shaped with a flat landing surface. Because the participant's landing force must be cushioned participants landing on these prior art landing pads sink into the pad and their forward momentum is stopped. They must then climb off of the landing pad before continuing on down the mountain. This problem impacts on the suitability of these landing pads. . As a result, the tricks participants learn using these landing pads is still difficult to apply to a regular snow jump.

These prior art landing pad systems do not offer a realistic training simulation. Without a landing pad, jump participants land on an angled slope, rather than a flat surface, to reduce the impact upon landing. Landing on a sloped surface is an integral part to successfully learning a new trick.

Due to these limitations, mountain operators are reluctant to install these types of landing pads in their terrain parks. Despite the advantages of cushioning the landing of users and thereby reducing injuries, these types of landing pads are rarely found on mountains. In practice there has been limited acceptance of these landing pads in the field.

There is a resulting need for a landing pad system which more realistically mimics the landing and seamless ride by participants giving them the opportunity to develop proper timing and landing skills, mimicking the natural landing after a successful jump in a terrain park.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention provides a landing pad which is designed to cover the landing area of a jump and give participants the opportunity to enjoy a cushioned landing while permitting a seamless ride off of the landing pad to continue skiing or snowboarding down the mountain. Even if the participant lands badly, the fall is cushioned and there still is an opportunity to upright oneself more easily as compared to prior art systems in order to ski or snowboard off of the landing pad onto the snow surface to continue skiing and snowboarding down the mountain.

This invention provides a solution enabling a safer jump environment to users of all ability levels. The subject invention provides solutions to many of the shortcomings currently experienced with these two prior devices. It provides users a risk reduced environment in which they can learn new tricks and then easily transition what they learned back to a normal freestyle jump.

The subject invention provides at least two main design improvements each providing significant improvements for users as compared to the prior art devices. The first is a shape that more appropriately contours to the landing area of a jump. This includes a tapering section which permits users to ride directly off the device onto the snow and continue down the hill.

Second, in order to allow users to ride off of the device mimicking the general firmness of snow, the internal structure of the invention has been specifically engineered to mimic the experience of landing in powder snow, although with the ability to modify the softness of the Landing Pad to various other levels of softness. To achieve this result we designed a double chamber system, an upper firmer chamber and a lower softer chamber. The upper chamber provides sufficient firmness to permit participants to smoothly ride off the landing pad on a surface that mimics a snow surface. The lower chamber is softer and is the primary chamber which cushions the participant's landing. The lower chamber absorbs the energy of the participant and allows his or her vertical velocity to decelerate smoothly and safely. This provides an important cushioning effect.

In an embodiment of the invention a landing pad having an uphill end and downhill end for covering the landing area of a jump includes: an upper surface, a pair of side walls, a lower surface, an uphill end surface and a downhill end; the upper surface and lower surface being angled toward one another in the direction of the downhill end to form a wedge shape with a run-off region at the downhill end; a cushion between the upper surface and lower surface of sufficient cushioning to absorb a portion of impact forces of a user and sufficiently rigid to support a user in riding off of the landing pad over the run-off region; the distance between the upper surface and lower surface at the run-off region being sufficiently small to provide a transition between the upper surface and a support surface of the landing pad to facilitate users riding off the landing pad; and the angle defined by the upper surface and lower surface at the run off region being between 3 and 40 degrees.

In a further embodiment the cushion comprises air within the upper, lower, sides and end surfaces and the downhill end. In another embodiment the cushion comprises a solid foam core cushioning element positioned within the upper, lower, sides and end surfaces and the downhill end.

As a further embodiment a deck pad for positioning adjacent the uphill end of the landing pad, the deck pad comprising an upper surface; a pair of side walls, a lower surface, an uphill end surface and a downhill end surface joined together to form a cubic shape, dimensioned to cushion the fall of users who do not exit the jump properly to fall short of the landing area. Alternatively, the deck pad may be dimensioned in height equal to the height of the uphill side of the landing pad so that the upper surface of the deck pad is generally aligned with the upper surface of the landing pad at the uphill end. As a further alternative, the surface of the deck pad is angled from the surface of the landing pad. And as another alternative, the angle is between 10 and 40 degrees.

