Retrieval means for sporting projectiles are well known and exist in many different forms.

US Patent number US 2008/0261732 represents prior art in this field and discloses a system by which a user can pick up, toss and strike a ball without touching said ball with their hands. The system comprises a ball basket which attaches to the end of a bat, racquet, or the like and, in one embodiment, includes a press-fit ball grabber with a ring-shaped end defining a ball inlet, said end snaps around a ball for the purpose of picking up said ball from the ground when a user plunges said ball basket over said ball. The disadvantage of this and the other many plunging ball retrieval means, however, is that it cannot be used or obviously adapted to enable the retrieval of shuttlecocks with one continuous downward plunging movement of said apparatus. A shuttlecock, in contrast to a ball, can land on its side, pointing in any direction, thus presenting a substantially triangular footprint with an infinite number of orientations. In contrast, a ball will always have a circular footprint. As such, conventional plunging ball retrieval means are not suitable for retrieving shuttlecocks because they are not designed to effect the orientation of the object they are addressing in order to retrieve said object. The object of the present invention is to provide a shuttlecock retrieval means which can pick up a shuttlecock that has landed upright or on its side and pointing in any direction, without the need for a user of said retrieval means to touch said shuttlecock or to orient said retrieval means based on the direction the landed shuttlecock may be pointing, thus making retrieval quick and simple.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shuttlecock retrieval device, said device comprising: engagement means, locating means and securing means, wherein said engagement means is positioned relative to said locating means and securing means such that, in use, said engagement means is selectively engageable with the tail of a shuttlecock and selectively operable to move said shuttlecock proximate to said securing means,

wherein said locating means is arranged so as to receiveably position a shuttlecock proximate to said securing means,

and, in use, said securing means secures a shuttlecock received by said securing means, to said retrieval device.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shuttlecock retrieval device, said device comprising: engagement means, locating means and securing means, wherein said engagement means is positioned relative to said locating means such that, in use, said engagement means is selectively engageable with the tail of a shuttlecock so as to move said shuttlecock proximate to said locating means,

wherein said locating means is arranged so as to locate a moved shuttlecock proximate to said securing means

and, in use, said securing means secures a shuttlecock, received by said securing means, to said retrieval device.

A shuttlecock retrieval device in accordance with the present invention has the advantage that, unlike the prior art, it can retrieve a landed shuttlecock and it can do so without the need for said shuttlecock to be handled by the user of the retrieval device or for said retrieval device to be oriented based on the direction said landed shuttlecock may be pointing. Thus said device enables quick and simple retrieval of shuttlecocks, removing the need for repeated bending and stooping typical when retrieving landed shuttlecocks. The engagement means, locating means and securing means are. preferably, arranged such that they are consecutively engageable with said shuttlecock when, in use, said device is placed over said shuttlecock. In use a shuttlecock may be moved proximate to the locating means by rotating said shuttlecock from a first orientation to a second orientation. Advantageously, the longitudinal axis of a shuttlecock in the first orientation is approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a shuttlecock in the second orientation. Furthermore, the first orientation of a shuttlecock is, preferably, laid on its side with a portion of its tail and head touching the floor. The second orientation of a shuttlecock is preferably, upright, set upon its widest diameter.

Preferably, the engagement means is moveable relative to the locating means and ^' may comprise a U-shaped portion so as to receive a landed shuttlecock therein and thus prevent said received shuttlecock from rolling away when engaged by said engagement means. The first position of said engagement means may be ultimate from the locating means and the second position of said engagement means may be proximate said locating means.

Advantageously, the engagement means may comprise an annulus and, preferably, said annulus has a diameter no smaller than the height of a shuttlecock, thus enabling a shuttlecock oriented on its side to be surrounded by said annulus. The annulus may have a diameter of 100mm to 130mm. Further advantageously, the engagement means further comprises a material of sufficient friction coefficient to frictionally engage with a plastic-tailed shuttlecock, thus enabling the retrieval device to pick up both feather-tailed shuttlecocks and plastic-tailed shuttlecocks. The locating means, advantageously, comprises a U-shaped portion wherein the radius of curvature may be substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the widest diameter of a shuttlecock. The locating means may also be selectively removable from the securing means. More preferably, the locating means comprises an annulus with a diameter suitable for receiving a shuttlecock and forming a close-tolerance fit around the widest diameter of said shuttlecock. Further preferably, the locating means annulus has a diameter in the range of 53mm to 64mm.

