US3538515A

US3538515A - Artificial hand for bowling

Info

Publication number: US3538515A
Application number: US700775A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert L Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-01-26
Filing date: 1968-01-26
Publication date: 1970-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 1987-11-10

Description

Nov. 10, 1970 R. L. BROWN 3,538,515

ARTIFICIAL HAND FOR BOWLING Filed Jan. 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ROBE RT L. BROWN ATTORNEYS NOV. 10, 1970 BRQWN 3,538,515

ARTIFICIAL HAND FOR BOWLING Filed Jan. 26. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ROBERT L. BROWN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,538,515 ARTIFICIAL HAND FOR BOWLING Robert L. Brown, RR. 2, Berne, Ind. 46711 Filed Jan. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 700,775 Int. Cl. A6lf 1/06 U.S. Cl. 312.8 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An artificial hand for bowling has two stationary fingers and an opposed movable thumb. Each of the fingers and thumb has the end provided with a ball tip which fits into a respective hole in a bowling ball. The thumb is urged toward the fingers by a tension spring having sufficient force to hold a bowling ball. The thumb may be moved away from the fingers by a cable connected between the thumb and the opposite shoulder of the user to release the ball.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to an artificial hand, and particularly to an artificial hand for bowling.

Various artificial limbs, particularly artificial hands, have been provided for amputees. Such limbs and hands have been provided to perform a variety of functions, including bowling. However, as a bowler, I have found that available artificial hands for bowling were unsatisfactory for a number of reasons such as the complex arrangement of the artificial hand, the difiiculty in controlling the artificial hand and the bowling ball, and the extensive modifications which had to be made to the bowling ball. Therefore, I have invented an artificial hand in order to be able to bowl without these and other disadvantages of previously known artificial hands.

An object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple artificial hand for bowling, thereby making it possible for many amputees to obtain such a hand and bowl.

Another object of my invention is to provide an artificial hand that easily and accurately controls a bowling ball, thereby making it a pleasure for amputees to bowl, and making it possible for amputees to bowl well.

Another object of my invention is to provide an artificial hand for bowling that requires only simple cups to be placed in conventional holes in the bowling ball, thereby making it possible for amputees to modify a conventional bowling ball for their own use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, these and other objects are achieved in accordance with my invention by an artificial bowling hand having an extension that is adapted to be fastened to the forearm component of an artificial arm. Two fingers are fastened to the extension in a fixed position. A thumb is fastened to the extension for pivoting with respect to the two fingers. Each of the fingers and thumb has a ball like projection at one end. A tension spring is connected between the thumb and fingers to urge the thumb toward the fingers, and a cable is attached to the thumb for pulling the thumb against the spring tension away from the fingers. The cable may be operated by action of the bowlers opposite shoulder. Cups having flanged openings are inserted in holes in a bowling ball for receiving the ball-like projections on the thumb and fingers. With the 3,538,515 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 ball like projections positioned in the cups, the spring tension is sufficient to hold the fingers and thumb in the cup and enable a bowler to pick up a bowling ball. The bowling ball can be accurately and precisely released at the desired time, such as in the ball delivery or swing, by the cable being pulled to move the thumb away from the fingers to allow the ball-like projections to clear the flanges around the openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims. The structure and operation of my invention, together with further objects and advantages, may be better understood from the following description given in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a bowler having an artificial arm which is fitted with my artificial hand for bowling;

FIG. 2 shows a side view, partly in cross section, of my artificial hand holding a bowling ball;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of my artificial hand;

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of my artificial hand looking towards the fingers from the lines 44 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the pivot for the thumb of my artificial hand, the cross sectional view being taken along the lines 55 in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With refeience to FIGS. 2 through 5, as well as FIG.

