Abstract:
A device for throwing projectiles, such as water balloons. In one exemplary embodiment, the device includes a head portion and a shaft cooperating to form a substantially Y-shaped body. Specifically, the head portion includes a rim having netting extending between opposing sides thereof However, unlike known lacrosse sticks, the rim of the present device does not form a complete, elliptical ring and instead forms a substantially U-shaped body. The substantially U-shaped body of the rim portion of the present device results from the creation of opposing terminal ends.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an apparatus for throwing projectiles and, particularly, to an apparatus for throwing water balloons. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Projectiles, such as water balloons, may be thrown by individuals for recreation, particularly during the summer months. While water balloons are often thrown by hand, various devices have been developed to facilitate the throwing of water balloons at greater speeds and over longer distances. For example, sling-shot type devices have been developed to propel a water balloon faster and further than a water balloon can be thrown by hand. Additionally, lacrosse sticks have been used for throwing water balloons. 
         [0005]    Lacrosse sticks have head portions that include a plastic or metal rim that is connected to a shaft. The rim has an elliptical shape that forms a continuous ring. A net extends between opposing edges of the rim and forms a supportive structure that allows an individual user to catch and throw water balloons using a lacrosse stick. Additionally, the shaft of the lacrosse stick extends from the head portion to act as a lever, allowing an individual user to flip the head of the lacrosse stick to generate sufficient forces to propel the water balloon from the head portion of the lacrosse stick. These forces exceed the forces that an individual can generate simply by throwing a water balloon by hand. As a result, the water balloon can travel faster and further when thrown with a lacrosse stick than when thrown by hand. 
         [0006]    However, when a lacrosse stick is utilized to throw a water balloon, the water balloon may burst prematurely. Specifically, since the rim of the head portion of a lacrosse stick forms a continuous ring, a water balloon may impact the top of rim as it begins to advance in a direction away from the shaft of the lacrosse stick. This impact of the water balloon with the rim of the lacrosse stick may cause the water balloon to burst prematurely, i.e., before reaching its intended target. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a device for throwing projectiles, such as water balloons. In one exemplary embodiment, the device includes a head portion and a shaft portion defining a substantially Y-shaped body. Specifically, the head portion includes a rim having netting extending between opposing sides thereof However, unlike known lacrosse sticks, the rim of the present device does not form a complete, elliptical ring and instead forms a substantially U-shaped body. The substantially U-shaped body of the rim portion of the present device results from the creation of opposing terminal ends. These terminal ends can be thought of as being created by removing material from the top of the rim portion, i.e., the area farthest from the shaft, of a known lacrosse stick. Advantageously, by forming the rim portion of the device as a substantially U-shaped body, a water balloon thrown with the device is substantially less likely to burst prematurely than a water balloon thrown with a known lacrosse stick. 
         [0008]    In one form thereof, the present invention provides a device for launching a water balloon, the device including an elongate shaft, a head portion having a base and a rim, the base secured to the shaft, the rim having a pair of opposing arms extending outwardly from the base portion, the pair of opposing arms including terminal ends, whereby the head portion and the shaft cooperate to form a substantially Y-shaped body; and netting extending between the pair of opposing arms. 
         [0009]    In another form thereof, the present invention provides a device for launching a deformable projectile, the device including an elongate shaft; and launch means for launching the deformable projectile, the launch means including a head portion defining a launch exit and support means for supporting the deformable projectile. 
         [0010]    In yet another form thereof, the present invention provides a method of launching a water balloon, including the steps of providing a first water balloon; providing a device including: an elongate shaft; a head portion having a base and an interrupted rim, the base secured to the shaft, and the interrupted rim defining a launch exit; and support means for supporting the water balloon; supporting the first water balloon on the support means of the device; and advancing the device along an arcuate path. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a fragmentary, prospective view of an exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a fragmentary, plan view of the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the device of  FIG. 1  being used by an individual to throw a water balloon with the dashed lines depicted the device and water balloon at later stages of the throw; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a partial fragmentary, frontal view of the device and water balloon of  FIG. 3  depicting in dashed lines the water balloon exiting the device during a throw. 
       
    
    
       [0016]    Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates one preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an apparatus for throwing water balloons is shown generally as device  10 . As used herein, a “water balloon” is an inflatable, flexible bag filled with water that may be made from rubber, latex, polychloroprene or nylon, for example. Device  10  is in the form of a modified lacrosse stick having shaft  12  and head portion  14 . Shaft  12  is formed as an elongate, linear body that extends from head portion  14  and is connected to head portion  14  in a known manner. For example, base  15  of head portion  14  may include an aperture extending therethrough and shaft  12  may be received within the aperture. Shaft  12  may then be secured in position within the aperture in base  15  using an adhesive or a known fastener, such as a screw. By connecting shaft  12  to head portion  14 , device  10  forms a substantially Y-shaped body, the advantages of which are described in detail below. 
