Patent Publication Number: US-5290041-A

Title: Lawn game using hand-thrown projectiles

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a game in which the participants throw elongated projectiles toward ground targets located 30 to 50 feet away from the point where the participants are standing. The game is broadly similar to the game of horseshoes. 
     PRIOR ART DEVELOPMENTS 
     In the conventional game of horseshoes, the participants throw U-shaped projectiles toward upstanding posts (or stakes) located 40 feet from the point where the participants are standing. Usually the projectiles are thrown with an underhanded motion, in a vertically descending arc toward the stake. The object of the game is to land the projectiles in positions either encircling the stake or as close as possible to the stake. Points are accumulated, based on the positions of the horseshoes in relation to the stake. 
     Another lawn game involves throwing darts toward a target area on the ground a specified distance from the throwing point. U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,762, issued to Tony Milicic on Sep. 28, 1976, describes the general features of such a game. The Milicic patent further shows and describes a dart construction that can be used in playing such a game. 
     The dart construction shown in the Milicic patent comprises a dart body having a hollow, conically-shaped head with a pointed tip designed to penetrate into the ground. A quantity of sand or metal pellets weights the head, to produce a desired flight path to a ground target. 
     The dart body further comprises an elongated rod extending rearwardly from the head. The rod has several radial vanes located a short distance behind the head. The extreme rear portion of the rod is used as a handle to throw the dart toward a ground target. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a hand-thrown projectile and ground target useful in playing a game that is broadly similar to the above-mentioned game of lawn darts. A primary object of the invention is to provide a hand-thrown projectile having a convex rounded end such that if the projectile should inadvertently strike a person&#39;s body, the projectile nose will not penetrate or seriously injure the person&#39;s skin. The nose has a rounded blunt front surface. If the nose of the projectile should strike a person&#39;s body, the impact will be distributed over a relatively large area of the person&#39;s skin. 
     In a preferred form of the invention, the projectile comprises an elongated hollow body having a relatively long tubular handle and a relatively short hollow nose extending forwardly from the handle. The diameter of the nose is greater than the diameter of the handle, such that a quantity of flowable, dense filler material within the nose concentrates the weight of the projectile in the nose, rather than in the handle. The dense filler material can e.g. be sand, water or metal pellets. 
     The user grasps the projectile handle and throws it out with an underhanded swinging motion of his or her arm. The weighted nose pulls the projectile through the atmosphere a considerable distance, e.g. thirty or fifty feet, with a reasonably small human effort. 
     The tubular projectile handle has a diameter of about one inch. The handle terminates in a spherical or rounded rear end. Should a child attempt to use the handle as a sword or piercing element for injuring another person, the spherical end has sufficient area that it will not produce any serious injury. The handle is designed as a safety improvement over the rod-type handle construction shown in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,762. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the entire projectile body is a one-piece plastic molding, formed e.g. by a blow molding process. The hollow body has a relatively thin plastic wall with a uniform wall thickness, such that the body has a relatively low total weight (prior to adding the dense filler material into the hollow nose portion of the projectile). Manufacturing costs for the projectile are relatively low, because the hollow body requires a relatively small quantity of plastic material. Further, the preferred projectile can be formed in a single step molding operation; no assembling steps involving multiple component parts are required. 
     In the preferred practice of the invention, the projectile is used with a ground target that defines one or more upwardly facing depressions. Each depression is formed by two downwardly convergent plastic walls, such that when the projectile descends into the depression, the walls grip the nose. The moving projectile deflects each plastic wall, dissipating the projectile&#39;s energy. The projectile is deformed as it is wedged into the depression in the target. 
     The preferred target effectively captures a thrown projectile having a range of different trajectories. An aim of the invention is to provide a target that will substantially eliminate rebounding of a projectile off the target surface. The target has a hollow undersurface shaped so that two or more targets can be nested together and stored or packaged in a compact assembly. 
    
    
     THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view taken through a hand-thrown projectile embodying features of the invention. The projectile is shown in a position it might take immediately prior to striking a target, shown fragmentarily in FIG. 1 below the projectile. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the target shown in FIG. 1, but on a reduced scale. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the target of FIG. 3, with a small portion shown in section. 