In a further embodiment of the invention the interior of the landing pad comprises an upper air chamber and a lower air chamber. As a further alternative embodiment the degree of compressibility of the upper chamber is less than the degree of compressibility of the lower chamber, as another embodiment the air pressure in the upper chamber is greater than the air pressure in the lower chamber.

In another embodiment the upper chamber comprises a plurality of inner walls forming discrete air passages and wherein the lower chamber comprises a plurality of inner walls forming discrete air passages and wherein the volume of the air passages in the lower chamber is greater than the volume of the air passages of the upper chamber.

In an alternate embodiment the inner walls of the upper chamber are spaced apart from one another a distance between approximately 1 foot and 4 feet.

In another embodiment the lower chamber comprises an air release valve to release air from the lower chamber to permit adjustment of the degree of compressibility of the lower chamber.

In a further embedment an air supply pump is to replace air exhausted through the air release valve. Another embodiment provides side extensions on each side wall of the landing pad adjacent to the upper surface extending outwardly from each side wall to catch users that miss landing on the landing pad in either direction on either side of the landing pad. Alternatively, the side extensions comprise a cushion to dampen the impact from the fall of a user. In another alternative, the side extensions are angled downwardly and outwardly from the plane defined by the upper surface. In an alternative, the angle between the plane defined by the upper surface and the plane defined by the side extensions is approximately 50 degrees.

In another embodiment the upper surface is smooth with a low co-efficient of friction to facilitate ride off by a user.

The upper surface may be selected from the group: acrylic coated vinyl, Teflon^® coated vinyl, reinforced vinyl, carbon fiber, weaved polyethylene, Permasnow^® and Snowflex^®.

In another embodiment the landing pad is for positioning over the landing areas of a ski and snowboard jump and wherein the co-efficient of friction between the user's ski or snowboard surfaces and the upper surface is low enough to permit ski and snowboard users to ride off of the landing pad after impact with the landing pad.

In a further embodiment an upper sheet surface is removably attached to the upper surface and is selected from the group: acrylic coated vinyl, Teflon^® coated vinyl, reinforced vinyl, carbon fiber, weaved polyethylene, Permasnow^® and Snowflex^®.

In another embodiment a method of cushioning the fall of a user exiting from a jump is provided, where the slope of the surface of the landing area of the jump is between 5 and 75 degrees from the horizontal, comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a landing pad over the landing area, the landing pad comprising an uphill end and downhill end for covering the landing area of a jump, and an upper surface, a pair of side walls, a lower surface, an uphill end surface and a downhill end with the upper surface and lower surface being angled toward one another in the direction of the downhill end to form a wedge shape with a run-off region at the downhill end; (b) adjusting the angle between the upper and lower surfaces at the downhill end to provide an angle of the upper surface to lower surface of between 3 and 40 degrees.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following thereof, when read in conjunction of the following diagrams, in which:

Figure 1 is a representation of the landing pad of the subject invention in position for use downhill from a jump;

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ; Figure 3 is an exploded view of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ;

Figure 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the uphill end of the landing section of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ;

Figure 5A is a isometric view of the landing pad of Fig. 1 showing the air release holes;

Figure 5B is a close up view of the air release holes of Fig. 5A;

Figure 6 is side view of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ;

Figure 7 is an isometric view of the downhill end of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ;

Figure 8A is a top perspective view from above of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ;, with parts broken away to show internal structure;

Figure 8B is a close up view of a side of the landing pad of Fig. 8A showing a side sloped chamber;

Figure 9 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the uphill end of the landing section of the landing pad of Fig. 1 with three main components shown separated;

Figure 10A is an isometric view of the bottom of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ;

Figure 10B is a close up view of a joining system of the landing pad of Fig 10A;