         [0018]    Head portion  14  also includes rim  16  connected to base  15 . Rim  16  includes a pair of opposing arms  23  that extend outwardly from base  15 . As indicated above, in known lacrosse sticks, the rim portion forms a continuous, elliptically shaped ring. In contrast to these known lacrosse sticks, rim  16  of device  10  defines a substantially U-shaped portion that results from the lack of a top section of rim  16 . As a result, rim  16  fails to form a continuous ring and, instead, forms an interrupted rim having two ends  18 ,  20 . End  18 ,  20  cooperate to define a launch exit therebetween and also form the terminal ends of arms  23 , i.e., no additional portion of rim  16  extends beyond ends  18 ,  20  of arms  23 . 
         [0019]    Netting  22  is connected to rim  16  of head portion  14 . Netting  22  extends between opposing sides of rim  16  and is secured to rim  16  via engagement therewith. For example, netting  22  may be formed as a woven construct that is looped around arms  23  of head portion  14 . Alternatively, netting  22  may be threaded through openings  25  formed in arms  23 , as best seen in  FIG. 1 . Netting  22  is connected to head portion  14  to form a soft, flexible surface for the support of a deformable projectile, such as a water balloon. 
         [0020]    In one exemplary embodiment, head portion  14  is formed from a polymer, such as nylon, urethane, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyketone, polybutylene terephalate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), acrylic, and acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile. In one exemplary embodiment, netting  22  is formed from a fibrous, flexible material. In one exemplary embodiment, netting  22  is formed from nylon. 
         [0021]    In order to overcome the lack of support of netting  22  between terminal ends  16 ,  18  of arms  23 , netting  22  may include support line  27  extending between arms  23  at or near terminal ends  16 ,  18 . In one exemplary embodiment, opposing ends of support line  27  are passed through openings formed in arms  23  and secured thereto. For example, support line  27  may be secured to opposing arms  23  by passing opposing ends of support line  27  through openings formed in arms  23  and then tying knots in opposing ends of support line  27  adjacent to the outside surfaces of the opposing arms  23 . 
         [0022]    In one exemplary embodiment, support line  25  is formed to be stronger than the remaining portions of netting  22 . For example, support line  27  may be formed from a different material than the remainder of netting  22  or, if netting  22  is woven, support line  27  may include more individual strands than the remainder of netting  22 . In order to provide added support and strength to netting  22 , portions of netting  22  may be looped around or otherwise secured to support line  27 . Head portion  14  may be formed by modifying a commercially available lacrosse stick head, such as an Xcaliber lacrosse stick head, commercially available from STX LLC of Baltimore, Md., by removing the distal-most portion of the rim of the lacrosse stick and inserting support line  27 . 
         [0023]    Advantageously, due to the U-shape of head portion  14  that, when combined with shaft  12 , forms Y-shaped device  10 , device  10  may be used to throw a water balloon without any significant risk that the water balloon will prematurely burst due to contact with device  10 . Specifically, an individual, such as individual  24  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , first fills a balloon with water in a known manner to form water balloon  26 , shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In exemplary embodiments, water balloon  26  may have a diameter as small as 3, 4, or 5 inches or as large as 6, 7, or 8 inches. For example, water balloon  26  may be filled with water to create a water balloon that will burst on contact with a solid object, such as a human body, when thrown with the average over hand throwing force of a 12 year-old child. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , once water balloon  26  is formed, individual  24  may then place water balloon  26  on netting  22  of head portion  14 . By grasping shaft  12  and advancing device  10  along a substantially arcuate path, as shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 3 , water balloon  26  will begin to advance along netting  22  in the direction of arrow A and away from shaft  12 . As water balloon  26  continues to advance, it may advance off of netting  22  and pass through launch exit  28  defined between ends  18 ,  20  of arms  23  of rim  16 . As water balloon  26  continues to advance in a direction away from shaft  12 , water balloon  26  separates from head portion  14  and device  10  without contacting any of the hard plastic or metal that may form rim  16  of head portion  14 . As a result, water balloon  26  avoids bursting prematurely due to contact with device  10 . 
         [0025]    While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.