CROSSHANDLED GUARD BATON

Abstract: A crosshandled guard baton comprises a longitudinal club (1) and a crosshandle (2) branched thereon at a place toward a club end with a branching length comparable to a breadthal length of man's hand palm. The crosshandle consists of two or three portional grip members (4,6,8a,8b) which are laid one another to form a stand on a mounting base (3) on the club, wherein a shaft (13) is secured on the mounting base and is extended internally of the crosshandle to reach through a top end of the upper grip (8a), and the shaft is rotatably supported with one or two grip members while remaining grip is fastened to the shaft such that the club is turnable around the crosshandle with same spin motion of the secured grip, keeping the others in independence of a motion with the club, thereby enlarged KARATE actions being enabled, and additional improvement is directed to devices to quickly stop a swing motion of the club and to devices to shoot light or a gas for increase to defend self against an assailant.

Description: This invention relates to a guard baton or police billy or the like, and in particular to a crosshandled guard baton. The term "crosshandled guard baton" means a guard baton which has a short handle branchedly secured on a main club body at midway between an end and the central portion of the club length. A conventional guard baton of this type is described in US Patent 4132409. According to this US patent, the guard baton comprises a club having a crosshandle rigidly secured thereto and extending perpendicularly therefrom. An outer part of the handle defines a gripping surface which is stationary with respect to the club. A sleeve is rotatably mounted on the handle between the club and the gripping surface. Thus, the handle is axially divided into a stationary portion and a rotatable portion, the former being gripped by several fingers of the user's hand to brake rotating or swinging motions of the club. In use, the crosshandle is gripped with the thumb and first and second fingers positioned around the stationary portion and with the third and fourth fingers around the rotatable sleeve. This guard baton is not adapted to a great number of users who may have very weak gripping force with the third and fourth fingers for rotating motions of the club. Further, the crosshandle of this guard baton is of circular section. Thus the directional control of the club, especially when stopping the rotating motion, is not easy. The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks with an improved crosshandled guard baton which comprises a club, a crosshandle and possibly a mounting base between the club and the crosshandle. As like the conventional guard baton, the crosshandle has a stationary portion and a rotatable portion with respect to the club. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, as described in claim 1, the crosshandle is elliptic in section the major axis of which is conformed to the axis of the club. Further, the stationary portion of the crosshandle is formed by a central grip member fastened to a shaft extending axially and internally of the crosshandle, the shaft being fixed on the club and on the mounting base. The rotatable portion of the crosshandle is formed by a lower grip member and an upper grip member rotatably mounted around the shaft and respectively adjacent to the lower end and the upper end of the central grip member, the lower or upper grip member being removable from the rest of the crosshandle. In other words, this crosshandled guard baton comprises a club having a longitudinal axis and a crosshandle transversely branched on the club at a place toward a club end, wherein the crosshandle has a branching length comparable to a breadthal length of a man's hand and is defined by three portional members of a lower grip, central grip and upper grip which are laid on one another to form a stand on a mounting base on the club, and internally of the crosshandle a longitudinal shaft is secured on the mounting base and is extended to reach through a top end of the upper grip, and the shaft is rotatably supported with the lower and upper grips while the central grip is fastened to the shaft such that the club is turnable around the crosshandle with a concurrent motion of the central grip, keeping the lower and upper ones in independence of the motion of the club and central grip. Further, the crosshandle comprises devices for removing the lower or upper grip from rest of the members defining the crosshandle. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, as described in claim 2, the crosshandle comprises two portional members consisting of a main grip and an upper grip which are laid on each other to form a stand on the main grip integrally extending on the club. A shaft is secured on the top of the main grip and is extended internally of the crosshandle to reach through the top end of the upper grip. The shaft is rotatably supported with the upper grip such that the club is turnable around the crosshandle with a concurrent motion of the main grip, keeping the upper grip in independence of the motion with the club and main grip. Further, the crosshandle comprises a device for removing the upper grip from the rest of the crosshandle. In other words, the stationary portion of the crosshandle is formed by a main grip member the lower end of which is secured on the club. The rotatable portion of the crosshandle is formed by an upper grip member rotatably mounted around a shaft which is fastened to the top of the main grip member the upper grip member being removable from the main grip member. Further embodiments according to the invention are described in the dependent claims. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an inventive embodiment. Fig. 2 shows a plan view cut at X -X line noted in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a vertical view in section of another inventive embodiment featuring in comprising upper and lower grip members being rotatable. Fig. 4 shows a vertical view in section of a still another inventive embodiment featuring in comprising a upper grip member being only rotatable. Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of further another inventive embodiment featuring in comprising a strap band. Fig. 6 shows a vertical view in section of the embodiment as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 shows an exploded view of a shaft comprised in the embodiment as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 shows a vertical view, but partly in section, of an embodiment featuring in an anti-slip cover being applied on a club. Figs. 9 to 12 show vertical views, but partly in section, of embodiments featuring in internal devices of each club. Fig. 13 shows a vertical view, but partly in section, of an embodiment featuring in equipment of a gas ejecting device in a club. Fig. 14 shows a vertical view, but partly in section, of an embodiment featuring in equipment of a lighting device in a club. Fig. 15 shows a perspective view of an embodiment featuring in equipment of a lighting device and a gas ejecting device in a club. Fig. 16 shows a vertical view, but partly in section, of the embodiment as shown in Fig. 15. Figs. 17 and 18 show vertical views, but partly in section, of embodiments featuring in equipment of a jabbing device. Fig. 19 shows a perspective view of an embodiment featuring in application of a removable anti-slip device. Fig. 20 shows a vertical view, but partly in section, of an embodiment featuring in application of an anti-slip cap. These drawings are presented to illustrate the invention and therefore these should not be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings a like numeral indicates a like part, and a length of the club is somewhat shortened out of scale without a cut mark and such should not be construed to destroy the invention. It is to be noted here that the term "crosshandle" will often be abbreviated to "handle" in descriptions later. With reference to Figs. 1 to 3, 1 is a club which is made of a hard material, for instance, wood, metal or plastic and, in the case of a plastic, it is recommended to reinforce it with tough aramid fibers, for instance, Kevlar (brandname), by interlacing such fibers in plastic layers with orientation to an longitudinal axis of the club 1. Size of a club 1 is preferably about 60 cm in length and about 3 cm in diameter. Further, it is preferable for convenience to carrying as well as adjusting a length in use that a full length of a club is divided to a plurality of short members, which will be connected, for instance, by screw fittings instantly and in place. A handle 2 is transversely branched at a place toward an end of the club 1, a mounting base or saddle base 3 being formed to offer a flat face at the place as mentioned, on which laid first is a lower grip member 4 which is shaped to be a round brick, the contact plane of the lower grip 4 to the base 3 being formed to make a slide contact plane 5, of which function will appear later. Then, a central grip member 6 is laid on the grip member 4 to form a similar slide contact plane 11 inbetween and thereafter an upper grip member 8a is laid on the central one 6 likewise to form a slide contact plane 12 inbetween, thereto another upper grip or cap 8b is fitted over on top, but between members 8a and 8b no slide plane is made. These members after assembly as shown in the drawings will be applied to a handgrip as a handle, size of which is therefore preferably about 11 cm long and diameter of the cap member 8b is about 3.5 cm, wherein assembled grip members as a whole are preferably shaped to take a form, like a bowling pin, easy to handgrip as shown in the drawings, in other words, round side faces of the lower grip 4 and upper grip 8a are squeezed to recurve and a similar side of the central grip is made like a barrel flank, wherein an outside shape of the handle may be varied from round in section, for instance, to be elliptic in section for further ease to handgrip as shown in Fig. 2. Making reference to internal structures, a shaft 13a, 13b (two segments are connected in alignment, but often represented by 13) is provided longitudinally of the handle 2 and is at its footing end secured on a screw 14 which is mounted transversely of the club axis, as Fig. 3 shows. The footing end may be constructed integrally with the base 3 and is extended vertically to reach top end of the grip 8a with some interconnection midway as shown in Fig. 3 wherein the shaft 13 is rotatably supported with ball bearings 16, 16, 16, 16, mounted at two vertical ends of two grip members, lower and upper, while the shaft 13 is fastened with the central grip 6, (see Fig. 2. It shows the shaft 13 in square section at X - X line in Fig. 1). The structure as noted is annotated here to explain functions in the invention. That is, "rotatably supported" means that, when a rotatably supported grip is firmly held externally, the