1, my artificial hand 12 comprises an extension 15 made of a suitable cylindrical rod of metal or other material. One end of the extension 15 is provided with threads 16 which are of the pro er configuration to be mounted on the forearm component 10. The other end of the extension 15 is also provided with threads 17 for attachment to my artificial hand 12. The threads 17 are adapted to thread into a threaded opening or hole in a base 19 which is also made of a suitable material such as metal. The base 19 has a longitudinal axis 32 which is generally transverse to the longitudinal axis 18 of the extension 15. When the threads 17 of the extension 15 have been positioned at the desired location, the threads 17 may be held against turning by a lock nut 20. Two substantially

similar fingers

22, 24 of suitable material such as metal are securely fastened to or are an integral part of the base 19. These fingers have a generally curved shape, which curves away from and then back toward the axis 18 of the extension 15 as viewed in FIG. 3. Ball-

like projections

26, 28, such as ball bearings, are fastened to the ends of the

fingers

22, 24. As illustrated, the ball-

like projections

26, 28 preferably have a larger diameter than the transverse dimension of the

fingers

22, 24 for reasons that will be y explained.

A thumb 30 is provided of suitable material such as metal. In a closed position, the thumb 30 extends generally parallel to the axis 18 of the extension and then curves toward the

fingers

22, 24. The thumb is securely attached to or an integral part of a metal thumb yoke 31 which is attached to the base 19 for pivoting about the axis 32 of the base 19. The thumb 30 is pivotally attached by means of two shoulder bolts 34 which have cylindrical shoulders 35 positioned in two circular openings in the two arms of the thumb yoke 31, and which have threads that are threaded into the base 19. When 7 the shoulder bolts 34 are threaded into the base 19, the inner faces of the shoulders 35 engage the end faces of the base 19 and serve to lock the shoulder bolts 34 in position. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the two arms 31 and the ends of the base 19 are dimensioned to provide the proper clearance between the inner faces of the arms of the yoke 31 and the end faces of the base 19, thereby permitting the thumb 30 to pivot freely. The end of the thumb 30 is also provided with a ball-like projection 36,

such as a ball bearing having a larger diameter than the transverse dimension of the thumb 30.

The thumb 30 is urged toward the

fingers

22, 24 by a tension spring 40 suitably attached to a projection 41 on the thumb 30 and to a projection 42 on the base 19. The

tension of the spring 40 is designed so that it urges the thumb 30 toward the

fingers

22, 24 with sutficient force to hold the weight of a bowling ball such as the ball 13 illustrated in FIG. 2. The thumb 30 may be pulled away from the

fingers

22, 24 against the tension of the spring 40 by a control cable 45 attached to a suitable projection 1 46 on the thumb 30. With respect to FIG. 1, the cable 45 extends upward from the projection 46 along the forearm component 10, along the right arm of the bowler, and is attached to a suitable shoulder strap or harness on the left shoulder of the bowler. As is known to amputees, i

proper maneuvering of the shoulder can pull or release the cable 45. When the cable 45 is pulled, it pulls the thumb 30 away from the

fingers

22, 24. When the cable 45 is released, it permits the tension spring 40 to pull the thumb 30 toward the

fingers

22, 24.

With reference to FIG. 2, I have shown my artificial hand 12 in engaging relation with the bowling ball .13. The bowling 13 is provided with three cylindrical holes which may be drilled into the ball 13 in conventional fashion and in a configuration to fit the configuration of the

fingers

22, 24 and thumb 30. A hole 50 is shown in FIG. 2 for the thumb 30 and a hole 51 is shown in FIG. 2 for the finger 22. The hole (not visible) for the other finger 24 would be behind the hole 51 as viewed in FIG. 2.

Each of the holes is provided with a hollow cylindrical cup 54 having sides which fit the sides of the respective holes and having a closed bottom. The top of the cup 54 is provided with a circular opening 56 having a diameter smaller than the cup diameter to provide a flange 57.

The cups 54 are secured in their respective holes by any suitable means, such as the screws 59.

