Protective sleeve for javelins

A protective sleeve assembly for a javelin, particularly for a competition or training javelin, including an outer sleeve made of an elastic material, and an inner sleeve which is located a socket axially provided in the outer sleeve. The inner sleeve has a recess which is intended to receive a forward part of a javelin tip. The outer sleeve has a tubular axially trailing part, the inner diameter of which is such as to obtain an elastic, squeeze fit around a rear part of the javelin tip. The outer sleeve has an internal recess which accommodates the inner sleeve. Similar to the forward end of the inner sleeve, the forward end of the outer sleeve is also of externally, frontally hemispherical shape. The inner sleeve is located in the axially leading part of the outer sleeve. The protective sleeve assembly can contribute to safety, by reducing the risk of serious injury to persons in conjunction with javelin-throwing exercises.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a protective sleeve assembly for javelins, 
and particularly for competition and training javelins. 
In connection with javelins used in competitive sports, there is sometimes 
the need to fit onto the pointed tip of the javelin a guard or protective 
device in order, for instance, to increase safety during practice throws. 
The protective device thus contributes to safety, by reducing the risk of 
serious injury to persons who might be grazed or struck by a javelin in 
flight. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to provide an extremely simple and 
effective javelin-tip guard in the form of a protective sleeve assembly. 
The protective sleeve assembly of the present invention can be readily 
fitted to the tip of a javelin and has the ability to remain affixed 
thereto. Furthermore, the inventive protective sleeve is highly wear 
resistant and is mechanically strong, and consequently the protective 
sleeve assembly has a very long useful life, based on the number of times 
the javelin is thrown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The protective sleeve assembly 1 includes an outer sleeve 2 which made of 
an elastic or resilient material, for instance a rubber or plastic 
material. A non-limiting example of a material suitable in this respect is 
neoprene rubber. The outer sleeve 2 has a relatively thin-walled and 
cylindrical or tubular top, i.e., axially trailing part 3, and a 
relatively thick-walled bottom part 5. (The term "top" and "bottom" are 
used in a sense of indicating their usual relative position when the 
javelin on which the protective sleeve assembly is mounted, upon being 
thrown along an arching path, penetrates the ground, with its tip pointed 
downwards and its shaft trailing upwards axially therebehind.) The bottom 
part 5 c loses the outer sleeve 2 at its forward end 6, this forward end 
of the sleeve 2 preferably being so rounded as to present a forwardly, 
externally hemispherical or dome-like configuration, although the forward 
end of the sleeve may have other shapes, of course. The rearward end 7 of 
the sleeve 2 has an external chamber 8. 
When seen from the rear, open end 7 of the sleeve, the forward end region 
corresponding to the tubular top part 3 and to the dome-shaped surface of 
the outer sleeve 2 respectively has a cylindrical recess or hollow 9 which 
merges, via a conical transition surface 10, with a cylindrical or hollow 
recess 11 located in the bottom part 5 of the sleeve. The diameter of the 
cylindrical recess 11 is smaller than the diameter of the recess 9 and the 
recess 11 merges with a conical, pointed recess 12, as will best be seen 
from FIG. 2. 
The protective sleeve assembly 1 also includes an inner sleeve 20, 
illustrated in FIG. 3. The rear (i.e., trailing) end 21 of the inner 
sleeve 20 has a cylindrical or tubular top (i.e. trailing) part 22, and 
the forward end 23 of said inner sleeve has a bottom (i.e. leading) part 
24. The forward end 23 of the inner sleeve 20 is externally frontally 
rounded and has a hemispherical or dome-like shape. Located in the rear 
end 21 of the inner sleeve 20 is a cylindrical recess or hollow 25 which 
merges with a conical and pointed recess 26 located in the bottom (i.e. 
leading) part 24 of said inner sleeve 20. 
The outer diameter of the inner sleeve 20 is so adapted in relation to the 
diameter of the recess 11 in the outer sleeve 2 as to enable the inner 
sleeve 20 to be squeezed into the recess 11 and held firmly therein as a 
result of squeezing forces and frictional forces acting thereon, wherein 
the forward end 23 of the inner sleeve 20 bottoms on the (i.e. engages) 
the conical recess 12 in the outer sleeve 2 and abuts parts of said 
recess. Thus, when fitted, the inner sleeve 20 will remain in the outer 
sleeve 2 and the inner and outer sleeves 20 and 2 together form the 
inventive protective sleeve assembly 1. 
The inner sleeve 20 is suitably made of metal, for instance steel, although 
other materials may also be used. 
The inventive protective sleeve assembly 1 is fitted onto the tip or point 
100 of a javelin in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1. The diameter of the 
cylindrical recess 9 of the outer sleeve 2 is such that the protective 
sleeve assembly is squeezed elastically around the rear (i.e. axially 
trailing) part 101 of the javelin tip 100 when the forward (i.e. axially 
leading) part 102 of the javelin tip 100 is forced to the bottom (i.e. 
axially leading) of the conically pointed recess 26 in the inner sleeve 
20. The cylindrical, tubular part 3 of the outer sleeve 2 is thus 
dimensioned so as to achieve elastic squeezing against the rear part 101 
of the javelin tip 100, such that the protective sleeve assembly 1 will 
effectively remain seated on the javelin tip during use of the javelin, as 
a result of the inherent elasticity of the protective sleeve assembly. 
The aforedescribed inner sleeve 20 is particularly important in the present 
context, since it spreads the load from the forward part 102 of the 
javelin tip and thereby prevents the point of the javelin from penetrating 
the bottom part 5 of the outer sleeve 2 as the javelin strikes the ground 
at the end of its trajectory. 
It should be mentioned that the protective sleeve assembly 1 will not 
influence the trajectory of the javelin through the air in a negative 
manner, and hence the quality of the training throw will be fully 
acceptable. 
It will be understood that the configuration of the outer sleeve 2 and the 
inner sleeve 20 can be varied within the scope of the concept of the 
invention. For instance, the configuration of the forward end 6 of the 
outer sleeve can deviate from the illustrated hemispherical configuration, 
and the configuration of the recesses 9-12 can also deviate from the 
described and illustrated configuration. For instance, the conical and 
pointed recess 12 may be spherical, so as to conform shape-wise with the 
forward, hemispherical end 23 of the inner sleeve 20. It will also be 
understood that the configuration of the inner sleeve 20 can also be 
varied. For instance, the forward end 23 may be conical and coincide 
shape-wise with the conical recess 12, and so on. With regard to the 
recesses 25 and 26, these recesses may also be varied within the scope of 
the inventive concept, so as to obtain satisfactory guiding and 
accommodation of the forward part 102 of the javelin tip 100. 
Furthermore, if desired, the elastic outer sleeve 2 can be reinforced so as 
to improve its mechanical strength still further. 
The invention is thus not restricted to the illustrated and described 
embodiments, since changes and modifications are possible within the scope 
of the following claims.