GB2428172A

GB2428172A - Hand guard for a catapult

Info

Publication number: GB2428172A
Application number: GB0514068A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Maxwell Stewart Cottis; Clifford Royston Fox
Original assignee: Fox International Group Ltd
Current assignee: Fox International Group Ltd
Priority date: 2005-07-08
Filing date: 2005-07-08
Publication date: 2007-01-24
Also published as: GB0514068D0

Abstract

A hand guard (30) for a catapult (10), in which the hand guard (30) is readily removable and readily re-attachable. The hand guard may comprise a spigot 38 which extends through a bore 40 in the bottom of hand grip 12 and snap-on jaws 44 which engage the arms 16 of the catapolt.

Description

A hand guard for a catapult The present invention relates to a hand guard

for a catapult.

Hitherto such hand guards have been permanently attached to a catapult. However such a construction, whilst protecting the userts hand from the impact of re- coiling elastic or from the pouch of the catapult after the elastic recoils, for some uses the hand guard is cumbersome and unnecessary.

Thus for example the catapult disclosed in EP-A- 0821214 has connection devices at the ends of its arms to enable different elastics and different pouches to be attached to the catapult arms thus enabling the user to change the elastic and the pouch to suit the type of bait that is to be shot into the water. For some types of elastic and/or pouch it is desirable to have a hand guard on the catapult, whereas for other types it is cumbersome and undesirable. Thus current constructions of catapult and hand guard cannot be suited to different types of elastic and pouch.

The present invention seeks to provide a remedy.

Accordingly the present invention is directed to the hand guard for a catapult, characterised in that the hand guard is readily removable and readily re-attachable.

Preferably the hand guard has an end which is formed with a spigot for insertion into the corresponding hole in the catapult, and the other end of the hand guard is provided with at least one snap-on device.

Advantageously that end of the hand guard has at least two snap-on devices for attachment to respective arm portions of the catapult, to improve the security of attachment of the hand guard to the catapult.

Preferably the spigot extends transversally of the hand guard so that the latter may be inserted into the corresponding hole at the base of the hand grip of the catapult, whereafter the snap on devices may be secured to the arms of the catapult.

The present invention extends to a combination of a catapult and a hand guard which is readily removable from and re-attachable to the catapult.

The hand guard may have one or more of the features of the foregoing paragraphs directed to the hand guard aspect of the present invention.

The arms of the catapult may be generally transverse of the hand grip where they meet the top of the hand grip, so that the catapult is generally T-shaped in this region. The snap-on devices of the hand grip may be arranged to snap on to these transverse regions of the arms respectively.

An example of a hand guard and a combination of a catapult and a hand guard made in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view from above and from the front of a combination of a hand guard and a catapult embodying in the present invention; Figure 2 is a view from the front of the combination shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a rear view of the combination shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side view of the combination shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view from above of the combination shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a view from above and from the rear of the combination shown in Figure 1; Figure 7 shows a view from above and from the rear of the combination shown in Figure 1 with a removable part partly detached; and Figure 8 shows a view from above and from the rear of the combination shown in Figure 1 with a part thereof fully detached.

A plastics catapult 10 shown in Figures 1 to 8 comprises an elongate hand grip 12 provided with indentations 14 to accommodate fingers of the user and improve the grip of the user on the hand grip. Two arms 16 of the catapult 10 have innermost portions 18 which are integrally moulded with, and extend transversally of the hand grip 12 in opposite directions from one another from the upper end of the hand grip 12 so that this region of the catapult is generally T-shaped.

From the innermost portions 18 each arm extends upwardly and outwardly on a slant along portions 20 of the arms 16. Finally, at the outer ends of the portions 20, each arm curves through another bend into upwardly extending portions on which are mounted rotatable attachment devices 24 providing a bayonet connection for corresponding attachment devices (not shown) provided at the ends of elastic (not shown) at the centre of which is provided a pouch (not shown) A number of different such elastic and pouch combinations can be provided for respective different types of bait, each elastic and pouch being provided with bayonet devices at these ends of the elastic further from the pouch for connection to the attachment devices 24 of the catapult 10, so that any elastic and pouch combination can be selected and attached to the catapult 10.

