AU4270978A - Tethered ball game - Google Patents

Description

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRAL, FORM

PATENTS ACT 1952-73 S A-li-tioA f0-r Applictifnn fnr aPckf" Rnpc

We HILLSBOROUGH PRODUCTS LIMITED

of 202 Thorndon Quay, Wellington, New Zealand

hereby apply for the grant of a Patent for an invention entitled

S "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO AN S. 0541 APPARATUS FOR PLAYING A GAME" S 0*S*

oil S *S S S

@5 S o4 which is described in the accompanying complete a =specification. 0

0*oS =My address for service is: *0* Our Cae: SPRUSON FERGUSON PATENT ATTORNEYS S. ESSO HOUSE, 127 KENT STREET SO *0 S SYDNEY. NEW SOUTH WALES. S. AUSTRALIA. S S..

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SO 410 Dated this EIGHTEENTH day of DECEMBER 1978 OS SO S

S HILLSBOROUGH PRODUCTS LIMITED 55.5.. 0

The Conumlaiaier of Patens CQmUUaII. th of Austai PAT. 11

1-\,AUSTRALIA S(11) AU-A1-42,709/78

(12) PATENT SPECIFICATION ABSTRACT (19) AU

(21) 42,709/78 (22) 19.12.78 (24) 19.12.78 (43) 26.6.80 (51) 2 A63B 67/10 A63B 69/38 (54) Tethered ball game (71) Hillsborough Products Ltd. (72) Tse, E.W. (74) SF (57' Claim

1. Means for atta hing an anchor line to a hollow ball

wherein a primary hole and a secondary hole are formed diametric-

ally opp.site each other in the wall of said ball and wherein a

plug is adapted to partly enter the primary hole, the said plug

having a neck which in use will lie wholly within the said ball,

a throat of lesser diameter than the neck and which will be

surrounded by the said primary hole, and a head of greater

diameter than the throat and which will lie against the outside

surface of the ball, the said plug being adapted to have one end

of the anchor line anchored thereto with the said line passing

out of the ball through the said secondary hole.

Dl NZ 23-2

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Form PATENTS ACT 1952-73

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (ORIGINAL) FOR OFFICE USE

Class Int. Class Application N'umber Lodged

Complete Specification Lodged Accepted Published

Priority

Related Art

OS

~;me of Applicant HILLSBOROUGH PRODUCTS LIMITED 0* 0 @0 OS 0

0 tee. S

Address of Applicant 202 Thorndon Quay, Wellington, New Zealand 0* 0

ERNEST WILLIAMTSE .00.4tual Invenitor a 6

0 0

*-Address for Service: Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys, Esso House, 127 Kent Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000 Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled

"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO AN APPARATUS FOR PLAYING A GAME"1

The fallowiaig stat e.-Pi Is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to xte/us:

I C

This invention relates to apparatus for playing a game.

A game is known which consists in tethering a ball to one end

of an anchor line, the other end of the line being in turn

attached to a ring like connector which is sidely engaged on

a helical member which protrudes from one end of a post. The

post is adapted to be held substantially vertically from the

ground or other similar support. One such form of game has

been described in New Zealand Patent Specification No. 131904.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved

method of attaching the ball to the anchor line and also an

improved method of attaching the line to the helical member.

I Accordingly one form of the invention comprises means for

attaching an anchor line to a hollow ball wherein a primary see ooo

hole and a secondary hole are formed diametrically opposite

00 each other in the wall of said ball and wherein a.plug is adapted to partly enter the primary hole, the said plug having

a neck which in use will lie wholly within the said ball, a 00 •o 0 throat of lesser diameter than the neck and which will be 00 eoo surrounded by the said primary hole, and a head of greater di- 0

nameter than the throat and which will lie against the outside

6: surface of the ball, the said plug being adapted to have one

00:0 end of the anchor line anchored thereto with the said line 00 0

0. passing out of the hall through the said secondary hole. 0 0

In another form the invention comprises means for

attaching an anchor line to a solid ball having a bore formed

diametrically therethrough, wherein a plug has a neck adapted to

partly enter the said bore and has a head portion shaped to lie against the outside surface of the ball when in use, the said plug including a bore coaxial with the said bore through the ball and wherein one end of the anchor line is anchored to the said head portion and the other end of the anchor line passes through the said bore in the plug and in the ball and out of the ball through the side of the ball diametrically opposite that of the plug.