Advantageously, the engagement means and locating means are provided in parallel, spaced apart, planes. The engagement means may, in use, be positioned below the locating means such that, in use, said engagement means is brought into contact with a shuttlecock before said locating means. Preferably, the engagement means and locating means are spaced apart by a distance in the range of 5mm to 52mm. The apparatus preferably further comprises resiliently deformable means from which engagement means may extend. Advantageously movement of the engagement means relative to the locating means between a first position and a second position is enabled by deformation of the resiliently deformable means. The resiliently deformable means may comprise a one or more legs which extend from the locating means to the engagement means. Advantageously, the legs are arranged equidistant along the circumference of the locating and engaging means. Further advantageously the spaces between the legs are too small for a shuttlecock to pass between. The resiliently deformable means is preferably elastic and may be of the form of a dome, cone, cylinder or other suitable skirt. The resiliently deformable means acts as a funnel for, in use, channelling a landed shuttlecock towards the locating means. The resiliently deformable means and ^' engagement means may be formed of one unitary piece of material for example by injection moulding, or the like.

Advantageously, in the first position the engagement means is ultimate from the locating means and, preferably, in the second position the engagement means is proximate to the locating means. The resiliently deformable means is, preferably, elastic. The engagement means may further include a mass which enables the correct amount of pressure to be applied to the tail of a shuttlecock in order to move it from the first position to the second position. Furthermore, the mass may enable the resiliently deformable means to return to its first position.

Preferably, the stiffness of the resiliently deformable means is such that said means remains in said first position when, in use, the engaged engagement means moves a shuttlecock. Advantageously the user of the apparatus can see the position of a shuttlecock in relation to ^' the apparatus when, in use, positioning said apparatus thereover thus, enabling said user to correctly position said apparatus over said shuttlecock to be picked up. This may be by provision of a window in the resiliently deformable means and or the resiliently deformable means may be transparent and or the resiliently deformable means may comprise a mesh. The securing means may be positioned adjacent the locating means and may extend from said locating means. Advantageously, the securing means comprises opposite ended first and second openings, the first opening proximate the locating means and the second opening ultimate from said first opening. The securing means may be comprised of an elongate tube which may be sized so as to hold more than one shuttlecock. Preferably, said shuttlecocks are stacked within said securing means. The first opening of said elongate tube may be the locating means. The apparatus may further include a selectively removable insert proximate to the first opening. Preferably, the insert is annular and comprises radially inwardly protruding teeth extending from the interior wall of said annulus. Alternatively, the annular insert comprises a radially inwardly protruding annular rim disposed around the inner circumference of the said insert.

Advantageously, the teeth are elastically resiliently deformable and may be disposed at an acute angle to the interior wall of the insert such that a first end of each of the teeth is proximate the plane of the first opening and a second end of each of the teeth is ultimate from the plane of the first opening. Preferably, the teeth are sized such that the effective diameter of the annular insert is less than the widest diameter of a shuttlecock. Advantageously, the diameter of the securing means proximate said locating means is suitable for receiving a shuttlecock and forming a close- tolerance fit around the widest diameter of said shuttlecock. The securing means may be tapered such that the diameter of the second opening is greater than that of the first opening. The diameter of the second opening may be such that a close tolerance fit is not formed around the widest diameter of a shuttlecock proximate thereto.

Preferably, the securing means is formed of more than one part. It may be formed of at least two tubes which can be disassembled and stored with each other. Further preferably, the engagement means is selectively removable from the securing means. Advantageously each dissembled part may be nested together for transportation, storage or the like. Optionally, a lip is positioned proximate the second opening to prevent shuttlecocks falling out of the securing means when said means is inverted. The securing means may further include a cap provided at the second opening for closing said opening, for example, when the apparatus is not in use.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of retrieving a landed shuttlecock, comprising the steps of: a) providing an apparatus according to the present invention, b) positioning the apparatus in a first position relative to a shuttlecock such that the engagement means of said apparatus engages with the tail of said landed shuttlecock and the locating means of said apparatus is positioned substantially over said landed shuttlecock,

. c) moving the engagement means from said first position to a second position.

