CROSSHANDLED GUARD BATON

Abstract: A guard baton comprises a longitudinal club (1) having a crosshandle (2) transversely branched at a place toward a club end. The crosshandle (2) is connected such that the club can be turned around the crosshandle,wherein the turnable club is slidably contacted with main portion of the crosshandle at a plane adjacent to the mounting base, 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. With this guard baton, the braking means provided are such that it is difficult to stop quickly the rotation of the club when necessary. Also, braking the rotation of the club only with the fingers of a hand may be harmful to the user. Further, without efficient braking means for quickly stopping its rotation, this conventional guard baton is not appropriate for the user wishing to realize KARATE actions. KARATE is a special practice for combat according to which wielding of two hands is important, and also quick blocking of a hand action is necessary to make use of a foot for kicking or to add an attack by footwork. The present invention provides a rotatable crosshandled guard baton with improved braking means in order to enable KARATE actions in enlarged scale for the user against any assailant. The crosshandled guard baton of the present invention comprises a club and a crosshandle transversely branched on the club. Said crosshandle comprises a main portion and a mounting base slidably contacting each other, the mounting base being fixed on the club, said crosshandle having internally a shaft an end of which is secured to the club through the mounting base, the main portion of the crosshandle being rotatably supported by said shaft. Said guard baton comprises braking means for controlling the rotation between the crosshandle and the club, a manual control rod or the like substantially parallel to said shaft in the crosshandle, and spring means associated to the manual control rod or the like, so as to allow or brake the rotation of the club around the crosshandle by manual action of the rod. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the crosshandled guard baton comprises a club and a crosshandle transversely branched on the club. Said crosshandle comprises a main portion and a mounting base slidably contacting each other, the mounting base being fixed on the club, said crosshandle having internally a shaft an end of which is secured to the club through the mounting base, the main portion of the crosshandle being rotatably supported by said shaft. Said crosshandle comprises a stopper pin parallel to said shaft across the plane formed by the slidable contact between the mounting base and the main portion of the crosshandle, said stopper pin being secured at its club end and removably fitted at its crosshandle end in a recess formed in the main portion, a coil spring being provided around the shaft at its end far from the club enabling the displacement of the main portion along the shaft, so as to allow or brake manually the rotation of the club around the crosshandle, by virtue of the disengagement or engagement of the stopper pin in the recess in the main portion. The two main embodiments of the invention are set out in independent claims 1 and 2. Other embodiments according to the invention are described in dependent claims 3-17. The invention will be further explained on hand of enclosed drawings illustrating several embodiments without limiting the scope of the invention. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an inventive embodiment wherein a longitudinal length of the club and the same of the handle is not proportional to the scale. Fig. 2 shows a vertically sectioned view of the embodiment as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a vertically sectioned view of another inventive embodiment. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a still another inventive embodiment. Fig. 5 shows a vertically sectioned view of the embodiment as shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 shows a vertically sectioned view of a still another further inventive embodiment. Fig. 7 shows a side view, mainly broken, to indicate internal structures. Figs. 8 to 14 show vertically sectioned views to respectively indicate varient devices mounted on inventive embodiments. Fig. 15 shows a side view, partly broken, to indicate varient internal devices. Figs. 16 and 17 show vertically sectioned views to respectively indicate varient devices mounted on inventive embodiments. In the drawings, a like numeral indicates a like part with each embodiment. Furthermore, it is to be noted here that in some drawings, a lenght of the club is shortened out of normal scale without marking a cut, though, such should be understood not to destroy the invention. With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 1 indicates a club having a longitudianl axis and 2 indicates a crosshandle which is branchedly mounted at a place toward an end of the club and has a longitudinal axis transversal to the club axis. The