Preferred forms of the invention will now be described with

the aid of the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a ball utilizing one

.ee. method of anchoring a.hollow ball to an anchor line; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a solid ball and of another

method of anchoring the ball to an anchor line; o Fig. 3 is a side view of the plug shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side view of another form of the plug suitable

for use with the ball of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the plug shown in Fig.* 2;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of an attachment arm; Fig. 7 is a view of a ball tethered to a helican member.

20*0 Referring to the drawings, a ball 1 which may be hollow,

such as a tennis ball, has a primary hole 2 and a secondary 0

hole 3 formed diametrically through the wall of the ball for

the purpose of enabling an anchor line 4 to be attached to the

ball 1. One method of attaching the anchor line 4. to the ball 1

consists in utilizing a plug 5, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3

which is partly inserted through the primary hole 2 of the ball.

The plug 5 is circular in cross-section and has a neck 6 which is of frusto conical shape and which in use will lie interior- ally of the ball 1. The end of the neck 6 which has the greater diameter is formed into a throat 7 which is of con- siderably smaller diameter t',an the neck 6, with the throat expanding into an enlarged head portion 8. Preferably, the diame:er of the throat 7 is slightly larger than the diameter of the hole 2 through which the plug is inserted. The head 8 of the plug is an annular extension which is so shaped, that when the plug 5 is in position on a ball, the head 8 will lie 0 on the outside surface of the ball to which the plug 5 is attached. 0 000* r0 O0 10 In use, the plug 5 is attached to the ball 1 by pushing O0 6*000 the neck 6 through the primary hole 2 formed in the wall of the 0000

0O ball 1, this action distending the hole 2 to allow the passage S* 0 0

o of the neck 6 which is pushed fully inwards until the neck 6 00 0000 00 has passed completely through the hole 2, whereupon the throat 7 i 00 i 00

of the plug will be surrounded by the said hole 2. Since the I 0 0* throat 7 is of considerably lesser diameter than that of the

neck 6 adjacent the throat and since the head 8 io of considerably

*oo0o0 215 greater diameter than the throat 7, this will retain the plug

in position in the said hole.

An axial bore 9 is formed through the plug through which 00 0

the anchor line 4 is threaded. A knot 10, see Fig. 1, or the

like, is formed in the end of the anchor line 4 which is passed

through the ball so that the knot in the line will contact the

annular head 8 of the plug to retain the line in the plug. As

can be seen from Fig. 1, the anchor line passes out through the secondary hole 3 which is diametrically opposite the prinary hole 2.

In a modification, so that the likelihood of the line

breaking where it exits from the secondary hole can be minimized,

a sleeve 11 of plastics material or the like may be passed over

the line so as to bear against the end of the secondary hole of

the ball. A knot (not shown in the drawings) is formed in the

line 4 to maintain the sleeve 11 in place. The sleeve 11 will

provide additional support to the line 4 by minimizing the

local bending that the line can undergo as it enters the ball 1.

Fig. 4 indicates a modified form of plug 5, and as can be

seen from this Figure, the bore of Fig. 3 is dispensed with and

o, instead a hole 12 is formed transversely through the neck 6

60 of the plug. In such a case, the anchor line 4 can be passed

through the hole 12 and anchored thereto before the plug is

inserted into the primary hole 2 so that the line 4 is anchored

within the ball rather than exterior to the ball as in the first *0 mentioned embodiment.

S

Fig. 2 illustrates another preferred form of the invention

0*20s wherein the ball la is solid. A bore 13 is formed diametrically

through the ball la for the purpose of enabling the anchor line

4 to be attached to the ball. The method of attaching the anchor

line 4 consists in utilizing the plug 14 illustrated in Figs.

2 and 5 and as can be seen, the plug 14 has a neck 15 which can

enter into a. complementarily shaped hole 16 formed in the ball la.

The plug 14 also includes a mushroom shaped head 17 which is

an extension to the neck 15 and which in use will lie against

i liL- i__L .~Yli_ the perimeter of the ball. An axial bore 18 is formed through the plug 14 through which the anchor line 4 can be threaded.

