SPEARGUN FOR UNDERWATER FISHING

Abstract

The speargun for underwater fishing comprises a spear, a hollow hand grip having therewithin a retaining mechanism for retaining the spear, a snap trigger of the retaining mechanism for the release of the spear, a hollow barrel fixed to the hand grip, a terminal head fixed to the barrel and supporting at least one lateral pulley on which a rubber band for the propulsive thrust of the spear is wound, and a housing for engaging one end of the rubber band, formed in a single piece with a wall of the hand grip and located in a transversal geometric plane of the speargun which includes the axis of the barrel and cuts the speargun into an upper half-part and a lower half-part.

Claims

1. A speargun for underwater fishing comprising a spear, a hollow hand grip having therewithin a retaining mechanism for retaining said spear, a snap trigger of said retaining mechanism for the release of said spear, a tubular barrel with a circular cross section fixed to said hand grip, a terminal head fixed to said barrel and supporting at least one lateral pulley on which a rubber band for the propulsive thrust of the spear is wound, wherein it comprises a housing engaging one end of said rubber band, formed in a single piece with a wall of said hand grip and located in a transversal geometric plane of said speargun which cuts said speargun into an upper half-part and a lower half-part, said transversal geometric plane of said speargun including the longitudinal axis of said barrel passing through the centre of said circular cross section of said tubular barrel.

2. The speargun according to claim 1, wherein said housing is formed on an outer side of said hand grip.

3. The speargun according to claim 2, wherein said housing comprises at least one projection delimiting an area of entrapment of the rubber band and a throat for access to said area of entrapment.

4. The speargun according to claim 3, wherein said housing comprises a single projection delimiting, together with said wall, said throat for access to said area of entrapment.

5. The speargun according to claim 3, wherein said housing comprises two projections delimiting, between the free ends thereof, said throat for access to said area of entrapment.

6. The speargun according to claim 3, wherein said throat is tapered.

7. The speargun according to claim 1, wherein said housing is positioned in front of a guard of said trigger.

8. The speargun according to claim 1, wherein said housing is positioned in a front tubular part of the hand grip which engages with a rear end of said barrel.

9. The speargun according to claim 1, wherein said front tubular part of the hand grip has a blind bottom delimiting an air trap that extends in the barrel.

10. A method for producing a speargun according to claim 1, wherein said single piece is formed by hot moulding of plastic material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Additional features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the speargun for underwater fishing according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the appended drawings, in which:

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of the speargun;

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a top view of the speargun;

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a side elevation view of the rear portion of the speargun sectioned according to a sagittal longitudinal plane;

[0033] FIG. 4 shows an axonometric view of the speargun;

[0034] FIG. 5 shows a top view of the area of junction between the hand grip and barrel sectioned along a transversal plane B-B of FIG. 1 which includes the axis of the barrel and cuts the speargun into an upper half-part and a lower half-part;

[0035] FIG. 5a shows a variant for the housing of the rubber band;

[0036] FIG. 6 shows a front view of the speargun in a section along the plane A-A of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The speargun 1 comprises, in a known manner, a metal spear 2, a hand grip 4 having a retaining mechanism 5 for retaining the metal spear 2, a snap trigger 6 of the retaining mechanism 5 for the release of the spear 2, a hollow barrel 7, particularly a tubular one with a circular cross section, having an upper longitudinal guide 8 that slidingly supports the metal spear 2, and a terminal head 9.

[0038] The metal spear 2 has one or more heels 3 at the top for engaging one or more rubber bands 11 for the propulsive thrust of the metal spear 2 and, in a more rearward position diametrically opposed to the heels 3, a further heel (not shown) for engaging a hook of the retaining mechanism 5.

[0039] The metal spear 2 can also have a rear through hole (not shown), tied to which there is a line (not shown) that keeps the spear 2 anchored to the speargun 1 after shooting.

[0040] The mechanism 5 for retaining the spear 2 is housed in the hand grip 4 and, being of a well-known type, it will not be described in detail.

[0041] The rubber bands 11 are wound around respective pulleys 12, in particular, in the case illustrated, two coaxial pulleys 12 supported by opposite sides of the terminal head 9.

[0042] The axis of the two pulleys 12 is orthogonal to a sagittal geometric plane Θ of the speargun 1 which divides the speargun 1 into a right half-part and a left half-part.

[0043] The rubber bands 11, engaged, as we shall see, to the hand grip 4, are placed under a tensile force when the diver engages them in the engagement heels 3 of the metal spear 2 retained by the retaining mechanism 5 in the launching position in the longitudinal guide 8.

