Patent Publication Number: US-6712056-B2

Title: Slingshot releaser

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is related to a slingshot releaser for releasing an elastic band of a slingshot to fling a pellet. 
     In the prior art, to shoot a slingshot, a user holds a main body of the slingshot with one hand, draws a rubber band while holding a pellet pouch, which is attached to the rubber band, aims the pellet pouch toward a target, and then lets go of the rubber band to fling a pellet (ammo) toward the target. 
     To increase the initial velocity of the flung pellet, the distance between the main body of the slingshot and the pellet pouch (the drawn length of the rubber band) must be increased or a rubber band having a relatively large spring constant must be used. Thus, much strength is required to hold the pellet pouch. In addition to the strength required to draw the elastic band, strength is required in the fingers of the user. Thus, the conventional slingshot is difficult to aim. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a releaser of a slingshot that facilitates the holding of a pellet pouch. 
     To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a releaser used in a slingshot that includes an elastic band, which flings a pellet, and a pouch, which is attached to the elastic band. The releaser includes a clamp to holding the pouch. The clamp is selectively closed to hold the pouch and opened to release the pouch. Further, the clamp has a pouch holder to hold the pouch and the pellet. A pair of rotatable holding rollers is arranged on the clamp so that the holding rollers oppose each other, and the pair of holding rollers defines a holding passage connected to the pouch holder. The holding rollers are moved toward each other when the clamp is opened and separated from each other when the clamp is closed. 
     A further perspective of the present invention provides a releaser used in a slingshot that includes an elastic band, which flings a pellet, and a pouch, which is attached to the elastic band. The releaser includes a grip and a clamp, which is connected to the grip to hold the pouch. The clamp includes a pair of arms selectively arranged at a closed position, in which the arms close the clamp to hold the pouch, and at an opened position, in which the arms opens the clamp to release the pouch. The clamp has a pouch holder to hold the pouch and the pellet. The releaser further includes a pair of holding rollers, each arranged on a distal end of one of the arms and having an axis. The pair of holding rollers is arranged so that the axes of the holding rollers are parallel to each other. A drive mechanism shifts the pair of arms between the opened position and the closed position. 
     Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a releaser according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a front view showing the releaser of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing the releaser of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3A is a partially enlarged view showing a clamp of the releaser of FIG. 2A; 
     FIG. 3B is a plan view showing the clamp of FIG.  3 A: 
     FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing the clamp in an opened state; 
     FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing the clamp in a closed state; 
     FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view showing another clamp in an opened state; and 
     FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view showing another clamp in a closed state. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A preferred embodiment of a slingshot releaser  14  according to the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the drawings. 
     Hereafter, directions are defined as described below. As viewed from a shooter (user) who is standing, the direction toward the right is referred to as the X direction, the direction toward front is referred to as the Y direction, and the upward direction is referred to as the Z direction. A horizontal reference plane  412  lies along the X direction and the Y direction. A first vertical reference plane  523 , which is perpendicular to the horizontal reference plane lies along the X direction and the Z direction. A second vertical reference plane  513 , which is perpendicular to the horizontal reference plane  412  and the first vertical reference plane  513 , lies along the Y direction and the Z direction. 
     FIG. 1 shows the releaser  14  in a state of usage. The user holds a main body  11  of the slingshot with one hand and holds the releaser  14  with the other hand. A rubber band, or elastic band  12 , has two ends  12   a  connected to the main body  11 . A leather pellet pouch  13  is attached to the middle of the elastic band  12 . In the state of FIG. 1, the pellet pouch  13  is held in the releaser  14 . 
     FIG. 2A is a front view of the releaser  14  as seen from line  2 A— 2 A in FIG.  1 . FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the releaser  14  taken along line  2 B— 2 B in FIG.  1 . As shown in FIG. 2B, the releaser  14  includes a grip  14   a , a clamp  15 , which is connected to the grip  14   a , and a drive mechanism  18 , which opens and closes the clamp  15 . 
     The clamp  15  has two arms  16 . Each arm  16  is supported pivotally about a pivot shaft  16   a . A metal holding roller  17  is arranged on each arm  16 . As shown in FIG. 2A, the axes  17   a  of the holding rollers  17  are parallel to each other. The user operates the drive mechanism  18  to open and close the two arms  16 . FIG. 4A shows the clamp  15  in an opened state P, and FIG. 4B shows the clamp  15  in a closed state Q. The drive mechanism  18  will be described in detail later. 
     FIG. 3A is a front view showing the clamp  15  in a closed state. FIG. 3B is a plan view of the clamp  15  as seen from line  3 B— 3 B in FIG.  3 A. 
     Referring to FIG. 3A, a holding passage  19 , which extends in the Y direction, is defined at the distal ends of the two arms  16 . Further, a pouch holder  20  is defined between the two arms  16  (FIG.  2 B). When the clamp  15  is in the opened state P, the two arms  16  are separated from each other and the holding passage  19  is expanded in the Z direction. When the clamp  15  is in the closed state Q, the two arms  16  are arranged close to each other and the holding passage  19  is contracted in the Z direction. 
     A support groove  21  extends along the peripheral surface in the circumferential direction at the middle of each holding roller  17 . The two support grooves  21  of the two holding rollers  17  are aligned with each other and connect the holding passage  19  to the pouch holder  20 . Each support groove  21  has an arcuate bottom surface, or support surface  21   a . It is preferred that the support surface  21   a  be formed in correspondence with the round surface of a pellet (ammo)  32 . 
