Energy absorbing basketball goal/backboard unit

Claim 1

A basketball goal-backboard unit comprising, in combination: (a) a rigidly-supported backboard having a flat vertical front surface for mounting of a goal structure thereon and having aperture means for receiving a linkage passing through said backboard and connected to said goal structure; (b) a goal structure having an annular ring with a normal horizontal position and a mounting plate rigidly secured to and supporting said ring and having an integral depending plate portion extending downwardly and perpendicular to the plane of said ring; (c) lower support means mounted on said backboard front surface and having a pivotal connection to said depending plate portion enabling said mounting plate and said annular ring to pivot as an integral structure about a first axis passing through said connection parallel to the plane of said ring and parallel to and proximate said backboard front surface and enabling said ring to swing between said normal horizontal position and a downwardly tilted position; (d) upper resiliently-loaded support means including: (i) linkage means connected to said mounting plate above said pivotal connection and extending through said aperture means formed in said backboard; and (ii) energy absorbing means mounted on the back surface of said backboard opposite said mounting plate and connected to said linkage means and being preloaded to retain said ring in said normal horizontal position until an abnormal downwardly directed force in excess of some predetermined value is applied thereto and in the event of such force to allow said ring to move out of said normal horizontal position and tilt downwardly and to be automatically returned to said normal horizontal position once said force is removed therefrom and during the return of said ring to said normal position to dissipate the energy stored in said energy absorbing means; (e) auxiliary support means associated with said lower and upper support means and said mounting plate and permitting right left side rotation of said depending mounting plate portion around a second axis perpendicular to said first axis and permitting said depending mounting plate portion to rotate in a plane parallel to the plane of said backboard thereby allowing said ring to tilt sidewise under a said force; and (f) auxiliary energy absorbing means mounted behind the backboard for returning said depending mounting plate portion to its normal nonrotated position after such side rotation to restore said ring to its normal horizontal position and for dampening the movement of said goal structure during such return.