Figure 11 is a rear view of the landing pad of Fig. 1 ; and

Figure 12 depicts an alternate embodiment of the invention having a curved downhill end. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Selected embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the following descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Referring to figure 1 , landing pad 10 is shown in position for use resting on the snow surface 12 of a mountain in a terrain park downhill from jump 14. While in this preferred embodiment landing pad 10 is used over snow in a terrain park jump it should be understood that landing pad 10 is not limited to that use, any suitable jump with a landing transition area may beneficially use landing pad 10. Landing pad 10 is positioned over the landing transition area 16 downhill of jump 14, as well as at least a part of deck area 18. Landing pad 10 performs its desired function when a user uses jump 14 to go airborne, following a projectile motion exemplified by trajectory 20. When a user lands on landing pad 10, their impact is absorbed by the air in the internal structure of landing pad 10, discussed in greater detail below, reducing the risk of injury. The user then continues his or her motion down along landing pad 10 and smoothly transitions off landing pad 10 onto the snow surface 26 downhill of landing pad 10, often riding off in one continuous motion.

Referring to figures 2 and 3, landing pad 10 is made up of two general sections; a landing section 22, and the deck section 24. The landing section 22 is larger than the deck section 24 and is positioned so as to contact the landing area of trajectory 20 of a wide range of generally ideal jumps, designed to permit users to land on landing section 22 and ski or snowboard off landing section 22 with a smooth ride off transition onto the downhill snow surface. Deck section 24 is a cushioned landing area for users who's airborne trajectories 20 fall short, failing to make it to the landing zone. Deck section 24 may be comprised of a generally box shape having upper and lower air chambers as discussed below with respect to landing section 22, filled with air to provide cushioning for users who land there. It is securely connected to the uphill end 28 of landing section 22. Deck section 24 is oriented in use to cover the generally flat area 30 (Fig. 1 ) which follows closely the downhill side of jump 14. It is not intended to provide a ride off by users. Rather it acts as a safe landing area for users who land short of landing section 22. Landing pad 10 is comprised of the upper air chamber section 32 and lower air chamber section 34. Protective cover 36 is removably secured to the top of upper section 32 to protect the upper section 32 from damage caused by skis, snowboards or other objects that come into contact with cover 36 when in use. Cover 36 is designed with sufficient strength to prevent such impact damage, yet can be removed and replaced without the need to replace the underlying structure, including upper section 32. Protective cover 36 has Velcro^® strips attached to its perimeter with compatible Velcro^® strips attached to the outer periphery of the top surface of upper air chamber section 32. By connection the Velcro^® strips cover 36 is removably attached to upper air chamber section 32. Cover 36 is made of durable material that provides a landing surface that can stand up to abuse from a user's ski or snowboard edge with repetitive use and which has a low coefficient of friction to allow riders to ride out smoothly and more realistically, similar to the experience of riding on snow or ice. As examples, cover 36 may be made of acrylic coated vinyl, Teflon^® coated vinyl, reinforced vinyl, carbon fiber, weaved polyethylene, Permasnow^® or Snowflex^®.

A lower section one or two horsepower air fan 38 is connected to lower air chamber section 34 at each side of deck section 24. Similarly, a pair of upper section one or two horsepower air fans 40 are connected to upper air chamber section 32 at each side of deck section 24. This configuration of air fans, on each side of deck 24, is also shown in Figure 10A. Air fans 38 and 40 are used to inflate landing pad 10 by blowing air into inlet tubes 42 located on either side of deck section 24. Air is blown at high flow rates (3,000 - 5,200 CFM per fan) to fill each chamber sections 32 and 34 with air and the structure assumes its designed shape and functionality. Air chamber sections 32 and 34 are constantly under pressure from air blowers. It is to be understood that additional air fans 38 and 40 may be employed to suit the terrain and desired landing impact. Also on deck section 24, next to inlet tubes 42, are air release holes 44 (seen in Fig. 5) that are important to the function of landing pad 10, as discussed below.

