US3203698A

US3203698A - Archery target with arrow stop means

Info

Publication number: US3203698A
Application number: US194581A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles A Saunders
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-05-14
Filing date: 1962-05-14
Publication date: 1965-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 1982-08-31

Description

Aug. 31, 1965 c. A. SAUNDERS ARCHERY TARGET WITH ARROW STOP MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 14, 1962 INVENTOR ClzarlesA. Saunders 1965 c. A. SAUNDERS 3,203,698

ARCHERY TARGET WITH ARROW STOP MEANS Filed May 14, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 35 3641 l "Milli; W 5 JHHlNlllv "Hlllmv W 4 F G 7 INVENTOR.

Charles Al Sauna/e r5 United States Patent 3,203,698 ARCHERY TARGET WITH ARROW STOI MEANS Charles A. Saunders, 313 Morton Road, Columbus, Nebr. Filed May 14, 1962, Ser. No. 194,581 Claims. (Cl. 273102.4)

This invention relates to archery targets and more specifically to a two-stage arrow slowing and arrow stopping target.

Heretofore, the only archery targets found in general use have been conventional straw filled units which are subject to rapid deterioration from the constant ingress and egress of arrow projectiles. Moreover, these targets possess the inherent danger of failing to adequately stop an impinging arrow whereby the arrow may be damaged or destroyed after passage through the target or, of even graver consequence, may damage or destroy property or persons behind the target.

This invention obviates the aforementioned difliculties by the provision of an entirely novel concept in the archery target art, namely, a two-stage target which first slows the arrow and then finally stops it with a characteristic bounce-out or partial reversal of flight of the arrow, whereby removal of the arrow from the target is expedited and damage to the target is minimized. Basically, the invention comprises a first target matt portion comprising an end grain straw-type arrow slow down means backed up by a second resilient arrow stop means, whereby the flight of an arrow projectile passing through the target matt is in sequential order slowed down, stopped, and then partially reversed.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to introduce a new concept in archery targetry which prevents deleterious wear and tear to the straw part of the target, which prevents damage to and destruction of persons and property positioned behind the target, which prevents damage to and destruction of the arrows themselves, and which facilitates the removal of arrows from the target.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the subject invention will hereinafter appear, and, for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the appended drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of four stacked arrow targets constructed in accordance with the teachings of the subject invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side sectional view of one of the arrow targets shown in FIGURE 1, showing, in phantom, an arrow about to impinge on one of the resilient back stops of the improved target;

FIGURE 3 is a top sectional view showing, in phantom, an arrow having impinged and resiliently deformed one of the resilient backstops of the improved target;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the floating resilient backstop taken from the rear of the target;

FIGURE 5 is a similar perspective view taken from the front of the target;

FIGURE 6 is a side sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of an untensioned resilient backstop shield, partially broken away to show details of construction.

With reference to the drawings, the stacked target assembly 1 is shown in FIGURE 1. The assembly 1 comprises a plurality of four

stacked target units

2, 2a, 2b, and 20, each constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention. One such unit 2 will be described in order to explain the operation of the subject invention.

In the described embodiment, the target unit 2 comprises an opened front box housing 4, which may con- "ice veniently be formed of a corrugated cardboard. A target rnatt frame 10 comprising the upright

vertical members

10a and 10b on either vertical interior of the housing 4 and the horizontal frame members 16c and 19d at th top and the bottom interiors of the housing 4 respectively are positioned at the front of the target unit 2. The target matt frame 10 may conveniently be formed of wood. Preferably, the housing 4 is provided with horizontal overlapped portions 6 at the top and 8 at the bottom and with vertical overlapped portions 7 and 9 at either side to enhance the rigidity of the composite target unit 2. When the unit is constructed of a corrugated cardboard housing 4 and a wood frame 10, as preferred, maintenance of the relative components in their respective positions may be facilitated by a conventional stapling operation.

A target matt 12 is mounted within the frame 10. The target matt 12 comprises an end grain straw assembly 14 covered on its target line face with a conventional burlap bulls eye pattern 16. By an end grain target matt is meant that each individual straw element of the target (such as a straw element 15, see FIGURES 2 and 3) has its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the target face 16, that is, parallel to the flight of 21 directly impinging arrow projectile, such as the

arrow

17 or 17a shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3 respectively. The end grain target matt 12 serves to slow down an impinging arrow which passes partially therethrough, as opposed to a complete stopping operation as in a conventional straw type target wherein the longitudinal axis of the impinging arrow is generally perpendicular to, rather than parallel with, the axis of the individual straw elements which it contends.

