EP0071319A1

EP0071319A1 - Boomerang launcher

Info

Publication number: EP0071319A1
Application number: EP82200981A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johan Van Uitert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-07-31
Filing date: 1982-07-30
Publication date: 1983-02-09
Also published as: AU8663682A; NL8103637A; JPS5827571A

Abstract

Apparatus for launching a boomerang or similar article which, owing to its form, has the property, after being hurled away, to return approximately to the same point, said apparatus comprising a holder (3) having a continuous diverging boomerang receiving slot (6) with a wide end opening (7) and a narrow end opening (8), with a stop (10) extending adjacent one of the side ends of said wide end opening into said opening, the other, narrow end opening of the slot being located in the path of a striker (12), the arrangement being such that a boomerang having at least two legs interconnected by a knee bend (11) can be placed in said slot with the free end of one of its legs confined behind said stop, and with the knee bend projecting from said narrow end opening.

Description

This invention relates to an apparatus for launching and possibly re-catching a boomerang or like object which owing to its form has the property, after being hurled away,to return approximately to the same point.
For sport and entertainment purposes, various apparatus are known for launching objects, such as parachutes and propellers, in a substantially vertical direction, whereafter these objects may or may not come down approximately at the same place by themselves, owing to their specific floating properties, and depending on the prevalent wind:. There can be hardly any question of any control of the trajectory of the objects.
Another type of toy is the so-called frisbee, a disk-shaped object which is thrown with a particular wrist movement and then, following a more or less curved trajectory, floats away, whereby another, at a distance from the one who has thrown the disk, may try to catch it. Accordingly, the frisbee game is often played with two or more persons.
Throwing a boomerang in a controlled manner has hitherto actually been reserved to Australian aborigines, for whom the boomerang is a weapon, namely, a curved throwing club for hunting purposes. A boomerang has at least two legs at an angle to each other, often of unequal length and with a specific cross-sectional profile tending to impart a "lift" to the boomerang. This lifting power, in combination with a rotation imparted to the boomerang is capable of causing it to turn on. its flight and return to the point where it has been thrown as a result of the fact that the plane of rotation tilts during the flight as a consequence of asymmetrical rotation, possibly in combination with unequal lift of the two legs.
For a boomerang to be effectively launched, in addition to a forward component of movement, a rotary component must be imparted to it in a sufficient degree in order that the desired gradual deflection of the direction of movement may be brought about. This is already difficult with a boomerang designed as a weapon with sufficient mass, but hardly, if at all, possible with miniaturization.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy apparatus with which a boomerang type object of low mass, for example, having a largest dimension in the order of 10 cm and a thickness of several. millimetres, for example made of synthetic plastics material, can be launched in such a manner that the boomerang can return at least approximately in the neighbourhood of the launching point.
'For this purpose, according to the invention, the boomerang launcher comprises a holder provided with a continuous diverging boomerang receiving slot with a wide end opening and a narrow end opening, with a stop extending adjacent one of the side ends of the wide end opening into said opening, the other, narrow'end opening of the slot lying in the path of a striker,. the arrangement being such that a boomerang having at least two legs interconnected by a knee bend, can be placed in said slot with one of the legs confined behind said stop and with the knee bend projecting from said narrow end opening.
A boomerang thus positioned in the slot can be launched by striking the knee bend, at any rate the boomerang at a point spaced from the end located behind the stop, with the striker, whereby the boomerang tends to leave the slot with its legs in.the forward direction, but as one of the legs is temporarily retained by the stop, can only do this after having rotated through a given angle.. In this way, both a forward and a rotary movement is imparted to the boomerang, comparable to that imparted-to it when it is thrown away by hand.
According to the invention, the launching holder may be secured to a handle with means for causing the striker to strike the knee bend of a boomerang placed in the holder with a selected velocity.
The striker movement can be induced in various manners, for example, pneumatically or electrically, or by means of a bursting-charge, but a cheap form, suitable for sport and entertainment purposes is that in which, according to the invention, the holder is secured to a shaft with a handle, with the striker arranged to move over said shaft, and to be tensioned to a greater or lesser extent by means of a spring for it, after being released, to impart to the boomerang a momentum of controlled magnitude, with which the trajectory followed is influenced.
By turning the handle, the inclination of the launching holder, and hence the launching plane can be varied, which makes for a second possibility of influencing the path to be followed by the boomerang.
The apparatus can be used by one person, and a contest element can be introduced by prescribing that the boomerang should follow a path.around an obstacle, with a further possible requirement, being that the. boomerang is caught again by the same person., for which purpose the launcher may be equipped with a net or like receptacle for the returning boomerang.
One embodiment.of the boomerang launching apparatus will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus; and
Fig. 2 is a part-sectional side-elevational view of a detail of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a boomerang launching apparatus according to the invention with. a holder 3 secured with a shaft 1 to a handle 2, and to which a net 5 is secured-by means of a ring or other closed carrier 4. Holder 3 is provided with a slot 6 diverging away from shaft 1 with a wide end opening 7 and a narrow end opening 8. A boomerang is shown in solid lines positioned within slot 6. The free end of one of the legs of the boomerang, as shown in Fig. 1, is confined behind a stop 10 near the left-hand end of the end opening 7. The knee bend 11, which interconnects the legs of the boomerang, projects rearwardly beyond the narrow end opening 8, and is situated in the path of a striker 12 guided on shaft 1, and in operative association with a drive element which in the embodiment shown takes the form of a helical spring 13.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