Figure 4 depicts landing pad 10 in cross section adjacent uphill end 28 of landing section 22. Upper air chamber section 32 is comprised of a plurality of longitudinal air chambers 46 each connected to upper air fans 40 to receive air and extending longitudinally the length of both deck section 24 and landing section 22. Chambers 46 are typically 1 ft in height. The width of each chamber 46 ranges from 3 to 0.75 ft. Chambers 46 are separated from each other by side walls 58 which are made of flexible material that can deflect on impact from above. A plurality of openings extend through each frame member 58 to permit air to freely flow throughout the upper chamber 32. Preferably this material is composed of specifically shaped sheets of 18 oz vinyl which are sewn together. Upper chamber member 32 is thereby composed of many chambers that are essentially long air filled squares connected side-by-side. Chambers 46 provide sufficient support and firmness to protective cover 36 above to allow the rider to ride out over protective cover 36.

Lower air chamber section 34 is comprised of one large chamber 48 as seen best in Fig. 4. Chamber 48 includes several frame members 50 which support chamber 48, maintaining its preferred shape when in use. As shown best in Figure 3, frame members 50 are tapered with their uphill ends 52 being larger in height as compared to their downhill ends 54. A plurality of openings 56 extend through each frame member 50 to permit air to freely flow throughout chamber 48. Frame members 50 are made of 18 oz vinyl which is also flexible to deflect on impact. Frame members 50 are normally spaced about 8.5 ft apart and are normally 3 ft in height at deck section 24 and at uphill end 28. Frame members 50 are designed to hold landing pad 10 in its desired shape while allowing unrestricted airflow throughout lower chamber section 34.

When a user lands on landing pad 10, his or her impact is absorbed primarily by lower chamber section 34 due to movement of air in lower chamber section 34 when forced by the impact of the user landing on upper chamber section 32. The air in lower chamber section 34 is thereby forced outwardly pushing on the walls of lower chamber section 34, which absorbs the force of the user's impact. This movement of air absorbs the energy of the rider and allows his or her vertical velocity to decelerate smoothly and safely. This provides an important cushioning effect.

It is important to ensure that the air entering lower chamber section 34 does not overfill chamber section 34 so as to increase the volume of chamber section 34 to a point where deflection of air chamber section 34 is impaired preventing adequate deflection upon user impact. To prevent this, and with reference to Figures 5A and 5B, a series of air release holes 44 are positioned along each of the side panels 68 of lower chamber section 34 adjacent deck section 24. Holes 44 include opening 64 into lower chamber section 34 to allow air to escape from lower chamber section 34, effectively dropping the air pressure in the chamber in a controlled manner, causing chamber section 34 to remain slightly deflated at all times. As a result of this slight deflation, chamber section 34 always has extra room to expand to make room for movement of air in chamber section 34 to absorb and cushion rider impact from above. Each hole 44 has cover 60 with outer Velcro^® periphery 62 which matches outer Velcro^® periphery 66 attached to side panels 68 of chamber section 34. This allows cover 60 to be fastened to cover opening 64 preventing release of air and substantially sealing air release hole 44. Because there are several of such holes 44 along each side, holes 44 can be opened and closed as necessary to control the amount of air, and corresponding air pressure, within chamber section 34. This provides the flexibility to alter the pressure in lower chamber section 34 for different operating conditions for varying levels of softness.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 6, frame members 50 are tapered with their uphill ends 52 being larger in height as compared to their downhill ends 54. This forms a generally wedge shape. As frame members 50 are attached to the upper and lower surfaces of lower chamber section 34, this maintains chamber section 34 in a wedge shape, with a greater volume at uphill end 28 as compared to downhill end 70. This shape provides a gradual sloping of upper chamber section 32 toward the snow surface at the downhill snow surface 26. Landing pad 10 thereby forms generally to simulate the contour of a regular freestyle jump while tapering at a relatively small angle to allow a continuous motion by users in order to transition off of pad 10 onto snow surface 26 after landing on landing section 22.