Preferably, the second position is such that the engagement means is engaged with a surface on which the landed shuttlecock rests. The second, relative position may be such that the engagement means is proximate the locating means. Advantageously step c) is performed by moving the apparatus in a continual downward plunging motion. The method may further comprise the step of inverting the apparatus according to the present invention and dispensing said shuttlecock to a use location.

In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described an embodiment thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cut-away side view of an apparatus according to the invention with the apparatus shown in its upright position;

Figure 2 (a) is a cut-away partial side view of an apparatus according Figure 1, showing said apparatus in a first position engaging with a shuttlecock in a first position;

Figure 2 (b) is a cut-away partial side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1 showing the shuttlecock of Figure 2(a) moving to a second position;

Figure 2 (c) is a cut-away partial side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1 showing the shuttlecock of Figure 2(a) and (b) in a second position;

Figure 2 (d) is a cut-away partial side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1 in a second position showing the shuttlecock of Figure 2(a), (b) and (c) in a second position.

Figure 3 is a cut-away side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1 showing multiple shuttlecocks contained therein;

Figure 4 is a cut-away side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1 in a dispense position; Figure 5(a) is a cut-away exploded side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1;

Figure 5(b) is a cut-away side view of an apparatus according to Figure 1 showing an alternative assembly of parts;

Figure 6(a) is a plan view of an insert of an apparatus according to the present invention;

Figure 6(b) is a plan view of an alternative insert according to the present invention;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the insert of Figure 6(a);

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the insert of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the foot of the present invention; and Figure 10 is a partial perspective view of the foot of Figure 9 secured to the securing means of the present invention. Terms such as "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom" and derivatives thereof shall be related to the invention as oriented in Figures 1 to 3 as if the apparatus were stood upright on the floor. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may ^' assume various other orientations, except where expressly specified to the contrary. The term "landed shuttlecock" refers to a shuttlecock that has settled to be lying on a surface, prior to being picked up for use.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, there is shown an apparatus 10 for retrieving, storing and dispensing shuttlecocks 5 comprising a foot 12 and, extending upwards from said foot 12, a tubular securing means 14. Each of these features will now be described in more detail. The foot 12 is dome-shaped and made of a transparent, resiliently deformable and elastic material, for example a mesh or windowed means. An annulus 16 extends exteriorly around the circumference of the domed foot 12 to form a rim or lip at the base of said foot 12. In an alternative embodiment, the annulus 16 extends interiorly around the circumference of the domed foot 12, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. In use, and as will be described in detail hereafter, this annulus 16 forms an engagement means 18 for engagement of the tail 6 of a landed shuttlecock 5. The mesh or windowed nature of the dome-shaped foot 12 enables the user to still see the shuttlecock 5 when, in use, the foot 12 is positioned over said shuttlecock 5 and the shuttlecock 5 is engaged with the engagement means 18. The domed foot 12 and annuius 16 of the present invention can be moulded in one piece and the windows in said foot 12 are sized so as to not allow a shuttlecock 5 to pass through. The annulus of the engagement means 18 has a diameter in the range of 100mm to 130mm and may include a surface made from neoprene, or the like, which enables frictional engagement with a plastic-tailed shuttlecock 5. Such a surface is not typically required to frictionally engage with a feather-tailed shuttlecock.