     FIG. 5 is a view taken in the same direction as FIG. 1, but illustrating another projectile embodying features of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a hand-thrown projectile 10 comprises an elongated hollow body 12 symmetrical around a central longitudinal axis 14. The projectile body includes a hollow tubular handle portion 16 having a circular cross section. The upper end 17 of the handle portion is semi-spherical. 
     As best seen in FIG. 2, four hollow protuberances 19 are formed at circumferentially spaced points around handle portion 16. Each protuberance has the configuration depicted in FIG. 1. The protuberances resemble the fins commonly used on archery arrows. 
     The handle area 18 between end 17 and fins 19 is smooth and unencumbered, such that a user can grasp handle area 18 to throw the projectile toward a ground target. As viewed in FIG. 1, the projectile is shown descending vertically toward ground target 20. 
     Normally, two ground targets are spaced 30 to 50 feet apart. Two players stand near one ground target and throw projectiles 10 toward the other target. Points are scored, based on where the projectiles land in relation to the target. 
     Two or four players play the game. If four players are playing, two players remain near each ground target. They use the projectiles thrown by the other two players. 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, projectile body 12 comprises a relatively short hollow nose portion 21 extending forwardly (downwardly) from handle portion 16. The nose portion has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of handle portion 16, forming a relatively large diameter chamber 23 within the nose portion. Water or other high density granular pellet material 25 is located within nose portion 21 so that the weight of the projectile is concentrated primarily in nose portion 21 (rather than being distributed uniformly along the length of the projectile). 
     The projectile is thrown with an underhanded swinging motion in pendulum fashion with nose portion 21 at the lower (outer) end of the swinging arc. Filler material 25 is concentrated in nose portion 21 so that when the user releases his grip on handle portion 16, nose portion 21 constitutes the leading end of the projectile. The projectile will take an arcuate flight path toward the target, with the trajectory varying according to how the person throws and releases the projectile. As seen in FIG. 1, the projectile is descending toward the target in a vertical direction (with the nose portion in the lead). Various other projectile trajectories are possible with various descent angles, ranging from vertical to near horizontal. 
     Filler material 25 can be introduced into chamber 23 in various ways. The FIG. 1 projectile has four circular filler holes 29 formed in tubular portion 30 near nose portion 21. A resilient rubber band 27 encircles the tubular portion, sealing holes 29 shut. With band 27 removed from the body, the body can be inserted nose first into a body of water. The water flows through holes 29 and then downwardly into chamber 23. The body can be lifted out of the water after which rubber band 27 is stretched over nose portion 21 to assume the FIG. 1 position, sealing the filler holes shut. The rubber band can be cemented to the surface of tubular portion 30, or alternatively held against tubular portion 30 by the band&#39;s elasticity. 
     The front end surface 31 of the nose portion has a convex rounded curvature that is relatively blunt, i.e. non-pointed. Should a user throw the projectile body at another person, the blunt nose surface 31 has a relatively large contact area to prevent penetrating the other person&#39;s skin. The nose configuration is designed to minimize personal injury dangers that are associated with conventional lawn darts. 
     As a further protection against personal injury, the projectile is formed as a one-piece hollow body of thin walled plastic material. The wall thickness of the hollow plastic body is relatively small, e.g. less than 0.1 inch, such that the wall material can be readily deformed by concentrated pressure on the wall outer surface. Nose portion 21 has a continuously curved outer with a bulbous configuration. Front end surface 31 of the nose portion is essentially semi-spherical. Should the projectile forcibly strike a person&#39;s body, the impact will be at least partially dissipated by a localized inward deflection of the hollow body wall. As noted above, the thin plastic wall is capable of inward deflection in a fashion not possible with solid, rigid materials commonly used in conventional lawn dart construction. 
     The hollow projectile body can be constructed in various sizes and dimensions. Typically the hollow body has a total length of about ten inches. Handle portion 16 has a diameter of about one inch, and bulbous nose portion 21 has a diameter of about two inches. 
