GB2621962A

GB2621962A - Improved ball throwing assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2621962A
Application number: GB2318734.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Khan Nadeem
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-06-18
Filing date: 2022-06-16
Publication date: 2024-02-28
Also published as: GB202318734D0; AU2022294639A1; WO2022261711A1

Abstract

A cricket ball thrower assembly comprising: a shaft extending between a proximal and a distal end; a handle adapted to be held by a user, the handle comprising: a hollow internal volume adapted for telescopically receiving the proximal end of the shaft thereby allowing an effective length of the shaft to be adjusted during use; and a locking arrangement to lock the shaft relative to the handle and prevent telescopic movement of the shaft within the internal volume of the handle; a ball holder attached to the distal end of the shaft, the ball holder being adapted to receive and releasably grip a cricket ball.

Claims

1. A cricket ball thrower assembly comprising: a shaft extending between a proximal and a distal end; a handle adapted to be held by a user, the handle comprising: a hollow internal volume adapted for telescopically receiving the proximal end of the shaft thereby allowing an effective length of the shaft to be adjusted during use; and a locking arrangement to lock the shaft relative to the handle and prevent telescopic movement of the shaft within the internal volume of the handle; a ball holder attached to the distal end of the shaft, the ball holder being adapted to receive and releasably grip a cricket ball.

2. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 1 wherein the handle comprises a proximal hand receiving portion with the hollow internal volume being provided in a coupling portion of the handle.

3. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 2 wherein the hand receiving portion is weighted and comprises a weight and mass that is greater than the coupling portion of the handle.

4. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the ball holder comprises a scoop portion with finger portions extending from the scoop portion to wrap around the cricket ball and hold the cricket ball loosely and allow the cricket ball to be released when inertia of the cricket ball becomes sufficiently high as the user holding the handle swings the thrower with the ball being initially held loosely in the ball holder.

5. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the finger portions are dimensioned to apply a greater gripping force on a ball positioned in the scoop portion relative to a gripping force applied by internal surfaces of the scoop portion to allow the finger portions to guide direction of flight of the ball during release of the ball.

6. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the finger portions comprise at least a first pair of finger portions along an in-use top portion of the scoop, the first pair of fingers being separated by a convergent V-shaped opening extending inwardly wherein the first pair of fingers is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the shaft.

7. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 6 further comprising a pair of opposed finger portions, each of said opposed finger portions being located at a respective lateral side of the scoop portion, the said pair of opposed finger portions extending across the longitudinal axis for providing additional guidance to the flight of the ball.

8. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 7 wherein each of the opposed finger portions is located at an equal separation relative to the convergent V- shaped opening between the first pair of finger portions.

9. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the distal end of the shaft comprises a ring-shaped connector adapted to connect to a ring-shaped receiver of the ball holder.

10. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with claim 9 wherein the ring- shaped connector has a diameter that is greater than a width of a distal end of the shaft and wherein preferably the diameter is two times the width of the shaft.

11. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with claim 10 wherein the ring- shaped connector comprises ring-shaped channels on opposed faces of the connector with profiled portions defining the ring-shaped channel on each face wherein each channel is adapted to engage engagement portions of the ring- shaped receiver.

12. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the ring- shaped connector comprises a radially central hollow bore extending through the ring-shaped connector.

13. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of claims 9 to 12 wherein the ring shaped connector is movably disposed relative to the ring- shaped receiver when engagement portions of the ring-shaped receiver are received into the ring-shaped channels to allow variation of the angular orientation of the ball holder relative to the distal end of the shaft.

14. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 9 to 13 wherein the ring-shaped receiver is adapted to rotate relative to the ring-shaped connector thereby allowing variation of the angular orientation of the ball holder relative to the distal end of the shaft.

15. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with any one of claims 9 to 14 wherein the ring-shaped receiver comprises two spaced part circular ring members adapted to receive and engage the connector therebetween.

16. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 15 wherein inner walls of the spaced apart circular ring members define a circular channel to receive and retain the profiled portions of the channels on the faces of the ring-shaped connector and allow relative rotation between the ring-shaped connector and the ring-shaped receiver.

17. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of claims 9 to 16 further comprising an orientation locking mechanism to prevent relative movement between the ring-shaped connector and the ring-shaped receiver thereby locking the orientation of the ball holder relative to the distal end of the shaft.

18. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with claim 17 wherein the orientation locking mechanism comprises a locking pin configured to be simultaneously positioned in one of a first plurality of openings arranged radially on the connector and one of a second plurality of openings arranged radially on the receiver.

19. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of claims 9 to 18 wherein outer walls of the ring-shaped connector and/or ring-shaped receiver further comprises indicia to indicate one or more in-use orientations of the ball holder.

20. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the shaft comprises a central portion flanked by profiled strengthening portions extending length-wise along the lateral sides of the shaft between the two ends of the shaft.

21. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the shaft comprises a plurality of locking apertures adapted to receive a locking member positioned on the handle to prevent telescopic movement of the shaft and fix the effective length of the shaft during use.

22. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein in an in-use configuration the shaft and the handle together comprises a non-linear or arcuate cross-section.

23. A cricket ball thrower assembly in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the shaft comprises a single integrally formed body extending between the two ends.

24. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking arrangement allows the telescopic shaft to be locked to the handle at a plurality of locking locations provided along the length of the shaft to allow an effective length of the shaft to be adjusted.

25. A cricket ball thrower in accordance with claim 24 wherein a surface of the shaft is provided with indicia to indicate an expected throwing speed associated with each of the locking locations when a locking location is used for fixing the effective shaft length using the locking arrangement.