grip member held externally remains stationary while internally the shaft 13 is let move or turn, and as will be apparent later, in use, two grips of the lower and upper are recommended to be held by the hand palm while the center grip is let free to turn with the club. and, when the turning club is intended to stop, a touch onto the central grip is used to effect braking action. Therefore, several lateral grooves 7 are provided on the central grip to enhance friction against the hand palm. The cap 8b is mounted on the upper grip 8a with a screw fastener 9 and, when disassembling is intended, undoing the fastener 9 leads to easy finish of disassembly. In the following descriptions to explain new embodiments, explanations will concentrate to new devices and functions which have not yet been described, with abbreviation for repeated description. With reference to Fig. 4, the embodiment is simplified by removing the rotatably supported lower grip member from structure as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, the shaft 13 is secured on a level comparable to top end of the central grip 6 in Fig. 1 and only the upper grip 8a, with the cap 8b is supported rotatably. Therefore, firm gripping on the upper grip is recommended to rotate and additional gripping over the other handle portion is needed to brake it. With reference to Figs. 5 - 7, first, externally a ring strap band 21 is fitted to make sure of a gripping by hand which is tied with a mounting end 20. Size of the band is preferable in about 20 - 25 cm in fold form. the mounting position may he changed anywhere around the handle. And crossed grooves for anti-slip purpose are provided on a handgrip portion 45 of the club 1. Internally, the club is made hollow to provide an interior space and openings 18, 25 of two ends of the club 1 are closed by plugs 19, 26. Fig. 7 shows a shaft assembly in exploded form wherein 14 is a king pin screw 14 which will be set transversely across the club 1 to fit in a footing end of the shaft 13a and top end of the shaft 13a is designed to screw-connect to another segment of the shaft 13b which is equipped with ball bearings (not shown) and 15 is a screw to fasten or to clamp the assembly as a whole on top. 20 is a mounting end for a strap. With reference to Fig. 8, internal core portion 22 of the club 1 is made of a hard material, for instance, a hard plastic and cladded or covered with an elastic, for instance, spongy material 23 to avoid a undesirable slip. With reference to Figs. 9 to 11, the club is internally made to be a longitudinal hollow space, which is divided to two spaces 17, 24 in the case of Fig. 9 and two end openings 18, 25 are closed by plugs 19, 26, wherein a weight 27 composed of metal particles or beads is provided to accelerate the centrifugal force. In the case of Fig. 10, the hollow space 17 is connected to an end opening 25 which is closed by a plug 26. In the case of an embodiment of Fig. 11, the club is so designed as to be connected of two segments 1a, 1b and the segment 1b contains a weight 27 and is connected by screw-fitting 28, 29 to the segment 1a so that an independent compartment 24 is formed in the segment 1a which will be made use to store small properties of a user. With reference to Fig. 12, this embodiment is featured in fiber reinforcement 30 with use of a tough kind of fiber as noted before. With reference to Fig. 13, this embodiment is featured in equipment of a gas ejecting device contained in the club body 1, wherein 32 is a gas bomb and 34 is a nob switch or trigger to burst the bomb and 33 is a gas ejecting nozzle, 35 is a nozzle hole, through which an exploded gas, for instance, tear gas or smoky gas will be ejected outside. With reference to Fig. 14, this embodiment is featured in equipment of a lightening device in the club interior, in place of the gas ejector in the foregoing. Mentioning the lightening device, therein 36 is a battery, 37 is a lamp, 38 is a switch and 39 is a lens as is easily understood. With reference to Figs. 15 and 16, features are that internal devices of the club 1; a lighting device and a gas ejecting device are accommodated in two divided spaces of the club 1, wherein a direction of casting light and that of ejecting a gas are conformed as is shown to left in the drawing, and the device for ejecting a gas is set in the right-half space 17 and a nozzle 33 is directed to left therein. In use, if the lighting device is unnecessary, the lamp 37 is recommended to be removed and a cap 26 as shown in Fig. 15 is applied in place. With refernce to Figs. 17 and 18, in internal devices of the club 1, in a space adjacent to an end opposite to a grip portion 45, a pointing device is mounted so as to facilitate a jab action wherein a plug 26 is provided with a through hole 40 and therethrough a pointer member 41 is fitted and an assembly of the pointer 41 and the plug 26 is set so as to connect to a pack 42 mounted inwardly wherein a tip of the pointer 41 is adjusted to be slightly out of the rod end, and 43 is a shock absorber. In the case of Fig. 18, a plug 26 is designed to serve as a pointer, which is exchangeable to a normal plug as shown in the left hand end. With reference to Fig. 19, on the club 1, crosshatched net irregularities are provided to avoid a slip with a grip portion and two ends, which are commonly numbered 45. With reference to Fig. 20, at one or two ends of the club 1, a cap 46, made of a spongy material, for instance, is applied to avoid a slip.

