Dart with rotary flight and light means

A dart includes a barrel, a point movably supported on a spring member inside the barrel, a lighting circuit assembly mounted in the barrel, a fixed shaft element fixedly connected to the barrel opposite to the point, a rotary shaft element coupled to the fixed shaft element by a connector, and a flight fastened to a rotary shaft element outside the connector. The flight is rotated with the rotary shaft element relative to the fixed shaft element and the lighting circuit assembly is closed to emit light toward the flight when the dart thrown at the dartboard.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates darts and, more particularly, to a dart that rotates the flight and emits light when thrown at the dartboard.

A regular dart is generally comprised of a shaft, a flight connected to the rear end of the shaft, a barrel connected to the front end of the shaft, and a point axially extended from the front end of the barrel. This design of dart is functional, however it does not cause a visual effect when thrown at the dartboard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the present invention to provide a dart, which rotates the flight when thrown at the dartboard. It is another object of the present invention to provide a dart, which emits light when thrown at the dartboard. According to one aspect of the present invention, the dart is comprised of a barrel, a point mounted in the barrel and partially extended out of the front side of the barrel, a flight, and a shaft connected between the flight and the barrel. The shaft is comprised of a fixed shaft element fixedly fastened to the barrel, a rotary shaft element fixedly fastened to the flight, and a connector fixedly fastened to the fixed shaft element to secure the rotary shaft element to the fixed shaft element for enabling the flight to be rotated with the rotary shaft element relative to the fixed shaft element when the dart thrown at the dartboard. According to another aspect of the present invention, a lighting circuit assembly is installed in the barrel, and the point is axially slidably supported on a spring member in the barrel. When the dart thrown at the dartboard, the barrel is moved forwards into engagement with a rear shank of the point, causing the rear shank of the point to close the circuit of the lighting circuit assembly, and therefore the lighting circuit assembly is driven to emit light toward the flight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. from 1 through 3 , a dart in accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a barrel 1 , a point 2 , a spring member 3 , a LED (light emitting diode) 4 , a battery set 5 , an electrically insulative battery holder 6 , a shaft 72 , and a flight 7 .

The barrel 1 is comprised of a front barrel element 11 , a cone 113 fastened to the front end of the front barrel element 11 by a screw joint, and a rear barrel element 12 fastened to the rear end of the front barrel element 11 by a screw joint. The front barrel element 11 , the cone 113 , and the rear barrel element 12 are made of metallic material. The front barrel element 11 has an inwardly protruded annular rear flange 111 in the rear end. The annular rear flange 111 has a center through hole 112 . The rear barrel element 12 has a screw hole 121 in the center of the rear close end thereof. The point 2 is axially slidably mounted in the barrel 1 and partially protruding over the front side of the front cone 113 (through the axially extended center through hole of the front cone) having a rear shank 21 of relatively greater diameter than the front end thereof. The rear shank 21 is suspended in the front barrel element 11 and partially inserted in the center through hole 112 of the annular rear flange 111 of the front barrel element 11 , having front raised portions 22 and rear raised portions 23 respectively protruded from the periphery near the front and rear ends. The spring member 3 is sleeved onto the rear shank 21 of the point 2 , having a front end stopped at the front raised portions 22 and a rear end supported on the annular rear flange 111 of the front barrel element 11 . The spring member 3 imparts a forward pressure to the point 2 , holding the point 2 in the front limit position. When the point 2 pushed backwards (inwards), the rear raised portions 23 are stopped at the annular rear flange 111 of the front barrel element 11 , keeping the point 2 in the rear limit position. The electrically insulative battery holder 6 is mounted in the rear barrel element 12 , having a front center hole 61 connected to the center through hole 112 of the annular rear flange 111 of the front barrel element 11 . The battery set 5 is comprised of a first battery cell 51 and a second battery cell 52 connected in series and mounted in the electrically insulative barrel holder 6 . The LED 4 is fixedly fastened to the inside of the rear barrel element 12 by transparent glue and aimed at the screw hole 121 , having a positive pole lead-out leg 41 connected to the inside wall of the rear barrel element 12 and a negative pole lead-out leg 42 disposed in contact with the negative terminal of the second battery cell 52 . The flight 7 is made of light penetrable material and marked with a design, having a front neck 71 coupled to the shaft 72 . The shaft 72 couples the flight 7 to the barrel 1 , and is comprised of a fixed shaft element 723 , a rotary shaft element 721 , and a connector 722 . The fixed shaft element 723 , the rotary shaft element 721 , and the connector 722 are made of light penetrable material. The fixed shaft element 723 is a tapered hollow cylinder having a threaded front neck threaded into the screw hole 121 of the rear barrel element 12 . The connector 722 is a tubular element fixedly fastened to the rear end of the fixed shaft element 723 . The rotary shaft element 721 is inserted into the inside of the fixed shaft element 723 and stopped at the front side of the connector 722 for free rotation, having a rear extension rod 7211 inserted through the connector 722 and fixedly connected to the front neck 71 of the flight 7 for enabling the flight 7 to be rotated with the rotary shaft element 721 relative to the fixed shaft element 723 and the connector 722 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , when thrown the dart at the dartboard (not shown), the barrel 1 and the shaft 72 are forced forwards relative to the pint 2 due to inertia effect, thereby causing the rear shank 21 of the point 2 to contact the positive terminal of the first battery cell 51 . When the rear shank 21 of the point 2 touched the positive terminal of the first battery cell 51 , the circuit of the battery set 5 , the LED 4 , and the barrel 1 is closed, causing the LED 4 to emit light through the shaft 72 and the flight 7 . At the same time, the flight 7 is forced to rotate with the rotary shaft element 721 relative to the fixed shaft element 723 .

FIG. 5 shows an alternate form of the present invention. According to this alternate form, the aforesaid spring member 3 is eliminated, and the point 2 is fixedly fastened to the center through hole 112 of the annular rear flange 111 of the front barrel element 11 , keeping the rear shank 21 constantly in contact with the positive terminal of the first battery cell 51 . Preferably, the front cone 113 is adjustably connected to the front barrel element 11 between two positions, namely, the first position where the rear shank 21 is maintained in contact with the positive terminal of the first battery cell 51 , and the second position where the rear shank 21 is disconnected from the positive terminal of the first battery cell 51 .