METHOD OF PROVIDING A DART LINE FOR A DARTBOARD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING THE SAME

Abstract

A method of providing a dart line and an apparatus for producing the same. Provided is a housing that contains a laser that is mounted to a dartboard. The laser has an adjusting mechanism thereon so that the laser can be positioned at a proper angle so that when electricity is provided to the laser a dart line is projected at a proper distance from the dartboard on the floor. When finished using the dartboard the laser is deactivated by manually using an on/off switch or if a user forgets to manually deactivate the laser, a kill switch is provided such that when properly mounted the door of the dartboard housing compresses the kill switch button to stop the flow of electricity to the laser.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to dartboards. More specifically, this invention relates to an adjustable laser to be used to produce a dart line for a dartboard.

Dartboards have been around for many years. Traditionally, a dartboard is round in shape and has numbers 1-20 thereon. To play the game of darts an individual stands a set distance away from the dartboard at a dart line and throws a set of darts at the board attempting to receive a desired point total depending on where the dart lands on the board.

Presently, when a dartboard is placed in a bar or in a home the user of the dartboard must measure off the distance between the dartboard to establish a dart line. Once the distance is measured off some type of line must be marked at that position to indicate the proper place of throwing the darts. In a bar setting, usually some type of adhesive tape is placed on the floor to mark the spot. In a home setting when the dartboard is placed in a room that has carpeting therein adhesive tape is not a desirable way to mark a line. Additionally, this adhesive tape has a tendency to become worn after a period of time and in dark bars the players have difficulty seeing the worn strip of tape.

Presently in the art dartboard makers have begun to make dartboards that have lasers therein that are mounted within the dartboard and project down at the proper angle to display a dart line. Though this solves many of the problems discussed, this solution itself has many additional problems. Specifically, in order to use this technology an entire dartboard must be purchased, and there is no way to adapt the technology to presently owned dartboards. Additionally, there is no way of adjusting the angle of the light in case the light becomes incorrectly aligned.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for inexpensively providing a dart line.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for easily establishing and adjusting a dart line.

These and other advantages, features, and objects will become apparent from the specification and claims.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for providing a dart line and apparatus for producing the same. The apparatus is a detachable laser that is disposed within a housing that is mounted onto an existing dartboard, dartboard housing, or adjacent the dartboard. Once the housing is mounted to the dartboard the laser is rotated with an adjusting mechanism to place the laser beam produced at the appropriate distance from the dartboard. The laser additionally has an on/off switch and a kill switch electrically connected thereto and disposed within the housing. The kill switch is mounted within the housing such that when the housing is mounted to the dartboard and a door of a dartboard is shut, the door compresses the button of the kill switch to stop the flow of electricity to the laser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dartboard having a laser within a housing mounted thereto;

FIG. 2 is a laser mounted within a housing; and

FIG. 3 is a cut away perspective view of a dartboard having doors in a closed position compressing a kill switch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a conventional dartboard 10 contained within a dartboard housing 12 having a pair of doors 14 that move from a open (FIG. 1) to a closed (FIG. 3) position. Mounted within the dartboard housing 12 is a laser housing 16 (FIG. 2) that has a laser 18 therein for projecting a dart line 20 on a floor 22.

As best shown in FIG. 2 the housing 12 has a laser 18 rotatably mounted therein. The laser 18 is connected to an adjusting mechanism 24 such as a turning knob that allows the laser to be moved longitudinally to change the angle of the laser. Though in a preferred embodiment a turning knob is used, other adjusting mechanisms can be used such as a rotating lever, a ratcheting member that moves a stationary angled laser longitudinally, or the like. Thus, the distance of the dart line 20 from the dartboard 10 may be adjusted as needed. The laser 18 is powered by any means such as battery, or in a preferred embodiment the laser 18 is electrically powered using a plurality of wires 26 disposed within the housing 12. Electrically connected to the laser 18 via the wires 26 is an on/off switch 28 that has an on/off button 30 that is disposed through the housing 12. Thus, an operator manually activates the laser 18 by compressing the on/off button 30 and conversely deactivates the laser 18 by decompressing the on/off button 30.

Additionally, electrically connected to the laser 18 via wires 26 is a kill switch 32 having a kill switch button 34. Specifically, the kill switch 32 is disposed through the housing 18. When the kill switch button 34 is compressed electricity does not flow to the laser 18 thus deactivating the laser 18. Conversely, when the kill switch button is not compressed electricity is allowed to flow to the laser 18 such that the dart line 20 is projected. As best shown in FIG. 3 when a door 14 of the dartboard housing is in a closed position the door 14 compresses the kill switch button 34 preventing electricity to reach the laser 18.

Electrically connected to the laser 18 via wires 26 is an electrical cord 38. Electrical cord 38 is disposed through the housing 12 and runs to a power source 40 for supplying electricity to the laser 18.

When in use, to provide a laser generated line 20 on the floor 22 to be used as a dart line, the laser 18 is mounted to the dartboard 10. Specifically, the housing 12 is detachably placed within the dartboard housing 12 or on the dartboard 10. In other embodiments the laser 18 is mounted on the dartboard 10, adjacent the dartboard 10, or at any location to project a line 20 at the appropriate location. When the location of the laser 18 is determined the laser 18 is adjusted using the adjusting mechanism 24 to a proper angle. Once the proper angle of the laser 18 is determined the laser 18 projects a laser beam to a distance from the dartboard 10 that is used as the dart line 20. Once the user of the dartboard is finished playing darts, the dart line 20 is removed by decompressing the on/off switch 28 manually. If one were to forget to manually deactivate the laser 18 using the on/off switch 28, when the doors 14 of the dartboard housing 12 are closed, a door 14 compresses the kill switch button 34 and prevents electricity from being provided to the laser 18 causing an unnecessary use of electricity and use of the laser 18. Thus, a method wherein a dart line 20 is produced using a laser 18 that is mounted to any existing dartboard is provided. Therefore, at the very least all of the stated objectives have been met.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device without the parting from the spirit in scope of this invention. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby.

Claims

1. A method of providing a laser generated line on a floor to be used as a dart line, comprising the steps of:

providing a laser;

adjusting the laser to a proper angle; and projecting a laser beam from the laser to a distance from the dart board to be used as a dart line.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the laser is within a housing that is detachably mounted to the dart board.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the laser is electrically connected to a kill switch having a kill button that is disposed through the housing.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the dart board has a door and the housing is mounted such that when the door is in a closed position the door compresses the kill button to stop the flow of electricity to the laser.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein an on/off switch is electrically connected to the laser.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the on/off switch is mounted within a housing.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the laser is adjusted by a turning knob that rotates the laser.

8. A dart board comprising:

a board;

a housing detachably mounted to the board;

a laser adjustably mounted within the housing for projecting a laser beam to be used as a dart line.

9. The dart board of claim 8 wherein a kill switch is electrically connected to the laser and disposed through the housing.

10. The dart board of claim 9 wherein the board has at least one door attached thereto.

11. The dart board of claim 10 wherein the housing is mounted such that when the door of the board is in a closed position the door compresses the kill switch.

12. The dart board of claim 8 wherein an on/off switch is electrically connected to the laser and disposed through the housing to control a flow of electricity to the laser.

13. The dart board of claim 8 wherein the housing has a turning knob for adjusting the laser within the housing.