handle is provided with an elliptical shape in section. The major axis of the elliptical section of the handle 2 is substantially conformed to the club axis, and the handle is also provided preferably with a length comparable to a breadthal length of a man's palm. 4 is a plane to form a slide contact made of metal or an interspace between main portion of the handle to be out of club motion and a mounting base 61 of the handle to be integral with the club motion as will be apparent by description later. Referring to internal structures, (Fig. 2) 5 is a rod which is inserted through a hole provided in parallel to the handle axis and at its far end. The rod is blocked and is leveled to be just over the handle end so that a user may manipulate the rod end as a key or trigger and at outer portion 6 the rod is wound around with a coil spring 7 set on a stepped corner of the hole to yield a urging action . At close end of the rod 5, it is abutted with a pin 10 which is provided in alignment to the rod and is urged with a coil spring 9 received in a bore 8 provided in the club 1 so that the abutted point will stay normally to be outer the plane 4 and will displace inwardly upon a push of the rod end, wherein the rod 5 and the pin 10 are formed to be round to make a point contact each other. 3 is a shaft which is provided internally of the handle 2 and is substantially parallel to the rod 5. The shaft is received in a hole and is rotatably supported with ball bearings 11, 11 which are provided at an outer point and at the plane 4, but at its close end, the shaft 3 is secured in the club 1 so that the shaft will rotate integrally with the club, but the main portion of the handle which designates portion of the handle outer or farther than the plane 4 will stay out of such a rotation by dint of the rotatable supports 11, 11. Thus, normally the pin 10 stays across the plane 4 which resists to any rotation around the shaft 3, but upon a push of the rod 5, the abutting point comes to be flush with or a slightly inner the plane 4, the club 1 is allowed to rotation which is braked by a release of pushing on the rod end. In the following descriptions to explain new embodiments, explanations will concentrate to new devices or functions which have not yet been described, with abbreviation for repeated description. With reference to Fig. 3, a shaft 3 is designed to act as a rotating shaft as well as a rod to release resistance to rotation which is assigned to a pin 12. The pin 12 is secured in the club through the mounting base 61 and is extended across the plane 4 slightly in a recess provided with the main portion of the handle. Therefore, when the handle 2 is pulled or displaced outwardly relative to the shaft 3 to make an interspace to be clear of an end of the pin 12, the club is allowed to turn and a release of pull force acting on the handle will brake, wherein a spring 7 will reset the shaft 3. In this embodiment, a ring strap band 14 is provided to make sure a gripping by the hand which is tied with a mounting end 13 the location of which may be chosen at any place around the handle. Further, interior of the club is rendered to be a hollow space 15 to make the baton lighter in weight and two end openings 16 are closed by plugs 17. With reference to Figs. 4 and 5, this embodiment is comparable to the embodiment as shown in Figs 1 and 2 in respect to designs with a shaft 3 and a rod 5 and with attendant devices. A trigger 18 is provided at a side face of the handle far end and is internally extended to form a lever to contact with the top or outmost end of the rod 5 so that a push of the trigger 18 will cause the rod 5 to a move inward. The interior of the club 1 is divided into two longitudinal spaces 15, 33 and each of opening 16 is closed by a plug 17. With reference to Fig. 6, the rod 5 has a blocked head at its inner end and a coil spring 7 is set to wind around midportion of the rod 5 to urge the blocked head to be across the plane 4 and normally to be received in a recess 19 provided in the club 1, and a trigger 18 is formed to be a lever to engage with outermost end of the rod 5 such that a push of the trigger 18 will cause a move outwardly of the rod 5. With reference to Fig. 7, a trigger 18 is engaged to a roll 20 which is mounted at or formed on the outmost end of the rod 5, the rod 5 having a hole 21 adjacent to the roll 20 for receiving therethrough threaded the pivotable lever end of the trigger 18. An internal core portion 22 of the club 1 is made of a hard material, for instance, hard plastic, and wrapped or claded with an elastic, for instance, spongy material 23 to avoid a slip. With reference to Fig. 8, internally of the handle 2, a shaft 3 is set up to be sheathed with a tube and at its close end, the shaft 3 is not extended in the club 1 and is secured in the mounting base 61. Another base member 30 is fixded integrally on the mounting base to further secure the shaft 3 . One side face of the base member 30 is made flush vertically with a cover of