Arrow stop means

frames

18 and 18a are positioned within the housing 2 behind the target matt 14. The rear stop means frame 18a is positioned adjacent the rear of the housing 4 and the front stop means frame 18 is positioned between the target matt frame 10 and the rear arrow stop frame 18a. Each of the

arrow stop frames

18 and 18a comprise upright vertical members 19,

19a and 21, 21a and horizontal members 2%, 20a and 22, 22a which, correspondingly to target matt frame It), may conveniently be formed of wood. Support means, such as the dowel rod 24 shown in FIGURE 2, are provided in conjunction with the

arrow stop frames

18 and 18a to floatingly support the arrow stop means to be subsequently described. Also, the rear stop means frame 18a may be provided with cross-braces thereacross (not shown) in order to enhance the rigidity of the composite target unit 2.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the arrow stop means comprise a series of partially overlapping staggered

shields

26, 26a, 26b, and 260. The details of construction of each of the arrow stop shields may be appreciated by reference to the enlarged showing of arrow stop shield 26 in FIGURES 4 through 7.

The arrow stop shield 26 comprises a rectangular plate provided with two spaced

apertures

28 and 28a adjacent its upper end. Cables or

cords

30, 30a are passed through the

apertures

28, 28a respectively and are secured thereto, as by the

knots

32, 32a. These cables are then fixed at the opposite ends to dowel rods adjacent the uppermost portion of the target unit 2, as for instance the dowel rod 24 shown in FIGURE 2. Again, the

cables

30, 30a may be secured to the dowel rods, as by the knot 34 shown in FIGURE 2.

Preferably, shield 26 is formed of a resilient rubber and is provided with

eyelets

36 and 36a at either of its opposite sides. A cord 38 is secured to the

eyelets

36 and 36a so as to bow the shield 26 under tension convexingly outwardly toward the target line. Preferably, the

cables

30 and 30a and the cord 38 are each formed of resilient rubber stock so as to enhance the resilient J1 functioning of the apparatus, to be hereinafter described.

The convex front surface of the shield 26 is provided with a smooth central portion 40, and with vertically

corrugated end portions

42 and 42a on either side thereof.

Abutment lips

44 and 46, adjacent the bottom and the top of the shield 26 respectively, are provided to define horizontal corrugations or ridges.

In preferred use, a series of shield members of the type shown in FIGURES 47 is supported within a target unit 2 in a partially overlapping and staggered relation as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. In this manner, a substantially continuous area of arrow stop means is presented to any impinging arrow projectile. Likewise, the free floating cable supports (such as 30 and 30a, for the shield 26) are substantially protected from damage by virtue of an impinging arrow projectile due to the protective presence of an overlapping shield next adjacent thereto.

When an online clean arrow shot approaches the target unit 2, the following sequence of events will be observed:

The arrow will pass perpendicularly through the target matt 12 and will be frictionally slowed down thereby. After passage through the target matt 12, the arrow will strike one of the freely floating depending

shields

26, 26a, 2652 or 260 which, being impermeable to the restricted velocity arrow projectile, will definitely stop the same. This stoppage is effected both by the resilient give of the shield itself and also by the free floating absorbtion of momentum as the shield is deflected rearwardly by virtue of the impact. The resilient give is schematically illustrated for shield 26 in FIGURE 3 by virtue of the impingement of arrow projectile 17a. When the tensioned shield reflexes to its initial concave position and returns to its gravity-induced free-floating station, a reversal of the arrow flight is evidenced. In effect, the arrow is caused to bounce-out partially back through the target matt 14. This bounce-out feature results in an enhanced ability to retrieve the arrow from its lodgement in the target matt 14 without damage to either the arrow or to the matt itself. Obviously, provision of the

cables

30 and 30a and the cord 38 as resilient rubber stock will facilitate the described arrow stoppage and reversal sequence with a minimum of deleterious wear to the target components themselves.

The

vertical corrugations

42 and 42a and the

horizontal retaining lips

44 and 46 are provided to prevent impact slippage of off-line or edge shots which do not pass cleanly through the target matt 14. The exact proportion of the surface area of a shield divided into the smooth reflexing portion and the corrugated reflexing portion will, of course, depend upon many variables. However, in the preferred embodiment of the invention an approximately one-third central portion with onethird corrugated portions on either side along with the

horizontal retaining lips

44 and 46 has been found to give the most satisfactory results.