Extending upwards, substantially perpendicular to the engagement means 18 is the securing means 14. The securing means 14 is substantially tubular and slightly tapering in diameter from top to bottom. Said means 14 is comprised of two parts which slot together in a known way to form one continual elongate tube length that can be disassembled, for example, for storage or transport purposes. When assembled, the securing means 14 has a first opening 15 proximate the foot 12 and a second opening 17 ultimate from said foot 12. The diameter of the first opening 15 and of the securing means 14 proximate to the foot 12 is such that a shuttlecock 5 in its upright position (i.e. set upon its widest diameter so as having the form of an upright cone) may be captured inside said tubular securing means 14 by entering said means at the first opening 15 and be secured within the securing means 14 by virtue of the widest point of said shuttlecock 5 frictionally engaging with interior walls of said securing means 14. The tubular securing means 14 is elongate such that multiple shuttlecocks 5 may be stored therein in a stack as shown in Figure 3. The tapering of said securing means 14 enables stacked shuttlecocks 5 proximate the second opening 17 to easily be dispensed by, for example, inverting the apparatus 10, because shuttlecocks 5 proximate said second opening are not frictionally engaged therein. Frictional engagement of the shuttlecocks 5 proximate the foot 12 of the apparatus 10 enable said stack of shuttlecocks 5 to remain in the apparatus 10 when upright, i.e. as oriented in Figure 3. Shuttlecocks 5 are typically of a standard size. The diameter of the first opening 15 is in the range of 53mm to 64mm. It will, though, be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the diameter of the securing tube 14 and tapering extent may be altered to accommodate larger or smaller shuttlecocks 5. The securing means 14 further slots into a circular opening in the top of the domed foot 12. As with the first and second parts of the securing means 14, the securing means 14 and foot 12 are secured together by virtue of a friction tight fit. As mentioned above, the foot 12 and securing means 14 can be separated easily for transport of the apparatus 10.

Referring now to Figures 2(a) to (d), the circumference of the first opening 15 acts as an annular locating means 22 when the apparatus 10 is in use. A user, holding the apparatus 10 upright by the securing means 14 positions said apparatus 10 as shown in Figure 2(a), that being such that the footprint of the foot 12 covers a landed shuttlecock 5. The engagement means 18 is then brought into contact with the tail 6 of said shuttlecock 5 when said foot 12 is lowered down to cover said shuttlecock 5.

As shown in Figures 2(b) and (c), the shuttlecock 5 is rotated, or tipped up, to move from a first, landed, position to a second, upright, position as the apparatus 10 is moved down in a plunging motion over said shuttlecock 5. The locating means 22, vertically spaced apart from the engagement means 18 by a distance of 5mm to 52mm, serves to prevent the rotated, or tipped up, shuttlecock 5 from over-rotating, i.e. moving from the landed position to the upright position and then immediately back to the landed position. This is achieved by the locating means briefly engaging with the shuttlecock, for example proximate the head, or striking end, of the shuttlecock 5 when said shuttlecock 5 is moved into the upright position. The shuttlecock 5 is then captured by the securing means 14 by the user fully plunging the apparatus 10 down over said shuttlecock 5 so as to deform the elastic and resiliently deformable domed foot 12 as shown in Figure 2(d). The domed foot 12 then returns to its original shape with the shuttlecock captured in the securing means 14 when the user lifts the apparatus 10 to remove the plunging force. The resiliently deformable material of the foot 12 is of a stiffness such that the said . foot 12 does not deform when pressed against the shuttlecock tail 6 but only when pressed against the floor on which the landed shuttlecock 5 rests.

As shown in Figure 4, and mentioned above, captured shuttlecocks 5 are dispensed from the apparatus 10 by inverting said apparatus 10 to allow said shuttlecocks 5 to slide out of the second opening 17. A lip 24 extends interiorly at the second opening 17 to prevent shuttlecocks 5 from falling out of the securing means 14 when the apparatus 10 is inverted. The lip 24 extends interiorly such that the diameter of the second opening 17 is less than the diameter of a shuttlecock at its ¾'idest point, the tail 6. The lip 24, therefore, in use, blocks a shuttlecock 5 sufficiently such that when the apparatus 10 is inverted a captured shuttlecock 5 slides down the tube of the securing means 14 until its tail 6 engages the lip 24 and its head protrudes out of the securing means 14 at the second opening 17. The user can then pull said protruding shuttlecock 5 from the securing means 14 for use.

In addition to the lip 24, a cap 26 is provided at the second opening 17. This enables the second opening 17 of the securing means 14 to be closed and sealed when not in use.