There are two important angles in defining this shape. The first is angle 72 that separates the generally horizontal plan defined by upper surface of deck section 24 from the upper surface of landing section 22. Angle 72 defines the slope of the upper surface of landing section 22 and generally ranges from 10 to 40 degrees. This angled shape is formed by correspondingly angled uphill ends of each frame member 50 as compared to the downhill ends of frame members 50. The second angle is angle 74 as measured adjacent downhill end 70, the angle between the lower surface and the upper surface of lower chamber section 34. Angle 74 defines the taper which slowly decreases the height of landing section 22 from the initial height at uphill end 28 to a height of close to zero at downhill end 76 of lower chamber section 34. Angle 74 is critical in providing a gradual transition enabling users to land on landing section 22 and to then continue skiing or snowboarding downhill from there off of landing section 22 onto downhill snow surface 26 in one continuous motion. Angle 74 can range between 1 and 30 degrees.

Referring to Fig. 7, upper chamber section 32 continues further downhill below downhill end 76 of lower chamber section 34. At end 76 lower chamber section 34 ends and the height of top chamber section 32 begins to gradually decrease moving in a downhill direction until downhill end 78 of upper chamber section 32 where the height of chamber section 32 is approximately 3 inches at which point upper chamber section 32, and landing pad 10 ends at its downhill end.

Upper air chambers 46 at end 76 begin to gradually reduce in cross-sectional area as compared to cross-sectional area depicted in Fig. 4. At end 76, the height of upper chambers 46 begins to gradually decrease. Further downhill a short distance, typically a distance of about 1.5 ft, the space between upper chamber side walls 58 reduces to half its original size (typically to about 8.5 inches). The height of upper chambers 46 continues to decrease as one moves along the upper chambers 46 following angle 74, until the height of upper chambers 46 is approximately 3 inches. At this point the upper chambers 46 as does landing pad 10 at its downhill end.

Referring to Figs. 8A and 8B, landing pad 10 is shown in a perspective view with parts broken away to show internal structural details adjacent the downhill end 76 of lower chamber section 34. Side sloped chambers 92 are an extension of lower chamber section 34 extending the length of section 34 along each side of section 34. It is composed of a slanted side wall 91 that extends from the upper edge of upper chamber section 32, downward at an angle of typically about 50 degrees as measured between the horizontal and the side sloped chamber 92 upper surface. Several vertical frame members 94 attach to the surface of the side sloped chamber 92, spaced evenly from one another along the length of chamber 92. Each member 94 includes several openings positioned sequentially along its length to allow for air flow throughout chamber 92 from chamber section 34.

The side sloped chamber 92 extends at its uphill end adjacent the uphill end 28 of landing section 22 (Fig. 2). Chamber 92 tapers downwardly to a reduced height following the contour of the upper surface of upper chamber section 32 as one moves toward the downhill end 76 of lower chamber section 34, as best seen in Fig. 1. The tapering to a reduced height is determined by a gradual reduction in the height of the frames. The side slope chamber 92 ends at its downhill end at the same location as downhill end 76 of lower chamber section 34. End cover 98 covers the downhill end of chamber 92. As seen best in Fig. 10A, a similar cover 100 covers the uphill end of chamber 92, and a lower sheet 102 covers the bottom of chamber 92 to form a generally prism shaped chamber 92, although one that gradually diminishes in cross section moving from the uphill end to the downhill end. The side sloped chamber 92 is designed to prevent a user from an injury that may otherwise result from falling off the edge of landing pad 10 by gently transitioning them off the sides of the landing pad 10.

Referring to figure 9, the landing pad 10 may be separated for transport and storage purposes into two separate sections, first section 104 and second section 106. First section 104 has an equal number of lower air chamber sections 34 as compared to second section 106, and are consequently of equal width. Although it should be understood that this is not a necessary requirement as first section 104 and second section 106 may be of unequal numbers of chamber sections 34, and corresponding unequal width, as desired. This is seen in figure 10A discussed below where section 104 has a smaller number of chambers 34, namely two, as compared to second chamber 106 which has three.

