Patent Publication Number: US-2005116420-A1

Title: Throwing amusement device and method for using device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      Not Applicable  
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERAL SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
      Not Applicable  
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, ETC  
      Not Applicable  
     BACKGROUND  
      The present invention relates to an amusement device and a method for using same. More particularly, the present invention relates generally to thrown amusement devices and specifically consisting of a thrown element and target element, and the method for using this amusement device for competitive and/or entertainment purposes.  
      People generally spend a large amount of time and money for competitive and/or entertainment purposes. These endeavors can range from the relatively short in time and inexpensive, such as throwing a ball between friends or renting a movie, to taking large amounts of time and being expensive, such as playing golf long or attending a professional sports event. Based upon the innate desire of people to be entertained and/or to be involved in competitive endeavors, the present invention relates to a new, useful and unobvious throwing amusement device and method for using same, that will appeal to a large group of people based upon it&#39;s ease of use, simple set-up, low cost, ease of learning and inherent competitiveness. These features will meet a need for entertainment and/or competition that is not currently being met and for the foregoing reasons, this invention will fill this void.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY  
      The present invention is directed to the needs and desires noted above for entertainment and/or competitive activities. It is a further object of this invention that this entertainment and/or competition be met at a low cost, with ease of use and learning, so that it can be used by a wide range of age levels, as well as a wide range of persons with varied physical prowess and dexterity. It is another object of this invention that it can be used virtually anywhere, eliminating the need for a specific field or equipment requirements, other than the throwing element and the target element.  
      These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1 : shows a claimed embodiment of the throwing element.  
       FIG. 2 : shows a claimed embodiment of the target element.  
       FIG. 3 : shows a claimed embodiment of one set of throwing elements and two target elements set up for use.  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION  
      The throwing amusement device of this invention may be produced by making a throwing element consisting of two weighted end elements  1  that are independently fixedly attached to a length of non-rigid material  2 , whereby the end elements are on opposite ends of the non-rigid material. Such a throwing element is demonstrated by  FIG. 1 . There is also produced a target element consisting of at least one bar or member  3  and more preferably a series of bars and a method by which the bars are placed in a substantially upright position  4 , such as to allow the throwing element, when launched at the target element with the required precision, to strike the target element and become temporarily attached to the target element primarily by having the end elements cause the non-rigid material connecting the end elements to tangle or wrap around the target element. One embodiment of a target element is shown by  FIG. 2 .  
      The method upon which the throwing amusement device can be used consists of alternating turns by at least two players whereby each player launches one throwing element toward the target element. See  FIG. 3 . Each player gains points by getting the throwing element to become temporarily attached to the target element. The players alternate launching of the throwing elements for a set number of throws, determined by the players, which amounts to a round. A player can also attempt to take points away from another player by launching his own throwing element and hitting or striking a throwing element of another player, that has been temporarily attached to the target element. In the event the second player gets his opponent&#39;s throwing element to dislodge from the target element, the first player loses any points associated with the throwing element that was dislodged. Points are tallied at the end of each round and these rounds continued for a set number or until a player reaches a certain point level or value.  
      As to the throwing element, this may consist of a variety of parts as long as it consists of two approximately equally weighted end elements connected by some non-rigid material. The weight and shape of the end elements can be determined by the end user but they should be of sufficient weight to allow flight when thrown, but also light enough that they could be lifted by a wide range of people. In one embodiment these could consists of two spherical balls as shown in  FIG. 1 . The end elements are individually fixedly connected to a length of non-rigid material, whereby one end element is attached to either end of the material in such a way that the end elements cannot move along the length of material. In one embodiment, this material could be rope or other material having a sufficient strength and flexibility to connect the end elements, maintain their separation, and also not break when landing or striking the target element. The length of material used between the end elements could be at the discretion of the end-user but it should not be so long as to impair the ability of the players to launch the element or so short that it would not allow the throwing element to attach or wrap around the target element.  
      As to the target element, this consist of at least one bar or member  3  that is preferably substantially parallel to the ground. See  FIG. 2 . Additional bars and members can be added to increase the difficulty of getting a throwing element to attach to the target element. In one embodiment the bars are made from pipe, or similarly durable material, and include three bars or members a set distance apart, connected together and attached to the base  5  of the target element or ground, by two substantially upright members.  FIG. 3 .  
      In the preferred embodiment, the throwing element consists of end elements made of golf balls and the attaching material between the end elements is {fraction (3/16)}″ braided polyester nylon rope. The length of the material between the end elements is 12.″ As to the preferred embodiment of the target element, this consists of a structure made of PVC pipe and includes three levels substantially parallel to the ground and separated by a fixed distance. The three members  3  are each approximately 30″ long and equally separated from one another by at least 12.″ These members  3  are connected to two substantially upright elements  4  that maintain an equal distance between the parallel members and allow the target element to be placed or anchored to the ground  5  with sufficient force that the target element will not be knocked over when a throwing element strikes the target element.  
      Further, in the preferred embodiment of the method of using the throwing amusement device, there are at least two teams with at least one player on each team. In this embodiment each player has four (4) throwing elements and there are two (2) target elements a fixed distance apart, in this case approximately twenty feet. The game begins when the players stand at one of the target elements and one player launches his throwing element at the other target element, approximately twenty feet away, in an attempt to temporarily attach the throwing element to the target element or to knock his opponent&#39;s throwing elements off of the target element. The players alternate until each has thrown all four of their throwing elements toward the target element, which concludes one round. Points are gained when a player gets his throwing element to attach to the target element and the throwing element remains there until the end of the round. Further, the different levels of the target elements are assigned different point levels, for example the first level is one point, the second level two points and the third level, three points.  
      Points are only gained if a throwing element remains on the target element at the end of an round. At the end of each round, the players retrieve their throwing elements from one target area and then begin another round by launching the throwing elements at the second target element. This eliminates some walking by the players and can speed the play of the game.  
      A further preferred embodiment which will reduce the need for the players to walk between the two target elements, would be to have at least two players on each team and each team member remains at one of the target elements and the members alternate the throwing of the elements between rounds. Therefore, one player from each team is, in essence, stationed at one of the target elements and remains at that location throughout the game.  
      The players tally their scores from each round and play continues until one team reaches exactly a certain level, in this embodiment, 21 points. If the team does not reach that level exactly, i.e. they gain too many points, then new points that are gained are either subtracted, if the team has exceeded 21 points, or are added, if the team has not reached 21 points, until one of the teams reaches 21 points exactly.  
      Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.