To attach the anchor 4 to the ball, the anchor line 4 is

threaded through the bore 17 of the plug and a knot 10, or other

suitable form of stop, is formed in the end of the anchor line 4

so as to prevent the anchor line passing completely through the

bore. The anchor line is threaded through the bore 13 and is

pulled tight whereupon the neck 15 of the plug will enter into

the hole 16 and remain engaged therein. A sleeve 11, such as

indicated in Fig. i, can be utilized to protect the line 4 where

o- it exits from the bore 13 on the opposite side of the ball if *o.

oo: desired. G G 000* eeo o In all the above embodiments, the free end of the anchor

o line 4 is securely fastened to one end of an attachment arm

e indicated in Fig. 6. The attachment arm consists of a shank

21 having both ends formed into an enlargement and for ease of

manufacture, the arm can be formed of a plastics material, such

00 Go as nylon or the like. One end of the attachment arm has a hole

el 22 formed therein to enable the free end of the anchor line 4

0,0: to be firmly secured thereto. The other end of the enlargement 0

4:001o oeo is formed with a hole 23 of a sufficient size that it can be

0 O threaded on to a helical member 24 which projects from a support member 25. The free end of the helical member is formed such 000000

as indicated at 24a so as to normally retain the attachment'

member 20 thereon. The dimension of the hole 23 is such that

the attachment 20 can have free sliding movement on the helical

meauber 24 while the wall of the enlargement is made sufficiently

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u~hnuu LYi^.. *li l I_ rigid that as far as possible any deformation of the shape of the hole 25 during use is obviated. The helical member 24 may consist for instance of a metal rod which is wound in a helical fashion, having one end attached to the support member 25 in a manner that the axis of the helical member 24 will be sub- stantially coaxial with the axis of the support member 25. The other end (not shown in the drawings) of the support member may be of any convenient length and is formed so that it can be inserted into the ground or otherwise supported on the ground in a substantially vertical manner.

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Claims (6)

1. WIAT WE CLAIM IS:- The claims defining the invention are as follows1 1. Means for attaching an anchor line to a hollow ball

   wherein a primary hole and a secondary hole are formed diametric-

   ally opposite each other in the wall of said ball and wherein a

   plug is adapted to partly enter the primary hole, the said plug

   having a neck which in use will lie wholly within the said ball,

   a throat of 1- ser diameter than the neck and which will be

   surrounded by the said primary hole, and a head of greater

   diameter than the throat and which will lie against the outside

   surface of the ball, the said plug being adapted to have one end

   of the anchor line anchored thereto with the said line passing

   out of the ball through the said secondary hole. *00*
2. 2. Means for attaching an anchor line to a solid ball having

   a bore formed diametrically therethrough, wherein i plug has a S* neck adapted to partly enter the said bore and has a head portion shaped to lie against the outside surface of the ball when in use,

   the said plug including a bore coaxial with the said bore through

   the ball and wherein one end of the anchor line is anchored to the c*

   said head portion and the other end of the anchor line passes

   through the said bore in the plug and in the ball and out of the ball through the side of the ball diametrically opposite that of

   the plug. 0 S
3. 3. The means as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the said

   plug is formed with an axial bore through which one end of an

   anchor line is threaded, and wherein the extremity of the anchor

   line is enlarged to prevent the line disengaging from the said

   plug.

   ILIU-EL-yllll-YhlUI-Li. 1II~YLliYYI^-.I* i .i
4. 4. The means as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a transverse

   hole is formed in the neck of the said plug and wherein one

   end of the anchor line can be passed through said hole and

   anchored to the said neck.

   The means as claimed in any one of the -preceding Claims

   including an attachment arm, one end of which is anchored to

   the other end of the anchor line and wherein the second end

   of the attachment arm is adapted to be threaded on and to have

   sliding movement on a helical member which projects from a

   support member.

   S! 6. The means as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the end of the

   attachment arm adapted to be threaded on the helical member

   is, in use, substantially non-deformable.

   7. The means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims

   wherein a sleeve is associated with the said secondary hole and

   wherein the anchor line passes through the bore of the said

   sleeve. e

   8. The means for attaching an anchor line substantially as

   herein described with reference to Figs. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 of

   the accompanying drawings.

   9. The means for attaching an anchor line to a solid ball

   S: substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 2, 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings. 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.

   -9-

   YIY.L ~..-LLUrU* CL ~Y IY- LI .i i ~Y ly-ir .i

   DATED this EIGHTEENTH day of DECEMBER, 1978

   HILLSBOROUGH PRODUCT
5. S LIMITED

   Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON

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   42,709/78

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