As seen in figure 9, each of sections 104 and 106 have a plurality of upper chamber sections 32 attached to corresponding lower chamber sections 34. Further section 106 has upper chamber sections 32 which are of a number which extend past the inner side 108 of section 106. As well section 104 has upper chamber sections 32 that are of a lesser number which are recessed from inner end 110 of first section 104. This leaves a gap 112 above the lower chamber sections 34 adjacent inner end 110. It can be seen that when first and second sections are joined together they are position such that inner ends 108 and 110 are adjacent one another. Openings 114 and 116 are then aligned and secured together using Velcro^® to permit air to circulate between sections 104 and 106. As well inner end 118 of first section 104 is adjacent inner end 120 of second section 106. Connectors 122 and 124 are joined using Velcro^® to attach sections 104 and 106 together at the upper end. A plurality of connectors 122 and 124 extend substantially the length of landing pad 10 from its uphill end to its downhill end. This offset nature of upper chamber sections 32 as compared to lower chamber section 34 can also be seen in Figures 8A (upper side) and 10A (lower side).

Referring to figures 10A and 10B, the bottom of landing pad 10 is shown with first section 104 (with lesser width and two lower chamber sections 34) and second section 106 (with lesser width and three lower chamber sections 34). Sections 104 and 106 are connected together when in use by means of connectors 130 made up of loops 126 attached periodically on inner edges 1 10 and 108 along the length of landing pad 10. Loops 126 are connected together by shackle 128, which may be a 5/8 inch Crosby shackle. This is seen best in Figure 10B. A series of longitudinal nylon reinforcement anchor straps 144 extend the length of landing pad 10 at the lower surface where adjacent lower chamber sections 34 meet. Straps 144 extend from downhill end 76 of lower chamber section 34 at their downhill end to loop members at their uphill end 146 which loop around spreader bar 136.

Referring to figure 11 , landing pad 10 is shown from its uphill end with deck section 24 and apportion of landing section 22. In use landing pad 10 is secured to the mountain or other support surface in order to prevent movement of landing section 22 from transition area 16 where users are meant to land following jump 14. Uphill end of landing pad 10 includes a series of loop members 132 secured along a lower edge 134. Spreader bar 136 extends through each loop member 132. A series of stakes 138 are connected to bar 136 by means of carabineers 140. Stakes are longitudinal shafts with pointed lower ends suitable for driving into the mountain or other support surface to fix landing pad 10 in place.

ALTERNATIVES

Referring to Fig. 12, as an alternate embodiment uphill region 80 of landing section 22 can be essentially flat without a taper. In this embodiment lower chamber section 34 has upper and lower walls 86 and 88 that are parallel at uphill region 80 and only taper together at downhill region 82. Angle 84 at downhill region can range from 1 to 30 degrees. Further it is possible for upper wall 86 at downhill region to be curved downwardly to meet lower wall 88. When curved in this manner, the slope of upper wall 86 at downhill region 82 is defined by an imaginary line with an endpoint originating at end 90 and a point 142 intersecting upper wall 86 without extending through upper wall 86.

While this invention has been described as a having a preferred embodiment, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure has come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the central features herein before set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and of the limits of the appended claims. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention is addressed, the present invention may be embodied in forms other than those specifically disclosed above, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. The particular embodiments of the invention described above and the particular details of the processes described are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative or exemplary only and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is as set forth in the complete disclosure rather than being limited to the examples set forth in the foregoing description.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A landing pad having an uphill end and downhill end for covering the landing area of a jump, the landing pad comprising:

(a) an upper surface, a pair of side walls, a lower surface, an uphill end surface and a downhill end;

(b) the upper surface and lower surface being angled toward one another in the direction of the downhill end to form a wedge shape with a run-off region at the downhill end;

(c) a cushion between the upper surface and lower surface of sufficient cushioning to absorb a portion of impact forces of a user and sufficiently rigid to support a user in riding off of the landing pad over the run-off region;

(d) the distance between the upper surface and lower surface at the run-off region being sufficiently small to provide a transition between the upper surface and a support surface of the landing pad to facilitate users riding off the landing pad; and

(e) the angle defined by the upper surface and lower surface at the run off region being between 3 and 40 degrees.

2. The landing pad of claim 1 wherein the cushion comprises air within the upper, lower, sides and end surfaces and the downhill end.

