GB2352405A

GB2352405A - Outer bullseye for dartboard

Info

Publication number: GB2352405A
Application number: GB9916103A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harry William Kicks
Original assignee: WINMAU DARTBOARD Co Ltd
Current assignee: WINMAU DARTBOARD Co Ltd
Priority date: 1999-07-10
Filing date: 1999-07-10
Publication date: 2001-01-31
Anticipated expiration: 2019-07-10
Also published as: GB2352405B; GB9916103D0

Abstract

A circular ring 4a for delineating an annular twenty-fives/outer bullseye bed for a dartboard is provided with depending legs or prongs 12 for driving into the board and twenty emplacements 16 for receiving the radial bed-delineating wires (6, Fig. 1) of the board. The emplacements are preferably in the form of grooves formed on the underside of the ring. Four barbed prongs may be provided to anchor the ring into the board. The upper edge of the ring is ideally bevelled or chamfered to minimise the possibility of a dart striking the ring.

Description

2352405 Dartboard The invention relates to dartboards and in particular to

a so-called twenty-fives ringfor dartboards.

Quality dartboards are nowadays made ftom what is commonly termed bristles but consist of compressed sisal fibres. They used to be constructedftom wood such as elm but sisal boards are more economical and take a dart better and with less damage. The playing or scoring areas of the board are known as beds and are delineatedfor the most part by radial and circular wires stapled to the sisal or in some cases secured thereto by special means enabling staples to be dispensed with. Secure anchoring of the wires to the sisal board without causing a large obstruction to the points of darts thrown towards the board is a particular problem that has exercised the minds of dartboard designers for many years and continues to do so.

Fig. I of the accompanying drawings is a plan view of a conventional form of a so-called London or Standard sisal dartboard used in international competitions. The bed known as the centre circle or inner bull is defined by a wire I held on the board by staples 2 or it could be in the form of a cylindrical ring which is driven into the sisal and held therein with the aid of anchoring prongs or legs that depend from the ring, in which case no additionalfasteners are required.

The annular bed 3 surrounding the centre circle is known as the twentyfive's bed and the present invention is concerned with this scoring area. Conventionally, it is defined by a circular wire ring 4 concentric with the wire I and it is the anchoring of the ring 4 that has particularly occupied the minds of dartboard designers because, ftom this ring, twenty radial wires 6 have to extend to and through the circumferentially outermost bed 7 known as the doubles bed Conventionally, the twenty radial wires 6 have anchoring pins welded to them at both ends or they are bent over to form prongs for driving into the sisal board to hold the radial wires on the board The radial wires 6 overlie the wire 4 of the twenty-fives bed and create a cluster of humps 8 ftom which the playing darts can bounce off instead of driving into the sisal. Also, lateral displacement of the radial wires at the ring 4 of the twenty-fives bed is not excluded According to the present invention, a twenty-fives bedfor a dartboard is defined by a circular ring having depending prongs or legs for driving into the board and provided with twenty radially extending emplacements for the radial bed-defining wires of the board The invention also extends to a dartboard in which the twenty-fives bed is defined by a ring of the aforementioned kind It is to be understood that the term "wire " as used herein for any of the bed-defining members is not confined to mean a strand, string or rod of necessarily round cross section. It may instead be a strip or blade of other than round cross section, usually with a relatively sharp edge or bevel to deflect the points of oncoming darts into the sisal material of the board instead of causing the darts to bounce off andfall to the ground Preferably, the twenty emplacementsfor the radials are radial grooves or notches in the underface of the wire ring, i.e. in the face from which the prongs depend In this way, the wire defining the twenty-fives bed helps to hold the radials to the board but the radials may in addition be bent over for driving into the board The ring of the twenty-fives bed is preferably a right circular cylinder of die-cast metal in which the emplacements for the radial wires are moulded during casting. The prongs depending from the rings may be four in number and may carry barbs to enhance anchoring.

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a ring defining the twentyfives bed (twenty-fives ring) of a dartboard; Fig. 3 is an enlarged under plan of the Fig. 2 twenty-fives ring; Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV - IV in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a section on the line V - V in Fig. 3.

The ring 4 in Fig. I (twenty-fives ring) defining the annular twentyfives bed concentrically around the wire or ring I defining the centre circle bed is illustrated in one form of the present invention at 4a in Figs. 2 to 5. It compri. ses a die-cast right circular cylindrical blade 11 with four circumferentially equispaced depending prongs or legs 12. Four prongs have been found preferable but other numbers are also possible. The prongs 12 are pointed at theirfree ends 13 tojacilitate driving into a sisal dartboard. The upper end of the blade 11, which protrudes from the board surface when the ring 4a has been anchored in the board, is chamfered at 14 to provide a sharp bevel which minimises bouncing off of darts that strike the blade IL Instead, the points of oncoming darts will be deflected by the bevelled edges to embed in the sisal. The prongs 12 may carry barbs (not shown) to facilitate anchoring of the ring 4a in the sisalfibres of the board Equispaced circumferentially, the blade 11 of ring 4a is provided with twenty radially extending emplacements 16 for the radial bed-defining wires 6 (Fig. 1) of the dartboard These emplacements are in the form of grooves moulded into the underface of the die-cast blade 11 (i.e. in the face ftom which the prongs 12 depend) or there are notches cut into the blade. The shape of the emplacements 16 preferably conforms to the cross- sectional shape of the radials 6 so as to seat them properly. In the illustrated case, the emplacements are of rectangular cross-section to produce a castellated appearance so as to receive radial strips 6 of rectangular cross-section and they not only hold the strips down on the board but also retain the strips against lateral displacement.

The invention also extends to dartboardsfitted with a circular twentyfives ring as hereinbefore defined and described Although the invention has been described in relation to a standard London dartboard of the kind shown in Fig. I and internationally acceptedfor competitions, it will be evident that the invention is also applicable to the many other kinds of dartboards that have been devisedfrom time to time with the equivalent of a twenty-fives bed and radial wires, for example the Fives Board, the Manchester Board, the Gloucestershire Board, the East End Board and the Staffordshire Board.

Claims

1. A circular ring for defining an annular twenty-fives bed for a dartboard which has radial wires delineating scoring areas or beds on the board, wherein the ring is provided with depending prongs or legs for driving into the board and with twenty radially extending emplacements for the radial bed-delineating wires of the board

2. A ring according to Claim 1, wherein the emplacements are radial grooves in that edge of the ringfrom which the prongs or legs depend

3. A ring according to either proceeding claim, wherein the ring is right circular cylindrical.

4. A ring according to any preceding claim, wherein the ring is of diecast metal and the emplacements are moulded during casting.

5. A ring according to any preceding claim, wherein there are four circumferentially equispacedprongs or legs.

6. A ring according to any preceding claim, wherein the prongs or legs are provided with barbs to enhance anchoring of the ring in the dartboard

7. A ring according to any preceding claim, wherein the prongs or legs are pointed at theirfree ends.

8. A ring according to any one of Claims 2- 7, wherein the edge of the ring opposite to the grooved edge is chamfiered or bevelled

9. A dartboard comprising a twenty-fives bed, radial wires delineating scoring areas or beds on the board and a circular ring according to anypreceding claim defining the annular twenty-fives bed

10. A dortboard according to Claim 9, wherein the radial wires are bent over at one or both ends and driven into the board.

11. A circular ring substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A dartboard substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.