SAFETY INDICATOR CLAMP
This article originally appeared on Porter Athletic's blog
Basketball goals attached to overhead structures are standard in almost every high school gym and rec center. ?These structures are designed with a number of safety features and should only be installed by qualified professionals. All gym equipment should be inspected on a regular basis, but goal assemblies in particular warrant scrutiny as they are a?component that players regularly engage with by dunking and hanging on the rim.
A basketball goal assembly consists of a backboard, goal, and height adjuster. The entire goal assembly secures to the overhead vertical mast pipe with two U-bolts. Proper installation of the U-bolts ensures that they are level and secured with nuts torqued to a minimum of 64 ft-lbs. While this secures the goal assembly and allows for carefree play, Porter has added another layer of protection.?
Porter invented a safety indicator clamp that provides a visual indicator that unmistakeably shows if a goal has begun to slip downward. This steel clamp is fastened over the U-bolt with the U-bolt fitting tightly in the upper crest of the clamp. It is installed with two ?” screws. While the safety clamp does provide an additional level of attachment, it is not intended to support the U-bolt attachment for an extended period of time.? The intended purpose is to alert maintenance staff of shifting so immediate action can be taken to secure the unit. This safety clamp comes standard on new orders of Porter overhead masts. It is also available alone to install on existing systems.?
A basketball goal assembly imposes a dead load of 375 lbs.? A vertical live load of 500 lbs simulates a player dunking. The safety indicator clamp is designed for a total vertical load is 875 lbs. This clamp has been independently tested by Q.C. Metallurgical Laboratory. In testing, our clamp supported a load of 3630 lbs before a shear failure in the lower screw.
At Porter we are driven to design and manufacture superior athletic equipment, but safety is our paramount concern. This patented safety indicator clamp is a significant example of this. US patent 10,786,724. For more information on overhead gym equipment contact Porter at [email protected].