US 6,173,548 · Granted 2001-01-16
The Portable Basketball Court That Clicks Together Like Lego
Imagine a basketball court floor made of puzzle pieces that snap together instead of being nailed down permanently. This patent describes how to build those interlocking floor sections using reinforced edges and plastic tongues, so you can assemble a professional court anywhere and take it apart without damage.
The plain-English version
What it protects
What's protected here is the specific construction of interlocking floor sections for basketball courts. The claim covers a flooring system where separate sections fit together using tongues (like the teeth on a zipper) that slot into matching pockets carved into adjoining sections. The pockets are recessed into the subfloor layer, and the tongues are made from tough plastic to prevent marring. Also covered is the method of manufacturing and installing these sections in staggered rows so they align properly and create a stable, seamless playing surface.
Why it matters
Portable modular flooring systems enable gymnasiums, schools, and event venues to install professional-grade basketball courts without permanent construction. By making courts moveable and reusable, this design reduces waste and lowers installation costs compared to traditional fixed flooring. The innovation also lets facilities adapt their spaces for multiple uses—a gym can be a basketball court one day and a volleyball court the next—multiplying the commercial value of the space.
Real-world use
Every time a school sets up a temporary indoor basketball court for a tournament or assembly, or when a gymnasium needs to renovate without closing, modular interlocking sections like these let crews assemble a tournament-grade floor in hours instead of weeks.
Original USPTO abstract
A floor for a basketball court or the like assembled from a plurality of separate floor sections arranged in staggered rows with each section including a plurality of spaced apart sleepers, a subfloor secured to the sleepers, and a wood strip flooring layer secured to the subfloor. Abutting edges of adjoining floor sections are reinforced by tongues and complementary edge pockets mounted on respective abutting edges of adjoining sections. The edge pockets may be formed by recessing the subfloor inwardly of outer edges of the sleepers and the flooring layer. A similar edge pocket may be formed on the adjoining floor section that the tongue is received into. Each tongue is preferably fabricated of a tough, non-marring polymeric material such as ultra-high molecular weight plastic. Alternatively, a similar tongue and pocket arrangement may be formed by mounting a tongue and bracket set on the subfloors of adjoining floor sections.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,173,548
- Filing date
- 1998-05-20
- Grant date
- 2001-01-16
- Assignee
- Douglas J. Hamar / Mark S Young
- Inventor(s)
- HAMAR DOUGLAS J., YOUNG MARK S
- CPC class
- E04F15/022
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