Amusement or sporting endeavours with a ball are many and varied, and intricate and complex rules have been developed for these games. The extent to which a ball can be used for amusement is limited however because of the predictability of the bounce and projectile of the ball, and thus the necessary skills are quite readily acquired. The article according to the present invention can be made to have a predictable projectile and a predictable bounce but it requires somewhat more skill to use than a ball and thus provides for a greater level of interest to the user.

In its broadest form, the invention resides in a toy adapted for personal amusement or sporting endeavour, and which comprises a resiliently deformable elastomeriσ cup- shaped member having a part-spherical ground contacting surface, and an elongate handle connected at one end thereof with the resiliently deformable cup-shaped member, the toy, when thrown, being adapted to bounce on a ground surface by virtue of contact between said ground surface and said part spherical surface. The toy has a predictable bounce only when the spherical surface impacts against a hard ground surface; if the toy is thrown so that the handle impacts against the ground surface, either the item will not bounce or will not bounce predictably. Considerable skill is therefore required to enable a predictable outcome to be achieved when throwing the item. Furthermore in bouncing the toy in an attempt to convey it to another individual, the handle influences the projectile of the toy, and of particular importance is for the thrower of the toy to impart sufficient bodily rotation to the handle so that the recipient can conveniently access and grasp the handle.

More specifically according to this invention, a toy for throwing and bouncing off a hard surface comprises an elongate handle shaped and dimensioned to be conveniently gripped by the hand of a person, the handle having a proximal and a distal end, a resiliently deformable hollow cup-shaped end cap having a part-spherical surface and an open lower end facing the proximal end of said handle, and co-operable engaging means on the end cap near its said open lower end and on said handle at or adjacent its proximal end for the securing of the end cap to the handle, constructed and arranged so that the toy, when thrown, will bounce off a hard surface by virtue of the impact between the hard surface and said part-spherical surface of the end cap.

Preferably, the end cap fits over the proximal end of the handle, said co-operable interengaging means comprising an annular retaining groove formed in the interior wall of the end cap near said open lower end, and an annular out- turned rib at the proximal end of the handle, which is engageable with the walls of said groove. in a preferred form, the handle comprises a hollow cylindrical stem extending away from the resiliently deformable end cap, the handle being made from synthetic polymeric plastics material.

Preferably, the end cap terminates at its open end in an annular skirt, the inner surface of the skirt being generally cylindrical and which frictionally engages against a cylindrical wall portion of the handle at its inner or proximal end. This greatly reduces the likelihood of the end cap being dislodged from the handle during use. Preferably the handle is tapered toward its distal free end. Thus the handle can easily be used by persons of differing hand size, with small hands best able to grip further from the part spherical end cap than a larger hand.

For enhanced predictability of bounce the part spherical end cap is preferably at least hemi-spherical. This allows for the widest range of angles of approach to a ground surface allowing for bounce.

In a further preferred form the centre of gravity of the article is on the handle and is proximal to the resiliently deformable end cap.

For a better understanding of the invention, various embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying illustrations wherein:

Fig 1 is a side view of a bouncing toy according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Fig 2 is a cross-section through a longitudinal central plane of the toy shown in Fig 1; whilst Fig 2(a) is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the end cap of the toy; and

Fig 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of Fig 2 showing a toy according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figs 1 and 2 of the drawings, a bouncing toy 10 comprises two portions, a flexible resilient deformable cup-shaped end cap 11 and an elongate handle 12. The handle 12 is generally cone shaped being tapered from its proximal end 13 to its distal end 14, and is made of synthetic polymeric plastics material, which in this embodiment is a relatively hard plastics material. The handle

12 is hollow with a rounded outer surface. A portion 15 of the handle 12 adjacent the proximal end 13 is flared and the flared portion 15 merges with an elongate tapered handle portion 16 which is designed to be conveniently gripped by the hand of a person.

The gripping portion 16 is tapered so that a small hand can comfortably grip the handle 12 close to its distal end 14 _t whereas a larger hand can comfortably grip the gripping portion 16 near the flared portion 15 of the handle 12. As shown in Fig 2, the handle 12 terminates at its proximal end

13 in a circumferentially extending out-turned lip or rib 17.

The overall length of the handle 12 has an impact on the projectile of the article and the length may be varied to suit the projectile desirable for a particular use of the article.

The resiliently deformable end cap 11 is hollow and has a part-spherical shape, which in this embodiment comprises a he i-spherical portion 18 which joins with a depending annular skirt 19 which defines the open lower end of the cap 11. An annular groove 20 is formed on the interior wall surface of the cap 11 between the portion 18 and skirt 19. The skirt 19 has a generally cylindrical inner surface 22 and its wall thickness tapers in the direction of the mouth of the cap 11, the surface 22 being radially set back from the surface 23 of the cap interior.

The cap 11 and handle 12 are assembled together by fitting the open lower end of the cap 11 over the open end 13 of the handle 12, so that the lip or rib 17 snap fits into the groove 20, whereupon the two parts are retained together. The skirt surface 22 frictionally grips the approximately cylindrical walled portion 25 adjacent the end 13 of the handle 12 and assists in the retention of the cap to the handle when the toy is in use. It will be appreciated that when the toy is thrown and the cap impacts against the ground, the cap will distort. It is desirable that the interengagement of the cap and handle be such that the two parts do not separate or dislodge easily during use as this would detract from the toy's playing effectiveness.

This arrangement allows for a wide range of angles of approach of the toy to the ground surface whilst still allowing for a good bouncing effect.

The ball is integrally moulded of a suitable elastomeric material having good bouncing properties. Preferably, the centre of gravity of the toy is on the handle but proximal to the cap.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig 3 where the bouncing toy 29 comprises a handle 30 which terminates at its upper end in a flared skirt 31 which itself terminates in an inturned lip or rib 32 which snap-fittingly engages in an annular groove 33 formed in the outer surface of the end cap 35 adjacent its open lower end. The handle 30 is tubular and tapered in the direction of its end wall 36 which closes off the interior of the handle 30.

The wall of the end cap 35 terminates in an annular bead 37, the outer surface of which converges in the direction of the cap mouth and snugly fits into the recess formed beneath the rib 32 at the upper end of the handle 30. In use, the toy 10, 29 is thrown so that its end cap impacts against a hard surface, causing it to bounce, whereupon it can be caught by the thrower or a recipient standing at a short distance from the thrower.