Rotating climbing wall

Abstract

A rotating climbing wall can include a frame assembly with uprights forming rails. Slats of a slat assembly can include coupling blocks that are configured to ride along the rails of the uprights. At least one upright can include a power rail that extends alongside the rail. Electrical contacts can be integrated into the coupling blocks to form an electrical connection with the power rail as the respective slats ride along the rails. The electrical connection can be used to power lights that are integrated into the slats and that illuminate holds. The rotating climbing may include actuators that automatically tension chains used to rotate the climbing surface of the rotating climbing wall. The actuators, which may be linear actuators, can detect a level of tension in the chains and, if the tension is below a threshold, increase the distance between sprockets that drive the chains to increase the tension.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A rotating climbing wall comprising:
 a board assembly comprising:
 a frame assembly that includes one or more uprights, each upright forming opposing rails; and 
 a slat assembly that includes a looped arrangement of slats, each slat including one or more coupling blocks corresponding to the one or more uprights, each coupling block having a channel that rides along each rail of the opposing rails of the respective upright. 
   
     
     
         2 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 1 , wherein the frame assembly includes at least three uprights. 
     
     
         3 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 1 , wherein the frame assembly includes an upper tube and a lower tube to which the one or more uprights are coupled. 
     
     
         4 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 3 , wherein the frame assembly includes at least one upper sprocket and at least one lower sprocket that are coupled to the one or more uprights. 
     
     
         5 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 4 , wherein the frame assembly includes at least one actuator for increasing a distance between a respective upper and lower sprocket to thereby maintain tension of a chain that is driven by the respective upper and lower sprocket. 
     
     
         6 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one upper sprocket comprises opposing upper sprockets, the at least one lower sprocket comprises opposing lower sprockets, and the at least on actuator comprises opposing actuators. 
     
     
         7 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 1 , wherein each coupling block includes one or more retaining members that overlap the rail when the channel rides along the rail. 
     
     
         8 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 1 , wherein a first upright of the one or more uprights includes a power rail. 
     
     
         9 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 8 , wherein one or more of the slats include a coupling block having an electrical contact that forms an electrical connection with the power rail as the coupling block rides along the rail of the first upright. 
     
     
         10 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 9 , wherein the board assembly comprises a first power bus between the electrical contact and a driver module. 
     
     
         11 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 10 , wherein the board assembly comprises a second power bus between the driver module and lights integrated into the slats. 
     
     
         12 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an upper sensor for detecting a position of a climber on the board assembly; and   a power and control assembly for rotating the slat assembly based on the position of the climber.   
     
     
         13 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a support assembly by which the board assembly is supported off the ground at a desired angle.   
     
     
         14 . A rotating climbing wall comprising:
 a frame assembly that includes opposing uprights, opposing upper sprockets, and opposing lower sprockets; and   a slat assembly that includes a looped arrangement of slats and opposing chains, the opposing chains being coupled around the respective opposing upper and lower sprockets;   wherein the frame assembly further comprises opposing actuators for selectively increasing a distance between the respective upper and lower sprockets based on a tension of the respective chain.   
     
     
         15 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 14 , wherein the frame assembly also includes a center upright, the opposing uprights and the center upright being coupled together via an upper tube and a lower tube. 
     
     
         16 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 15 , wherein the frame assembly also includes a shaft and a motor for driving the opposing upper sprockets or the opposing lower sprockets. 
     
     
         17 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 14 , wherein the opposing actuators are coupled to the opposing lower sprockets and move the opposing lower sprockets relative to the opposing upper sprockets. 
     
     
         18 . A rotating climbing wall comprising:
 a slat assembly that includes a looped arrangement of slats, each slat including one or more coupling blocks for securing the slat to one or more uprights, wherein at least one of the slats includes a coupling block having an electrical contact for forming an electrical connection with a power rail on a first upright of the one or more uprights while the coupling block rides along the first upright.   
     
     
         19 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 18 , wherein the first upright forms opposing rails and the power rail extends along a first rail of the opposing rails. 
     
     
         20 . The rotating climbing wall of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a first power bus between the electrical contact of the at least one slat and a driver module; and   a second power bus between the driver module and lights that are integrated into the slats.