US2443408A - Slingshot - Google Patents

Description

June 15, 1948. WAL ER 2,443,408

SLING SHOT Filed May 28, 1946 INVENTOR WILL/AM L. WALKER WWW ATTORNEY Patented June 15, 1948 UNIT ETD TSTATES .SLINGSHT' i WilliamiIi." Walker, '.-iA1ihBIlS,I Ga.

Appli'cationZMay:.2.8, 1946,1Ser'ialfNb.672,816

1 Claim.

This invention relates to catapults and has more particular reference to devices popularly known as sling shots.

One object of the invention is to provide a sling shot in which the thumb and forefinger of the users hand are used as the supporting means to which the ends of the resilient sling are attached.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sling shot having finger stalls attached to the free ends of the sling.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sling shot having improved means for securing the projectile-carrying element and the finger stalls to the elastiomembers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sling shot which may readily be folded into a compact form for convenience in carrying in a pocket when not in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the finger stalls mounted on the thumb and forefinger of the users hand;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sling shot shown in Fig. 1, showing the preferred method of using the sling shot;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a blank used to make a thumb stall;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a blank used to make a finger stall; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the projectile-carrying element.

There is shown in Fig. 1 a sling shot adapted to be used with the thumb and forefinger of the users hand employed as the staff and comprising a pair of elastic members l0; a pocket or projectile-carrying element H; a thumb stall l2; and :a finger stall [3.

The elastic members l0 consist of elongated strips of elastic material and are preferably made of rubber or other similar material. The pocket or projectile-carrying element l l consists of a fiat, substantially rectangular strip of flexible material, preferably leather or other similar material and has its ends reduced in width to approximately the width of the elastic strips. The element H is securely fastened to one of the ends of each of the elastic members I0, preferably by vulcanization, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6.

In Figs. 3 and 4, there is shown the blank from which the preferred form of the thumb and finger stalls are made. The thumb stall is formed from a fiat, substantially rectangular strip I4 of flexible material, having an integral projection I5 formed centrally of its lower edge with the side edges It and ll of the projection curving into the lower edge of the strip Hi. The upper edge It of the strip i4 is made concave, all as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The completed thumb stall is formed by folding the strip E4 on its vertical median axis and suitably securing the overlapped edges together, thereby forming a flexible tubular member.

In use, the thumb stall is placed on the right or left thumb, with the projection l5 extending upwardly and the concave edge l8 snugly fitting the contour of the hand of the user, then the projection I5 is folded outwardly and downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 1.

The finger stall is formed with a flat, substantially rectangular strip l9 of flexible material having an integral projection 2!! formed centrally of its lower edge, with the side edges 2! and 22 of the projection curving into the lower edge of the strip l9, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The completed finger stall is formed by folding the strip l9 on its vertical median axis and suitably securing the overlapped edges together, thereby forming a flexible tubular member. In use, the finger stall is placed on the right or left forefinger with the projection 20 extending downwardly. The curvature of the side edges 2| and 22 of the projection 2|] fitting the contour of the base of the users forefinger, as shown in Fig. 1.

The thumb and forefinger stalls are preferably made of leather or other similar material and each of the projections 15 and 2B is securely fastened to one of the free ends of the elastic members I0, preferably by vulcanization.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The user places the thumb and finger stalls on the thumb and forefinger of either his right or left hand. The stalls should be well down on the thumb and finger, clear to the bases thereof, as shown in Fig. l. A missille or projectile is then placed in the pocket element H and, with the free hand, the pocket element is pulled backwardly, stretching the elastic members lil. By letting go the pocket element suddenly, the missile is shot out of the pocket.

In the preferred method of using the sling shot, the hand carrying the thumb and finger stalls is clinched to form a fist, with the thumb projecting beyond the clinched fingers. Using this method, there is no danger of an amateur hitting his hand when using the sling shot.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present device provides a simple and practical construction which may be readily set up for use when desired, and may be folded into a compact form for convenience in carrying in a pocket when not in use.

What is claimed is:

A sling shot comprising a pair of elastic members; a flexible projectile carrying element having one of its ends secured to one end of one of the elastic members, and the other of its ends secured to one end of the other elastic member; a tubular open-ended forefinger stall having a tab at its lower end secured to the free end of one of said elastic members; and a tubular openended thumb stall having a tab at its upper end secured to the free end of the other of said elastic WILLIAM L. WALKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 516,852 Trumble Mar. 20, 1894 1,419,682 Miles June 13, 1922 2,367,249 Walker Jan. 16, 1945

Images