In an alternative embodiment, the securing means 14 is not tapered and is of a diameter greater than the widest diameter of a shuttlecock 5. An insert 30, as shown in Figures 6(a), 6(b) and 7 is provided to prevent shuttlecocks 5 captured in said securing means from being dispensed from the first opening 15 and the securing means is of a diameter that allows a standard tubular shuttlecock storage means to be slid between the inner walls of the securing means 14 and around the outside of the shuttlecocks 5 secured therein, thus transferring said shuttlecocks 5 into the storage rube quickly and easily. The insert 30 is an annulus and of a diameter such that it can be inserted in, and form a close tolerance fit within, the annular securing means 14, proximate to the first opening 15. Radially inwardly protruding teeth 31 are disposed on the interior wall of the insert 30 - each having a base 32 proximate and fastened to the insert 30 and a tip 33 ultimate therefrom. The teeth 31 may take many different forms and varying numbers may be provided, for example they may be triangular in form, as shown in Figure 6(a) or may be elongate means as shown in Figure 6(b). The teeth 31 serve to reduce the effective diameter of the first opening 15 of the securing means 14 to less than the widest diameter of a shuttlecock 5. The teeth shown in Figure 6(a) and Figure 6(b) is for use with shuttlecocks 5 that have tails made of plastic (hereafter referred to as plastic shuttlecocks). Figure 8 shows a plain annular insert 30. This insert does not have any inwardly protruding teeth. Alternatively, a radially inwardly protruding annular rim 40 is disposed around the circumference of the plain annular insert 30, proximate an edge. The plain annular insert 30 is for use with shuttlecocks 5 that have tails made of feathers (hereafter referred to as feathered shuttlecocks).

Each of the teeth 31 is disposed at an acute angle to the interior wall of the insert 30 such that the base 32 of each of the teeth 31 is proximate the plane of the first opening 15 and the tip 33 of each of the teeth is ultimate from the plane of the first opening 15. The teeth 31 are made of an elastic, resiliently deformable material such that, in use, when the head of a shuttlecock 5 passes through the first opening 15 and into the securing means 14 the tail of said shuttlecock 5 follows and engages with the teeth 31. The teeth 31 are then elastically deformed by contact with the shuttlecock 5, i.e. they bend towards the interior wall of the annular insert 30. When the shuttlecock 5 has travelled sufficiently far into the securing means 14, i.e. away from the first opening 15, and the shuttlecock 5 is no longer in contact with the teeth 31, said teeth 31 spring back to their original, non-deformed position. The effective diameter of the first opening 15 returns to be less than the widest diameter of the shuttlecock 5, thus, in use, preventing the shuttlecock from dropping back through said first opening 15. The shuttlecock 5 is thus captured in the securing means 14. The insert 30 enables the apparatus 10 to capture shuttlecocks 5 with both a feathered tail and a plastic tail. The feathered tail and plastic tail of a shuttlecock 5 have different friction coefficients when engaged with the interior walls of the securing means 14 of the apparatus 10. The insert 30 removes the reliance on friction to capture a shuttlecock 5 within the securing means 14.

In an alternative embodiment, the first opening 15 of the securing means 14 and thus the locating means 22 do not protrude from the domed foot _. 12 as shown most clearly in Figure 2, rather the opening 15 and locating 22 means are flush with the interior wall of the domed foot 12 so as to not protrude therefrom into the area surrounded by said foot 12. This is shown in Figures 9 and 10. A collar 42 at the top of the domed foot 12 frictionally engages with either the interior wall or exterior wall of the first opening 15 so as to removeably fasten thereto. In this instance, the internal shape of the domed foot 12 acts, in use, to channel the head of a tipped up shuttlecock 5 towards the securing means 14 such that the apparatus 10 may then be plunged so as to collect a shuttlecock 5 and store it in the securing means 14. The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Alternative arrangements will be apparent to a reader skilled in the art. For example, it will be apparent that various dimensions mentioned above could be scaled up or down to accommodate larger or smaller shuttlecocks 5 and the securing means 14 could be replaced or supplemented with suction means.