Sports wall assembly

Abstract

Rate of deceleration is an important factor in determining the severity of injuries, such as head and neck injuries, possibly sustained when participants collide with a wall assembly while playing, for example, ice hockey. The described wall assemblies each include a support assembly and a movable wall assembly supported by and movable with respect to the support assembly. Telescoping parts of the movable wall assembly enable deflection of the movable wall assembly to complex angles with respect to the support assembly. In addition, movable wall assemblies can be coupled such that impact on one wall assembly can cause deflection of an adjacent wall assembly. Covers, shields, and spacers can be positioned to decrease gap formation during deflection of the movable wall assembly to reduce the risk of pinch points.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wall assembly, comprising:
 a plurality of movable walls, each of the plurality of movable walls including a first shock absorber and a second shock absorber; and   a plurality of connections connecting a first movable wall of the plurality of movable walls to a second movable wall of the plurality of movable walls, at least one of the plurality of connections being positioned directly between the first shock absorber of the first movable wall and the second shock absorber of the second movable wall in a view perpendicular to the first movable wall of the plurality of movable walls and the second movable wall of the plurality of movable walls.   
     
     
         2 . The wall assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the movable walls is positioned on a plurality of transverse front wall supports, the transverse front wall supports being movable between a first position and a second position. 
     
     
         3 . The wall assembly of  claim 2 , wherein a left front wall support is connected to the plurality of transverse front wall supports and a right front wall support is connected to the plurality of transverse front wall supports on an opposite end of the plurality of transverse front wall supports from the left front wall support. 
     
     
         4 . The wall assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the left front wall support is movable with respect to the plurality of transverse front wall supports. 
     
     
         5 . The wall assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a vertically extending region of at least one of the first movable wall of the plurality of movable walls and the second movable wall of the plurality of movable walls overlaps the other of the at least one of the first movable wall of the plurality of movable walls and the second movable wall of the plurality of movable walls. 
     
     
         6 . The wall assembly of  claim 2 , including a support assembly on which the plurality of transverse front wall supports for the first movable wall of the plurality of movable walls is positioned, and a shield is positioned on the support assembly below a lower end of the first movable wall of the plurality of movable walls. 
     
     
         7 . The wall assembly of  claim 6 , wherein a top cover is positioned on an upper end of the support assembly. 
     
     
         8 . The wall assembly of  claim 1 , each of the plurality of movable wall assemblies including a wall formed of a wall panel and a fiber layer. 
     
     
         9 . The wall assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the wall panel is formed of plastic. 
     
     
         10 . The wall assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the plastic is one of polyethylene or high density polyethylene. 
     
     
         11 . The wall assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the wall panel is formed as a matrix or honeycomb configuration. 
     
     
         12 . The wall assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the fiber layer is adhered to the wall panel with an adhesive. 
     
     
         13 . The wall assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the fiber layer is 0.04 inches to 0.10 inches thick. 
     
     
         14 . The wall assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the fiber layer is insert molded into the wall panel. 
     
     
         15 . The wall assembly of  claim 2 , including a support assembly, a left front wall support that engages with the support assembly, and a right front wall support that engages with tracks formed in the support assembly, and a portion of the left front wall support and a portion of the right front wall support that engages with respective tracks is secured in the respective tracks by a cover that forms a stop.