the ball bearing 11 for the shaft, said cover corresponding to close end of the tube sheathing the shaft 3. And further a rod is formed to be a slightly flexed lever 28 extending vertically in parallel to the shaft 3, and outmost end of the lever 28 is formed to be a trigger 18 to face out at a side of far end of the handle 2 and the trigger 18 is urged with a spring 32 which is set transversal to the sheath tube, and at a midpoint 29 the lever is pivoted, and at its close end or inner end, the lever 28 is blocked so as to press on both said ball bearing cover and said base member 30 with a slight gap inbetween such that normally, by pressing, the club 1 integral with the base member 30 is not allowed to turn, but a push of the trigger 18 will cause a release of the pressing, which will allow rotation around the shaft 32 wherein the base member 30 is involved in rotation. In Fig. 8, the club 1 has an extending interior hollow space 15, an opening of one end adjacent to the handle is plugged by a plug 17, and another far end opening is made open to communicate outside. In making use of the interior space, a plurality of slender cylinderical members in retracted form and extendable telescopically are provided, wherein a member 25 having a larger diameter than the other members is shaped to be thick at its end placed to be close to the plug 17 and thin at its end placed to be a slightly out of the open end of the club 1 to form a subtle taper forward as a whole, wherein an inner member 27 is so inserted as for its outer end to be fitted tightly with the end of the member 25, the outer opening end of the member 27 being plugged with a cap 26. These retracted members 25, 27 will be extended with help of centrifugal force when the club is gripped at the club grip 24 by a user and put into a swing motion, for instance. In Fig. 9, an outer member 25 is designed to be an outwardly tapered cylinder having an end wall 59 which is internally fixed midway of the club length and thereinto an inner member 27 is inserted, but it contains, with help of the plug 26, metal beads or particles 34 to make a weight, which will accelerate the centrifugal force, wherein for the purpose of avoiding easy or unexpected extension of the members due to a small centrifugal force, fittings between the club end, the member 25 and the member 27 are made adequately tight. In both figures 8 + 9,24 indicates a grip portion on the club as well as a cover placed on the portion to avoid slipping of the hand. With reference to Fig. 10, internal structures are featured as compared to those in Fig. 8, the lever 28 in contact with the trigger 18 is urged at a point toward its far end with a spring 36 which is set up transversely on an internal wall of the handle 2. And the hollow space 15 is divided to two areas, of which ends are plugged and one space 33 contains metal particles 34 to make a weight. With reference to Fig. 11, internal structures of the handle 2 are featured as compared to those in Fig. 10. The lever 28 is not long outwardly enough to reach the trigger 18, wherein in an interspace between the trigger 18 and farthest end of the lever 28, another intermediate lever 35 is provided to connect a trigger action to the lever 28, and close end of the lever 28 is urged outwardly with a spring 36 set transversely on the sheath tube for the shaft 3 to press internally on both wall end of main portion of the handle 2 and a wall end 31 of the recessed mounting base 61 with a slight gap inbetween, which is in contrast to the embodiment of Fig. 8 in respect to which direction the pressing is designed to act on. In Fig. 8, inward, but in Fig. 11, outward. Additional feature in Fig. 11 is equipment of a gas ejecting device contained in the club body 1, wherein 38 is a gas bomb and 40 is a nob switch or trigger to burst the bomb and 41 is a gas ejecting nozzle, through which an exploded gas, for instance, tear gas or smoky gas will be ejected outside. With reference to Fig. 12, first, as for devices internal of the handle 2, a shaft 3 is set at a center and a rod lever 28 is pivotally mounted generally in parallel to the shaft 3 at a off-center position and is formed at its far end to be a trigger 18 which is urged with a spring 36 set transversely and at its close end the lever 28 is designed to press on both a bearing cover and a base member which is formed on a mounting base 61 as in much the same manner as described in Fig. 8. Next, as for devices internal of the club body 1, interior space is divided to two rooms by a wall 59 and in a space 15, a gas bomb 38 is set such that a switch 40 located adjacent to the mounting base 61 will act, via a contact with a fuse 60, on the bomb 38 and in another space, a plurality of extendable members in a retracted form is accommodated in much the same manner as described in Fig. 9. With reference to Fig. 13, this embodiment is compared to that in Fig. 1 in respect to arrangement of a shaft 3 and a rod 5. A device is directed to connection of a trigger 18 to an