[0044] As is typical of a roller speargun, the rubber bands 11 at rest are positioned under the barrel 7 and are stretched over the top of the barrel 7 by sliding in the pulleys 12.

[0045] The barrel 7 is generally formed by a tubular element made of metal, for example aluminium or an alloy thereof, at the rear of which the hand grip 4 is fixed and at the front of which the terminal head 9 is fixed.

[0046] The hand grip 4 provides, for each rubber band 11, a respective housing 10 for engaging the end of the rubber band 11 opposite the one that must be engaged to one of the heels 3 of the spear 2.

[0047] The housing 10 is defined by at least one outer protrusion of the hand grip 4.

[0048] The housing 10 is advantageously formed in a single piece with a wall 13 of the hand grip 4 and is located in a transversal geometric plane A of the speargun 1 which includes the longitudinal axis L of the barrel 7 and cuts the speargun 1 into an upper half-part and a lower half-part.

[0049] The transversal geometric plane A of the speargun 1 includes in particular the longitudinal axis L of the tubular barrel 7 passing through the centre of the circular cross section of the tubular barrel 7.

[0050] The housing 10 is formed on an outer side of the hand grip 4.

[0051] In the case under examination, two housings are provided 10, one for each rubber band 11, positioned symmetrically on the two opposite sides of the hand grip 4.

[0052] The housing 10 comprises one or two projections 14a, 14b delimiting an area of entrapment 15 of the rubber band 11 and a throat 16 for access to the area of entrapment 15.

[0053] The throat 16 for access to said area of entrapment 15 is delimited by the free ends of the projections 14a, 14b if two projections 14a, 14b are provided.

[0054] If only one projection 14a is provided, the access throat 16 is delimited between the projection 14a and the wall 13 of the hand grip 4.

[0055] The area of entrapment 15 extends longitudinally in the front-to-rear direction of the speargun 1.

[0056] The area of entrapment 15 is open in the direction orthogonal to the transversal geometric plane A of the speargun 1.

[0057] The access throat 16 extends transversally to the longitudinal area of entrapment 15, in particular orthogonally to the sagittal geometric plane θ of the speargun 1, if two projections 14a, 14b are provided.

[0058] In the case, not shown, where only one projection 14a is provided, the access throat 16 extends in the front-to-rear direction of the speargun 1.

[0059] The access throat 16 is likewise tapered from the proximal end thereof to the end distal to the area of entrapment 15 or vice-versa.

[0060] The rubber band 11 is introduced into the area of entrapment 15 by making the cross section thereof pass through the access throat 16.

[0061] When it is under tension, the rubber band 11 is clamped inside the front recess 17a of the area of entrapment 15 defined by the front projection 14a and remains securely trapped: relative to the access throat 16, the front recess 17a is in fact in a more advanced position in the front-to-rear direction of the speargun 1.

[0062] If the second projection 14b is also present, the rear recess 17b of the area of entrapment 15 assures that the rubber band 11 remains in the area of entrapment 15 even in the event of a violent rebounding of the rubber band 11, which can occur when the spear 2 is released.

[0063] Typically, the housing 10 is positioned in front of a guard 18 for the trigger 6.

[0064] More precisely, the housing 10 is positioned in a front tubular part 19 of the hand grip 4 acting as a male element for a plug-in connection with the barrel 7.

[0065] For this purpose, the rear end of the tubular barrel 7 obviously has a shape mating that of the front tubular part 19 of the hand grip 4.

[0066] The front tubular part 19 of the hand grip 4 has one or, as shown, a plurality of toroidal gaskets 21 for a tight seal with the barrel 7.

[0067] The front tubular part 19 of the hand grip 4 has at least one blind hole 22 aligned with a corresponding through hole 23 of the barrel 7, where a screw 24 for fastening the barrel 7 is positioned.

[0068] As is evident, in the front tubular part 19 with a blind bottom 26 of the hand grip 4 an air trap 25 is created which extends into the barrel 7 and contributes to supporting the speargun 1 when the diver is underwater.

[0069] Advantageously, the system for fastening the barrel 7 to the hand grip 4, as it provides for one or more blind holes 22 on the front tubular part 19 of the hand grip 4, does not prejudice the tightness of the air trap 25.

[0070] The housing 10 can be formed in a single piece with the hand grip 4 by means of a simple moulding operation, for example by means of hot moulding of a suitable plastic material.

[0071] The hand grip can comprise several components mechanically assembled to one another and in that case the housing can be formed in a single piece with one of the components of the hand grip.

[0072] The speargun for underwater fishing thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variants, all falling within the scope of the inventive concept; furthermore, all of the details may be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

[0073] The materials used, as well as the dimensions, may in practice be any whatsoever, according to needs and the state of the art.