Claims: A crosshandled guard baton comprising a club (1), a crosshandle (2) and a mounting base (3) between the club and the crosshandle, the crosshandle having a stationary portion and a rotatable portion with respect to the club, characterized in that the crosshandle (2) is shaped to be elleptic in section, the major axis of which is conformed to the longitudinal axis of the club (1), and in that the stationary portion is formed by a central grip member (6) fastened to a shaft (13) extending axially and internally of the crosshandle, the shaft being fixed on the club and on the mounting base (3), and in that the rotatable portion is formed by a lower grip member (4) and an upper grip member (8A, 8b) rotatably mounted around the shaft and respectively adjacent to the lower end and the upper end of the central grip member, the lower or upper grip member being removable from the rest of the crosshandle. A crosshandled guard baton comprising a club (1) and a crosshandle (2) provided with a stationary portion and a rotatable portion with respect to the club, characterized in that the crosshandle (2) is shaped to be elleptic in section, the major axis of which is conformed to the longitudinal axis of the club (1), and in that the stationary portion is formed by a main grip member (6) the lower end of which is secured on the club, the rotatable portion is formed by an upper grip member ( 8a, 8b) rotatably mounted around a shaft (13b) which is fastened to the top of the main grip member, the upper grip member being removable from the main grip member. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 1, wherein the shaft (13) is formed by two segments (13a, 13b) screw-connected in alignment. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 3, wherein the upper grip member comprises an upper grip element (8a) on the top of which is removably secured a cap (8b). A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the shaft (13) is rotatably supported with the lower grip or the upper grip by a ball bearing (16). A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 5, wherein the crosshandle is provided with a ring strap (20,21). A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 6, wherein the club is cladded with an elastic material for anti-slip. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 6, wherein the club is provided longitudinally with one or more hollow spaces (17, 24) separated each other, wherein at two ends of the club, the hollow spaces are made closed by plugs (19, 26). A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 8, wherein a weight (27) is received in the hollow space. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 8, said guard baton further comprising in the hollow space a gas ejecting device (32-35) to be directed to outside the club, wherein the gas ejecting device is operable by a manual manipulation. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 8, said guard baton further comprising in the hollow space a lighting device (36-39) to be directed to outside the club, wherein the lighting device is operable by a manual manipulation. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 8, wherein the longitudinal hollow space is separated at a place of the mounting base (3) into two spaces and a lighting device (36-39) is accommodated in one separated space and a gas ejecting device (32-35) is accommodated in the other space, wherein these two devices are adapted to be operable independently by a mnanipulation of a switch (34, 38) provided around the crosshandle. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 6 or claims from 8 to 11, wherein the club (1) is provided removably with a cap (46) for anti-slip at its one or two ends.

Inventors: ASHIHARA, HIDEYUKI
Applicants: ASHIHARA, HIDEYUKI
Application year: 1989
Main classification: F41B15
IPC codes: F41B15