The catapult 10 is provided with a releasable hand guard 30 having a generally elongate upwardly extending guard portion 32 having a wider upward end where it is located forwardly of the finger indentations 14 and 12.

Integrally moulded with the lower extremity of the guard portion 32 is a rearwardly extending portion 34. This rearwardly extending portion narrows at its rear end 36 which is to one side of the rearwardly extending portion 34 viewing it from the front of the combination. A spigot 38 extends from this portion 36 transversely of the handle 12 and hand guard 30, which spigot 38 extends through a transverse through bore 40 formed in the bottom end of the hand grip 12.

Respective arms 42 of the hand guard 30 extend rearwardly from the two sides of the upper end of the guard portion 32 and are formed integrally therewith.

Snap-on jaws 44 are provided at the rear ends of these arms 42, which snap-on jaws 44 engage the innermost portions 18 of the arms 16 of the catapult.

Figures 7 and 8 show how the hand guard 30 can be readily removed from the catapult 10. Thus the snap-on jaws 44 may be prised off the innermost portions 18 of the arms 16 by the user's thumb and moved away from the arms 16 by pivotal motion of the guard 30 about the spigot 38 which rotates in the through bore 40. The spigot 38 may be slid out from the through bore 40 in a lateral direction so that the hand guard 30 is now completely removed from the catapult 10. This may be desirable for certain light weight types of elastic and pouch for certain types of bait.

In this way the hand guard 30 is readily removable from the catapult 10. At the same time it is readily re- attachable to the catapult 10 by effecting the reverse of the operations described in the immediately preceding paragraph to release the hand guard 30 from the catapult 10. Thus the spigot 38 is first threaded through the through bore 40, and then the hand guard is swung up until the jaws 44 meet the innermost portions 18 of the arms 16, where upon the jaws are snapped on to those parts of the arms to reattach the hand guard 30 to the catapult 12.

Numerous variations and modifications to the illustrated hand guard and catapult may occur to the reader without taking the resulting construction outside the scope of the present invention. For example, provided the cross section of the upper end of the hand guard 12 is not precisely circular, it would be possible to have one single arm of the hand guard extending from the top of the guard portion 32 and integral therewith, instead of two, the single arm having a snap-on device with jaws rotated at 900 relative to those illustrated, at positions slightly lower than those jaws 44 illustrated, so that it snaps on to the upper end of the hand grip 12.

Claims

Claims: 1. A hand guard f or a catapult, characterised in that the hand

guard is readily removable and readily re- attachable.
2. A hand guard according to claim 1, in which the hand guard has an end which is formed with a spigot for insertion into a corresponding hole in the catapult, and the other end of the hand guard is provided with at least one snap-on device.
3. A hand guard according to claim 2, in which the said other end of the hand guard has at least two snap-on devices for attachment to respective arm portions of the catapult, to improve the security of attachment of the hand guard to the catapult.
4. A hand guard according to claim 2 or claim 3, in which the spigot extends transversely of the hand guard so that the latter may be inserted into the corresponding hole at the base of the hand grip of the catapult, whereafter the snap on devices may be secured to the arms of the catapult.
5. A combination of a catapult and a hand guard as claimed in any preceding claim which is readily removable from and re-attachable to the catapult.
6. A combination according to claim 5, in which the arms of the catapult are generally transverse of the hand grip where they meet the top of the hand grip, so that the catapult is generally T-shaped in this region.
7. A combination according to claim 6, in which snap-on devices of the hand grip are arranged to snap on to the transverse regions of the arms respectively.
8. A hand guard for a catapult, substantially as hereinbefOre described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
9. A combination of a hand guard and a catapult, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.