end of the rod 5, wherein a blocked end 45 is beveled to form an inclined face 37, close to which a ram 46 is set to transmit an action of the trigger 18 to the inclined face 37. And in equipment of the club interior, in place of the gas ejector in the foregoing, set is a lightening device wherein 47 is a battery, 48 is a lamp and 50 is a lens winder as is easily understood and another space accommodates much the same device as described in the foregoing example. With reference to Fig. 14, in internal devices of the handle 2, a device for a trigger 18 is formed of a ram and piston to stroke in a cylinder, located to be adjacent to a beveled face 37 of a blocked head 45 of a shaft 5 in much the same manner in the foregoing example. And in internal devices of the club 1, a lightening device with much the same design as in the foregoing example is accommodated in the space 15 and another space is kept hollow. With reference to Fig. 15, in internal devices of the handle 2, a trigger 18 is formed to be a ram having a beveled undercut to keep contact with a far end of a shaft 5. And at each of two ends of the club 1, a cap 58 is fitted over to avoid slipping for the hand, wherein the cap is preferably made of a spongy material. When the club 1 is made of a plastic, it is recommended to reinforce with making an interlacing layer 44 made of tough aramid fibers, for instance, Keblar (brandname) by orienting such fibers to the longitudinal axis of the club. With reference to Fig. 16, in internal devices of the handle 2, new features are that in internal space 43 of the handle, a trigger 18 is set to swing by a push, underside of which a lever 51 shaped in a L letter pattern in section is suspended, and its lateral portion is set to be in contact on an end of a rod 5 such that a push of the trigger 18 will cause the rod 5 to move inwardly in much the same manner as described before. In internal devices of the club 1, a lightening device and a gas ejecting device are accommodated, but a direction of casting light and that of ejecting gas are conformed as is shown to left in the drawing, wherein the device for ejecting a gas is set in the right-half space 33 and a nozzle 39 is directed to left therein. With refernce to Fig. 17, in internal devices of the handle 2, new features are that a trigger 18 is extended inwardly to have a hole 53 and therethrough a blocked far end 52 of a rod 5 is threaded to make an engagement. In internal devices of the club 1, in a space adjacent to an end opposite to a grip portion 24 a pointing device is mounted so as to facilitate a jab action wherein a plug 17 is provided with a through hole 54 and therethrough a pointer member 55 is fitted and an assembly of the pointer 55 and the plug 17 is set so as to connect to a pack 56 mounted inwardly wherein a tip of the pointer 55 is adjusted to be slightly out of the rod end, and 57 is a shock absorber.

Claims: A crosshandled guard baton comprising a club (1) and a crosshandle (2) transversely branched on the club, said crosshandle comprises a main portion, a mounting base (61) and an internal shaft (3), an end of which is secured to the club through the mounting base, the mounting base being fixed on the club, characterized in that the main portion of the crosshandle is rotatably supported by said shaft and in slidable contact with the mounting base, and in that said guard baton comprises braking means (9, 10; 5, 7; 30; 31) for controlling the rotation between the crosshandle and the club, a manual control rod or the like (5, 28) substantially parallel to said shaft in the crosshandle, and a spring means (7; 32; 36) associated to the manual control rod or the like, so as to allow or brake the rotation of the club (1) around the crosshandle (2) by manual action on the rod or the like. A crosshandled guard baton comprising a club (1) and a crosshandle (2) transversely branched on the club, said crosshandle comprises a main portion, a mounting base (61) and an internal shaft (3), an end of which is secured to the club through the mounting base, the mounting base being fixed on the club, characterized in that the main portion of the crosshandle is rotatably supported by said shaft and in slidable contact with the mounting base, and in that said crosshandle (2) comprises a stopper pin (12) parallel to said shaft across the plane (4) formed by the slidable contact between the mounting base (61) and the main portion of the crosshandle, said stopper pin being secured at its club end and removably fitted at its crosshandle end in a recess formed in the main portion, a coil spring (7) being provided around the shaft (3) at its end far from the club enabling the displacement of the main portion along the shaft, so as to allow or brake manually the rotation of the club around the crosshandle, by virtue of the disengagement or engagement of the stopper pin in the recess in the main portion. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 1, wherein said braking means comprises a coil spring (9) and a pin (10) arranged in a bore (8) provided in the club, said pin being abutted in alignment with a round tip of said rod (5), so as to push the abutting pin end by the rod to be flush with the plane (4) forming said slide contact of the crosshandle with the club allowing the rotation therebetween. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 1 or 3, wherein the far end of the rod (5, 28) is connected to a pivotable lever provided internally of the crosshandle, the outer end of said lever being formed to be a trigger (18) to displace the rod by a manual push. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 4, wherein the trigger (18) is provided inwardly with a ram (46) to be transversal to the rod (5) and to be in contact with the beveled face (37) of a beveled head (45) formed on the far end of the rod ; and wherein the rod (5) is provided with a coil spring (7) therearound and is abutted endways to a pin (10) which is held in alignment with the rod and is received in a bore (8) formed in the club wherein a spring (9) urges the pin. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 4, wherein the trigger (18) is inwardly formed to have a undercut to hold downwardly a plate (51) shaping a L letter pattern in section and the far end of the rod (5) is set to be in contact with the plate at its lateral portion of L letter. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 4, wherein the trigger (18) is inwardly extended to have a hole (53) and therethrough the far end (52) of the rod (5) is threaded and blocked to make an engagement. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 1, wherein said spring means is formed by a coil spring (7) arranged around the midportion of said rod (5) a round tip of which is receivable in a bore (19) of the club, and the far end of the rod is connected to a pivotable lever provided internally of the crosshandle, the outer end of said lever being formed to be a trigger (18) for displacing the rod by a manual push thereon, so as to retract the rod accross the plane (4) forming said slide contact of the crosshandle with the club and to allow the rotation therebetween. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 4 or 8, wherein the far end of the rod (5) is formed to be a roll (20) and adjacent thereto a hole (21) is pieced and a pivotable lever end is theaded through the hole. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 1, wherein the main portion of the crosshandle (2) is rotatably supported by said shaft (3) by means of a tube sheating the shaft, and said rod (28) is pivotable at its midpoint (29) and has a far end forming a trigger (18) or in contact with a trigger (18) directly or via an intermediate lever (35), said rod being urged by a spring (32, 36) which is set to be transverse to the sheath tube for the shaft and a close end constrained by said spring to press on an end portion of the sheath tube or of the main portion of the crosshandle and a base member (30, 61) fixed on the club (1). A crosshandle guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 10, wherein the club (1) comprises internally at least a hollow space (15, 33) wherein a club end close to the crosshandle is plugged and the other end of the club is made open to communicate outside ; and wherein a slender member containing one or more extendable inner members (25, 27) and shaped to be thick at one end and to be thin at the other end is inserted in said hollow space so as to direct the thick end away from and the thin end toward to the opening of the club end ; whereby the slender member can extend out telescopically with help of centrifugal force in a swing motion. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 10, wherein the club (1) is provided longitudinally with a plurality of hollow spaces (15, 33) separated each other, wherein at one end the club is made open to communicate outside and at the other end the club is made closed by a plug (17). A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 11 or 12, said guard baton further comprising in the hollow space (15, 33) a gas ejecting device (38, 40, 41) and/or an illuminating device (47, 48, 50) operable by a manual manipulation and directed towards outside the club. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in claim 11 or 12, wherein a weight (34) is received in the hollow space. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 14, wherein the club (1) is at least partially wrapped with an elastic anti-slipping material (23, 24). A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 15, wherein the club is provided removably with an anti-slipping cap (17, 26, 55, 58) at one or both ends. A crosshandled guard baton as noted in any of claims from 1 to 16, wherein the crosshandle (2) is shaped to be elliptic in section and its elliptic major axis is conformed to a longitudinal axis of the club (1).

Inventors: ASHIHARA, HIDEYUKI
Applicants: ASHIHARA, HIDEYUKI
Application year: 1989
Main classification: F41B15
IPC codes: F41B15, F21V33