     Each support groove  21  is located between two support rings  22 , which are arranged on the peripheral surface of the associated holding roller  17 . It is preferred that the support ring  22  be made of a flexible material such as rubber. When the clamp  15  is closed, the two support rings  22  of the upper holding roller  17  contact the two support rings  22  of the lower holding roller  17 . 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B show the clamp drive mechanism  18 . The clamp drive mechanism  18  includes a trigger, or lever  25 , a slider  26 , and a coil spring  24 , which is held between the two arms  16 . A cooperating roller  23  is connected to the basal end of each arm  16 . The coil spring  24  is held between the arms  16  in a compressed state. The coil spring  24  biases the two arms  16  to open clamp  15  at the distal ends of the two arms  16 , or move the two cooperating rollers  23  toward each other. 
     The lever  25  is supported pivotally about a pivot shaft  25   a . The slider  26  cooperates with the lever  25  and moves between a front position, as shown in the state of FIG. 4B, and a rear position, as shown in the state of FIG.  4 A. The slider  26  has an abutting portion  26   a , a projection  26   b , which projects toward the front, and a conical surface, which extends between the projection  26   b  and the abutting portion  26   a . When the slider  26  is arranged at the rear position, the abutting portion  26   a  is moved out of the space between the two cooperating rollers  23 . In this state, the coil spring  24  forces the cooperating rollers  23  toward each other and opens the clamp (opened state P). When the slider  26  is arranged at the front position, the abutting portion  26   a  enters the space between the two cooperating rollers  23  and separates the cooperating rollers  23  from each other. This closes and locks the clamp  15 . 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B show another example of the clamp drive mechanism  18  of FIGS. 4A and 4B. In the drive mechanism  18   a  of FIGS. 5A and 5B, a cooperating roller  23  is connected to the lower arm  16 . A trigger, or lever  27 , is connected to the upper arm  16  pivotally about a pivot shaft  27   a . A coil spring  24 , which is held between the two arms  16 , biases the two arms  16  to open the clamp  15  so that the pivot shaft  27   a  and the cooperating roller  23  move toward each other. When the lever  27  is arranged at a rear position, as shown in the state of FIG. 5A, the cooperating roller  23  comes into contact with an abutting portion  28 , which is defined on the lever  27 . When the lever  27  is arranged at a front position, as shown in the state of FIG. 5B, the cooperating roller  23  is received in a notch  28   a , which is formed in the lever  27 . In other words, the abutting portion  28  enters the space between the pivot shaft  27   a  and the cooperating roller  23  to separate the pivot shaft  27   a  and the cooperating roller  23  from each other. The bordering area between the abutting portion  28  and the notch  28   a  is inclined. This facilitates the movement of the cooperating roller  23  between the abutting portion  28  and the notch  28   a.    
     As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the releaser  14  has a sight  30 . The releaser sight  30  is attached to the upper part of the clamp  15 . The sight  30  is pivotal  30   a  about a pin  30   a . To use the sight  30 , the sight  30  is lifted and arranged along the Z direction. When the sight  30  is not used, the sight  30  is folded as shown by the broken lines. The sight  30  includes two apertures, or sight holes  31 , which are used for aiming, and two reference slits  33 , which extend in the longitudinal direction of the sight  30 . When the sight  30  is lifted, the reference slits  33  extend along a line connecting the sight holes  31  and the pouch holder  20 . The sight holes  31  are separated by different distances from the clamp  15 . 
     The method for using the releaser  14  will now be discussed. 
     The clamp  15  of the releaser  14  is first opened. The pellet  32  is enveloped in the pellet pouch  13 . The pellet pouch  13  is then arranged in the pouch holder  20  and the clamp  15  is closed. This fixes the pellet  32  to the releaser  14 . The user grips the main body  11  with his or her left hand so that a sight  29  of the main body  11  is faced upward and grips the grip  14   a  with his or her right hand. Then, the user draws the elastic band  12  and takes aim using the sight holes  31  of the releaser sight  30  and the main body sight  29  taking into consideration the height and distance of the target. The user also uses the reference slits  33  of the rear sight  30  when taking aim. When the user pulls the lever  25  or  27 , the clamp  15  opens and releases the pellet pouch  13  from the releaser  14 . As a result, the elastic force of the elastic band  12  flings the pellet  32  out of the pellet pouch  13 . More specifically, the pellet pouch  13  is sent out of the pouch holder  20  through the holding passage  19 . The two holding rollers  17  rotate as the pellet pouch  13  moves out of the pouch holder  20 . Thus, the pellet  32  is flung out of the pellet pouch  13  as the pellet pouch  13  moves smoothly through the two holding rollers  17 . 
     The preferred embodiment has the advantages described below. 
     The releaser  14  has the two rotatable holding rollers  17 . Thus, the loading of the pellet pouch  13  and the flinging of the pellet  32  are performed smoothly. Further, each holding roller  17  is provided with the support groove  21  and the support rings  22  extending in the flinging direction of the pellet  32 , and the holding rollers  17  rotate smoothly in the flinging direction. Thus, the pellet  32  is flung toward the target with high accuracy. 
     When the clamp  15  is in the closed state Q, the two holding rollers  17  support the pellet pouch  13  that envelops the pellet  32  between the support grooves  21 . Thus, the releaser  14  holds the pellet pouch  13  in a stable manner. 
     The releaser  14  is provided with the pouch holder  20 , which retains the pellet pouch  13  enveloping the pellet  32 . Thus, the pellet pouch  13  is securely held. 
     The releaser  14  is provided with the support rings  22 , which hold the pellet pouch  13 . This stably positions the pellet pouch  13 . The pellet pouch  13  is held further stably when the two support rings  22  are made of a flexible material such as rubber. 
     The projection  26   b  and the conical surface of the slider  26  facilitate the movement of the abutting portion  26   a  into the space between the two cooperating rollers  23 . Accordingly, the drive mechanism  18  facilitates the opening and closing of the clamp  15 . 
     It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the present examples and embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalence of the appended claims.