US20020084589A1

US20020084589A1 - Safe dart and dartboard assembly

Info

Publication number: US20020084589A1
Application number: US09/749,914
Authority: US
Inventors: Mei-Huey Shieh
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-12-29
Filing date: 2000-12-29
Publication date: 2002-07-04

Abstract

A safe dart and dartboard assembly includes a safe dart made of light aluminum and having a front head feed with a block magnet having a front end surface, and a dartboard consisting of an attracting board and a frame having a center recess for receiving the attracting board therein. The attracting board has a plurality of score segments marked with a figure and an empty slots bored in boundary lines between every two of the score segments. The dart can be thrown to fly with accelerated speed owing to the gravity center located at the front end of the dart to stand vertically on the attracting board, even if the dart should fall on one of the empty holes, attracted by the comparatively large segment to stand vertically thereon with the flat end surface of the dart being safe to use.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a safe dart and dartboard assembly, particularly to one having an attracting board on a dartboard, and the attracting board is printed with score segments and figures so as to save a dartboard paper, preventing the attracting board from pricking by darts, which are light and have a flat heed not to hurt persons even if they hit them by accident.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Conventional darts are generally made of metal, having a weight member near the front end to place the gravity center near the front end, and a point. Conventional dartboards are made of several layer of rubber, wood or cardboard. When darts are shot on the dartboard, they cannot often stick in the dartboard because of improper angle, falling down to the ground. When the dart sticks in the dartboard and is pulled out, there remain many minute holes in the dartboard, looking bad, and in addition, the dartboard may have a short service life. And there is potential danger of the darts shooting at a person if the dart is shot incorrectly.

Therefore, some safe darts and dartboards have been offered, and a known one shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, includes a dartboard paper 10, a magnetic disc 11, and a frame 12 as main components combined together.

The

dartboard paper

10 is made of magnetism-penetrable paper, printed with a plurality of score segments 100 marked with boundary lines 101.

The

magnetic disc

11 is placed on the rear surface of the dartboard paper 10 m, made of magnetic material, having a plurality of slots 110 corresponding to the boundary lines 101 of the score segments 100 of the dartboard paper 10. Then darts shot within the segments 100 may be attracted by the magnetism to stand thereon, but those shot just on the slots 110 may fall down for lack of magnetism, not countable in score.

The

frame

12 has a center recess 120 for the magnetic disc 11 and the dartboard paper 10 to fit therein.

However, this kind of conventional dartboard has a drawback that when darts shoot on the

boundary lines

101 and the slots 110 under the boundary lines 101, they may prick through the dartboard paper 10 into the slots 110, with the paper 10 marked with scars or minute holes, reducing the service life of the paper 10. In addition, the boundary lines 101 and the slots 110 of the magnetic disc 11 may not easily overlap with each other, when the paper 10 is to be placed on the magnetic disc 11.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention has been devised to offer a safe dart and dartboard assembly not using a dartboard paper and easily assembled together.

The main feature of the invention is a dart having a magnet contained in its front head with a flat end surface, and a dartboard consisting of an attracting board and a frame in which the attracting board is fitted. Then the attracting board is printed with a plurality of score segments divided by boundary narrow slots and marked with figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: [0012]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a known conventional dartboard; [0013]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the known conventional dartboard with a dart shot and remained thereon; [0014]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the known conventional dartboard, showing it pricked with broken holes by darts; [0015]
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a dartboard in the present invention; [0016]
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a dart in the present invention; [0017]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the dart shot on the dartboard in the present invention; [0018]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the dartboard in the present invention; and, [0019]
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the dart shot on the dartboard in the present invention.[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of a safe dart and dartboard assembly in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, [0021] 6 and 7, includes a safe dart 2 and a dartboard 3.
The [0022] safe dart 2 has a body made of aluminum of light weight, and a front flat head 20, a flat projection 21 fixed on a front surface, and a magnet 22 fixed on the flat projecting 21 and having a front flat end surface, and a ring 23 fitting firmly around the flat projection 21 and the magnet 22. Then the magnet 22 can keep the dart 2 sucked on the surface of the dartboard 3 by means of attraction of the magnet 22, with the gravity center located at the front end of the dart 2. Further, the dart 2 has a wing 2 formed in a rear portion.
The [0023] dartboard 3 consists of an attracting board 30 and a frame 31. The attracting board 30 has 0.8 mm thickness, having its, front surface provided with a plurality of score segments 300 and FIGS. 301. The score segments 300 are divided with boundary narrow slots 302. Then the attracting board 30 is fitted in a center recess 310 of the frame 30, ready for use.
In using, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, as the [0024] darts 2 are made of light aluminum, easy to control its shooting process so that the dart 2 can fly forward stably when shot out. Conventional darts 13 generally have a weight portion 130 provided in a front portion to located the gravity center in the front end of the dart 13, which then can be shot by means of accelerated speed owing to the weight portion. But the dart 2 in the invention has the magnet 22 fixed in front of the front head 20, so the weight of the magnet 22 forms a weight function and has extremely good attracting force to let the dart 2 stick on the dartboard 3. Further, the magnet 22 is made to have stronger attracting force than common magnets, enabling the dart 2 shot and stick on the dartboard 3 stably. In addition, the front-end surface of the dart 2 is flat, impossible to hurt a person passing nearby even if the dart 2 is shot incorrectly. The dartboard of 0.8 mm thickness has been found to have the function in attracting the magnet after testing. If the thickness of the dartboard 3 is too thin, it hardly attract the dart to stand thereon, and if it is thicker than 0.8 mm, the dart 2 may easily bounce off the dartboard 3 due to counter-bouncing force of colliding.
As there are the [0025] score segments 300 and the FIGS. 301 and empty slots 302 between every two segments 300 on the attracting board 30, the darts 2 attracted to sty on the dartboard 3 can directly and quickly be counted what score they get. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, there is not a dartboard paper on each slot 302 to be pricked with scars by the darts 2, saving its cost and trouble in changing it. Provided that the darts 2 should fall on one of the boundary slots 302, they would be attracted to a neighboring comparatively large score segment 300 nearest to that slot 302 due to lack of magnetism therein, and move to stick on that segment 300 to get a score. Should the dart 2 be thrown to fall on the attracting board 30 not vertically but a little inclined, the dart 2 could be attracted and guided to become vertical to the attracting board 30 by means of the magnetic force of the magnet 22 in front of the dart head 20, without possibility of falling off the attracting board 30.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. [0026]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A safe dart and dartboard assembly comprising:

a safe dart having a body made of light aluminum, a flat projection added to a front head of said body, a block magnet fixed with a front end of said flat projection, and a ring fitting firmly around said flat projection and said block magnet, said magnet having a flat surface formed in a front end;

a dartboard consisting of an attracting board and a frame for said attracting board to fit in a center recess of said frame, said attracting board having a plurality of score segments, an empty hole formed between every two of said score segments;

said dart able to fly with accelerated speed and stability to be attracted and stand vertical on said dartboard owning to said dart having its gravity center located in a front end, said flat end surface of said dart making said dart quite safe and eliminating provision of a dartboard paper, which may suffer scars when hit by said darts.