With the bowling ball 13 provided with

holes

50 and 51, and cups 54 as shown in FIG. 2, my artificial hand 12 may be utilized to pick up the bowling ball 13 by placing the thumb 30 and the

fingers

22, 24 at the appropriate holes in the bowling ball 13. This is done by the bowler providing a slight pull on the cable 45 so as to move the thumb 30 away from the

fingers

22, 24. Then, the

balllike projections

26, 28, 36 of the

fingers

22, 24 and the thumb 30 are placed in the cups 54 beneath the flanges 57. The bowler then releases the cable 45 so that the spring 40 pulls the thumb 30 toward the

fingers

22, 24. As the

fingers

22, 24 and thumb 30 move together, the ball-

like projections

26, 28, 36 press against the inner flanges 57 and walls of the cups 54 as illustrated in FIG. 2 to firmly and securely hold the bowling ball 13. The bowler can then pick up the ball 13, and start his swing or delivery. My artificial hand 12 securely holds the ball 13 in spite of the added force resulting from the ball 13 moving in an arc during the swing or delivery. As the ball comes forward, proper action of the bowlers left shoulder provides tension on the cable 45 to pull the thumb 30 away from the

fingers

22, 24. This permits the ball 13 to be cleanly released, since the ball-

like projections

26, 28, 36 can now clear the flanges 57 and release the ball 13. It will thus be seen that my artificial hand 12 is a relatively simple device which requires relatively few parts, but which is effective in permitting an amputee to bowl in almost the same fashion as a normal person. In fact, I have found that my artificial hand 12 gives a consistent and desirable release, with the result that my bowling is consistent and good.

While I have shown only one embodiment of my artificial hand 12, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made. First, my artificial hand 12 may be used on a forearm component 10 on either arm of. a bowler, so that one artificial hand can be used for either left or right handed bowlers. In addition, the extension 15 may have other configurations and shapes. The

fingers

22, 24 and the thumb 30 may have somewhat different configurations from that shown in the drawing. However, it is desirable that the

fingers

22, 24 and the thumb 30 have an opposing action and that their ends converge toward each other. The ball-like projections may be replaced by other projections of different shapes or configurations. However, I prefer the ball-like projections since conventional ball bearings serve to provide the necessary projection and fit into a circular opening such as the opening 56 in the cups 54. The thumb 30 may be pivoted in other fashions, as by a single piece which pivots between two opposing faces on the base 19 rather than by being mounted on a yoke 31 with two arms at the ends of the base 19. The points of attachment for the spring 40 may also be moved as long as the desired holding force and clearance of the bowling ball are provided. And, the projection 46 for the cable 45 may also have different locations and configurations.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An artificial hand for an amputee for bowling, comprising:

(a) an extension having a longitudinal axis and being adapted to be attached to the arm of an amputee;

(b) a base attached to said extension;

(0) a pair of substantially similar fingers rigidly attached to said base in a fixed immovable position, each of said fingers extending from said base in a first curve away from said longitudinal axis and continuing in a second curve back toward said longitudinal axis so as to terminate in a free end, and each of said fingers having a projection at the free end thereof for fitting in a flanged opening in a bowling ball;

(d) a thumb pivotally attached to said base for pivoting about a pivot axis that is substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, said thumb extending from said base generally parallel to said longitudinal axis and continuing in a curve toward said fingers when in a closed position so that the terminal of said thumb is in opposed relation to the ends of said fingers, said thumb having a projection at the end thereof for fitting in a flanged opening in a bowling ball;

(e) a tension spring attached at one end to said fingers and attached at the other end to said thumb for urg ing said thumb to pivot about said pivot axis toward said fingers to hold a bowling ball;

(f) and means for fastening a cable to said thumb for an amputee to pull said cable and move said thumb away from said fingers to release a bowling ball.

2. The artificial hand of claim 1 wherein said fingers and thumb are formed of cylindrical rod.

3. The artificial hand of claim 1 wherein each of said projections is a ball having a diameter that is larger than the transverse dimension of its respective finger 0r thumb.

5 4. The artificial hand of claim 2 wherein each of said projections is a ball having a diameter that is larger than a FOREIGN PATENTS 195,751 4/1923 Great Britain.

the diameter of its respective cylindrical rod.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 R. L. FRINKS, Assistant Examiner Caron 312.8 US. Cl. X.R. Knobel 312.4 312.4; 27364 Baehr 3l2.8

Zander 312.8 l0