Patent Application
20050009435
The present invention relates to frisbees. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to an elastic frisbee designed to be catapulted by hand and to convert stored elastic energy into kinetic flying energy as if despatched by a slingshot.
Children have played with slingshots for many years. A slingshot traditionally comprises a Y-shaped bracket and an elastic band mounted between the top extremities of the bracket. A small object is held against the elastic band, which is then drawn back and released to propel the object through the air. That is, the potential energy stored in the stretched elastic band is converted to ballistic kinetic energy of the small object.
Frisbees have also been around for many years. These are circular in shape and are fabricated from plastics or other material and resemble an inverted saucer. When a frisbee is despatched by correct throwing, it spins upon its central axis during its trajectory through the air in a floating manner.
Traditional frisbees are fairly large objects not lending themselves to being carried in one's pocket.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a frisbee that can be despatched by hand in a manner that converts frisbee-stored energy into ballistic kinetic energy so as to fly through the air without the need for a separate slingshot or other external propeller.
There is disclosed herein a frisbee comprising:
Preferably the body is formed of a material capable of stretching beyond twice its relaxed length.
Preferably the frisbee comprises a gripping aperture adjacent its periphery.
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIGS. 7 to 12 are schematic perspective illustrations of alternative frisbee shapes,
FIGS. 14 to 16 are schematic perspective illustrations of further alternative frisbee shapes.
In the accompanying drawings there is depicted schematically a number of stretch frisbees, each typically formed as a moulding of a soft elastic material such as soft natural rubber or those thermoplastic rubbers (TPR's) that are soft and highly elastic. The material would preferably be capable of elastic elongation of a few hundred percent, and display a Shore A hardness of say 10 or less. A gelatinous composition produced by a melt blend of a copolymer and plasticising oils might be appropriate. Such compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,213 to John Y. Chen.
FIGS. 1 to 6 show a frisbee that in its relaxed state takes the form of a circular disc 10 having an aperture 11 near its periphery. The aperture is in the form of a slit or hole that can open out when the frisbee is stretched by hand.
The frisbee shown in
The frisbee of
The frisbee of
The frisbee of
The frisbee of
Further alternative designs are shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, these being shaped like a fan blade, clover-shaped and pentagonal respectively and each having a slit or aperture 11 near a peripheral edge.
The frisbees would typically have a thickness of a view. The diameter of each frisbee might range from a few centimetres to several tens of centimetres. The slit 11 can be cut through the disc at a position close to its periphery.
The frisbees are intended to be foldable to enable easy pocket-insertion if made in the larger sizes.
In order to despatched a frisbee, reference is made to FIGS. 1 to 6. The thumb or finger of one's hand is pushed through the slit 11 with the palm of that hand facing away from the player's body. The opposite end of the frisbee is then grasped and drawn back so as to stretch the frisbee as indicated by arrows A in
When high-speed rotation is induced in the frisbee, centrifugal forces will cause radial expansion of the frisbee. The embodiment of
It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those killed in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, materials other than those specifically mentioned might be adopted.