3. The landing pad of claim 1 wherein the cushion comprises a solid foam core cushioning element positioned within the upper, lower, sides and end surfaces and the downhill end.

4. The landing pad of claim 1 further comprising a deck pad for positioning adjacent the uphill end of the landing pad, the deck pad comprising an upper surface; a pair of side walls, a lower surface, an uphill end surface and a downhill end surface joined together to form a cubic shape, dimensioned to cushion the fall of users who do not exit the jump properly to fall short of the landing area.

5. The landing pad of claim 4 wherein the deck pad is dimensioned in height equal to the height of the uphill side of the landing pad so that the upper surface of the deck pad is generally aligned with the upper surface of the landing pad at the uphill end.

6. The landing pad of claim 4 wherein the surface of the deck pad is angled from the surface of the landing pad.

7. The landing pad of claim 6 wherein the angle is between 10 and 40 degrees.

8. The landing pad of claim 2 wherein the interior of the landing pad comprises an upper air chamber and a lower air chamber.

9. The landing pad of claim 8 wherein the degree of compressibility of the upper chamber is less than the degree of compressibility of the lower chamber.

10. The landing pad of claim 9 wherein the air pressure in the upper chamber is greater than the air pressure in the lower chamber.

11. The landing pad of claim 9 wherein the upper chamber comprises a plurality of inner walls forming discrete air passages and wherein the lower chamber comprises a plurality of inner walls forming discrete air passages and wherein the volume of the air passages in the lower chamber is greater than the volume of the air passages of the upper chamber.

12. The landing pad of claim 11 wherein the inner walls of the upper chamber are spaced apart from one another a distance between approximately 1 foot and 4 feet.

13. The landing pad of claim 9 wherein the lower chamber comprises an air release valve to release air from the lower chamber to permit adjustment of the degree of compressibility of the lower chamber.

14. The landing pad of claim 13 further comprising air supply pump to replace air exhausted through the air release valve.

15. The landing pad of claim 1 further comprising side extensions on each side wall of the landing pad adjacent to the upper surface extending outwardly from each side wall to catch users that miss landing on the landing pad in either direction on either side of the landing pad.

16. The landing pad of claim 15 wherein the side extensions comprise a cushion to dampen the impact from the fall of a user.

17. The landing pad of claim 15 wherein the side extensions are angled downwardly and outwardly from the plane defined by the upper surface.

18. The landing pad of claim 17 wherein the angle between the plane defined by the upper surface and the plane defined by the side extensions is approximately 50 degrees.

19. The landing pad of claim 1 wherein the upper surface is smooth with a low coefficient of friction to facilitate ride off by a user.

20. The landing pad of claim 19 wherein the upper surface is selected from the group: acrylic coated vinyl, Teflon^® coated vinyl, reinforced vinyl, carbon fiber, weaved polyethylene, Permasnow^® and Snowflex^®.

21. The landing pad of claim 19 wherein the landing pad is for positioning over the landing areas of a ski and snowboard jump and wherein the co-efficient of friction between the user's ski or snowboard surfaces and the upper surface is low enough to permit ski and snowboard users to ride off of the landing pad after impact with the landing pad.

22. The landing pad of claim 1 further comprising an upper sheet surface removably attached to the upper surface, the upper sheet surface selected from the group: acrylic coated vinyl, Teflon^® coated vinyl, reinforced vinyl, carbon fiber, weaved polyethylene, Permasnow^® and Snowflex^®.

23. A method of cushioning the fall of a user exiting from a jump where the slope of the surface of the landing area of the jump is between 5 and 75 degrees from the horizontal, comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning a landing pad over the landing area, the landing pad comprising an uphill end and downhill end for covering the landing area of a jump, and an upper surface, a pair of side walls, a lower surface, an uphill end surface and a downhill end with the upper surface and lower surface being angled toward one another in the direction of the downhill end to form a wedge shape with a run-off region at the downhill end;

(b) adjusting the angle between the upper and lower surfaces at the downhill end to provide an angle of the upper surface to lower surface of between 3 and 40 degrees.