     FIG. 1 represents the preferred projectile configuration. However, within the broader aspects of the invention, other projectile constructions are possible. FIG. 5 shows a less preferred construction, wherein the hollow tubular handle portion 16a is formed separately from the hollow nose portion 21a. End portion 33 of handle portion 16a is inserted into the open mouth of nose portion 21a. Adhesive permanently secures the nose portion and handle portion together. Prior to joining the handle and nose components together, the high density filler material 25 is poured into the nose portion through its open mouth. The filler material can be water, sand, metal pellets, or other high density granular material. 
     FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 illustrate a ground target 20 that can be used with the FIG. 1 projectile in the practice of the invention. Target 20 has a body formed as a one-piece plastic molding having a relatively thin wall thickness, typically less than 0.1 inch. Upper surface 35 of the target body forms a series of hollow parallel upstanding partitions 36 having side surfaces 37 joined to semi-circular cross-sectioned bottom walls 39 to form three upwardly opening troughs or depressions 41. The opposed side surfaces 37 of each trough angle away from each other in the upward direction, so that the trough (depression) converges downwardly. 
     The minimum distance between the trough side surfaces, as denoted by numeral 43 in FIG. 1, is less than the corresponding diameter of the projectile nose portion 21, as denoted by numeral 45. The maximum distance between the trough side surfaces (at the upper edges of partitions 36) may be 2 to 3 times the minimum distance. Therefore, when the projectile is descending into the trough, the trough side walls tend to grip the nose portion side surfaces. The dashed line 21b in FIG. 1 shows the projectile nose portion as it comes into contact with the trough side walls. 
     As the projectile nose portion travels downwardly into the trough, the trough side walls may spread slightly due to the impact of the projectile. The wall spreading action absorbs the kinetic energy of the projectile, such that in its final position, the projectile is wedged in the trough. By making the trough side walls thin and deformable, the target body effectively prevents the projectile from rebounding out of its wedged deformed position in the trough. 
     FIG. 3 shows the elongated nature of the three trough like depressions 41. The longitudinal centerline of each depression is referenced by numeral 47. The target is oriented on the ground surface so that trough centerlines 47 are parallel to a vertical plane extending through the intended flight path of the projectile. In FIG. 3 a representative projectile flight path is designated by numeral 48. 
     With the target body oriented as described above, the projectile can have a range of different trajectories while still achieving a wedge fit in one of the target depressions (troughs). FIG. 4 shows three such possible descent angles 49a, 49b, and 49c. The upstanding partitions 36 have sloped leading edges, as shown at 36a in FIG. 4. Also the partitions are narrowed at their leading ends, as shown at 36b in FIG. 3, whereby each trough 41 has a horizontally accessible divergent mouth facing the oncoming projectile. The projectile can enter into the trough even with a near horizontal approach angle, as shown at 49c in FIG. 4. The aim is to provide a ground target that can accommodate projectiles having a range of different trajectories (e.g. a high arc or a low arc). 
     The game can be played with a ground target having a single trough-like depression 41. The reason for multiple depressions is to permit different point values for each trough, e.g. the central trough might have a higher point value than the other two troughs. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the target has a generally rectangular plan configuration defined by three downwardly extending rim walls 50. The rim walls have a common lower edge 51 that rests on the ground surface. Each corner (defined by the intersecting rim walls) has a ground penetrating prong 52 extending downwardly from rim lower edge 51, to prevent the target body from laterally shifting upon impact by a projectile. Each prong 52 preferably is integral with two intersecting rim walls, such that each prong has a right angle cross section for strength purposes. The front rim wall 53A is curved as illustrated in FIG. 4. 
     As an optional feature, one or more of the trough bottom walls 39 has a number of downwardly extending sockets 53 mated to the spherical end surface 17 on the projectile handle. By inserting the projectile handle ends 17 into sockets 53, the projectiles can be stored in upright positions on the target body, e.g. when the game is not being played. 
     During shipment, the projectiles may be stored in prone positions within the cavities 54 formed by side surfaces 37. Also, two or more target bodies can be stacked together in a nested relationship. To promote the stacking process, each target body has its rim walls 50 sloped outwardly to a slight extent, as shown in FIG. 4. The target body walls are relatively thin such that the lower surface of the contoured plastic wall forms the reverse curvature of the target body upper surface, whereby one target body can be stacked partially within another target body. 
     The drawings show specific features useful in practice of the invention. However, it will be appreciated that the invention can be practiced in various forms.