A boomerang 9 is placed in the slot 6 of holder 3 with one of the legs behind stop 10 and with its knee bend 11 projecting from the narrow end.opening 8. Subsequently, while the apparatus is held with one hand by handle 2, the apparatus is directed at a selected elevation, and possibly also tilted laterally, whereafter the striker 12 is drawn a selected distance rearwardly in the direction of handle 2 whereby. the helical spring 13 is compressed. When the striker is released, it flies over shaft 1 forwardly, thereby striking on knee bend 11., owing to which the boomerang 9 tends to leave slot 6 in the forward direction, in which movement, however, it is initially hindered by stop 10- Accordingly, the boomerang leaves the slot not in the starting position shown in solid lines, with both legs directed forwardly, but is subjected to a tilting movement as shown in dotted lines in the successive phases 9a, 9b and 9c, so that the boomerang is launched from the apparatus in a rotating fashion. In this way the boomerang 9 is capable of following a curved path which, under ideal conditions, is a closed path, and can be caught in net 5 when it returns to the launching point.

It is clear that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described, but that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the. invention. In addition to the pneumatic or electrical striker drive, other forms of mechanical drive may be used. The form of the holder may also be varied. The only essential point.is that, as the boomerang is expelled, one of its legs is temporarily retained, and a momentum is imparted to the boomerang at a point spaced from the point where it-is retained, so that a rotary movement is superimposed on the forward movement. Naturally, the form of ring 4 and of net 5 may also be different from those shown in the Figures.

Claims

1. Apparatus for launching a boomerang or similar article which, owing to its form, has the property, after being hurled away, to return approximately to the same point, said apparatus comprising a holder having a continuous diverging boomerang receiving slot with a wide end opening and a narrow end opening, with a stop extending adjacent one of the side ends of said wide end opening into said opening, the other, narrow end opening of the slot being located in the path of a-striker,- the arrangement being such that a boomerang having at least two legs interconnected by a knee bend can be placed in said slot with the free end of one of its legs confined behind said stop, and with the knee bend projecting from said narrow end opening.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the launching holder is secured to a handle with means for causing the striker to strike the knee bend of a boomerang placed in said holder with a selected velocity.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the holder is secured to a shaft with a handle, the striker being arranged to move over said shaft, and to be pre-tensioned by means of a spring or like drive means to a greater or lesser extent, for it, after being released, to impart to the boomerang a momentum having a controlled magnitude.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized by a net or like catching element for catching a returning boomerang.