While the invention has been described with reference to a square housed target and with reference to a plurality of arrow stop means shields, it should be understood that other constructions are contemplated within the confines of the invention. Thus, a circular target housing having one or more rectangular shields as described or having circular free floating shields may be provided in suitable occasions. Various other changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction, arragnements, operations, and materials for the various elements without departing from the spirit and the scope of the instant invention, especially as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved archery target for receiving directed arrow projectiles comprising:

a housing;

an arrow-permeable target matt supported in the front of the housing;

resilient arrow stop means comprising a bowed, resilient, vertically supported shield presenting a convex face to said target matt; and

shield support means supporting said resilient arrow stop means rearwardly of said target matt and horizontally aligned with said matt;

whereby the flight of an arrow projectile passing through the target matt is slowed down and is interrupted by said stop means.

2. The archery target of claim 1 wherein said target matt comprises an end grain straw wall structure consisting essentially of a plurality of stacked elongated straw elements disposed with aligned longitudinal axes paralleling the direction of flight of an arrow directed toward and directly impinging said target matt.

3. The archery target of claim 1 wherein said resilient arrow stop means comprises a series of partially overlapped and staggered shields.

4. The archery target of claim 1 wherein said means supporting said arrow stop means comprises flexible couplings each fixed at one of its ends to said housing and at the other of its ends to said resilient shield.

5. The archery target of claim 1 wherein said convex face of said shield comprises a smooth central portion, opposed lateral portions having vertical corrugations, and inclined ridges extending peripherally about said face.

6. The archery target of claim 1 wherein said means supporting said arrow stop means comprises cords connected between said housing and said shield.

7. The archery target of claim 1 wherein said shield comprises an elastomeric member.

8. In an archery device the combination with a straw filled type target matt for receiving directed arrow projectiles, of an arrow-impermeable stop means comprising a series of partially overlapped and staggered bowed resilient shields having their convex sides presented towards said matt rearwardly and horizontally aligned with said matt and means tensioning said shields to bias the same into said bowed position.

9. An improved archery target for receiving directed arrow projectiles comprising:

a housing;

an arrow-permeable target matt supported in the front of the housing;

said target matt comprising an end grain straw wall structure consisting essentially of a plurality of stacked elongated straw elements disposed with aligned longitudinal axes paralleling the direction of flight of an arrow directed toward and directly impinging said target matt;

resilient arrow stop means comprising a bowed, re-

silient, vertically supported shield presenting a convex face to said target matt;

said resilient arrow stop means comprising a series of partially overlapped and staggered shields;

said convex face of said shield comprises a smooth central portion, opposed lateral portions having vertical corrugations, and inclined ridges extending peripherally about said face; and

10. In an archery target for receiving directed arrow projectiles and including a housing and an arrow permeable target matt supported in said housing, the improvement which comprises:

arrow impermeable stop means;

means supporting said arrow stop means rearwardly of said target matt and horizontally aligned with said matt;

said arrow impermeable stop means being resiliently 5 tensioned and bowed to present a generally convex 2,123,195 face to arrows directed toward said target matt; 2,482,234 whereby an arrow projectiie passing through said target 2,768,919 matt is slowed and arrow flight interrupted. 3,100,115

References Cited by the Examiner 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 225,734 3/80 Tangernan 273-1024 X 6 7/38 Middleton 273-182 X 9/49 Barker 273-102 10/56 Bjorksten et a1. 2-2.5 X 8/63 Brenernan 273-1024 FOREIGN PATENTS 2/39 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKI-IAM, Primary Examiner. 8/81 Millet et a1. 2-2.5 10 JOHN M. HORAN, Examiner.

Claims

8. IN AN ARCHERY DEVICE THE COMBINATION WITH A STRAW FILLED TYPE TARGET MATT FOR RECEIVING DIRECTED ARROW PROJECTICLES, OF AN ARROW-IMPERMEABLE STOP MEANS COMPRISING A SERIES OF PARTIALLY OVERLAPPED AND STAGGERED BOWED RESILIENT SHIELDS HAVING THEIR CONVEX SIDES PRESENTED TOWARDS SAID MATT REARWARDLY AND HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED WITH SAID MATT AND MEANS TENSIONING SAID SHIELDS TO BIAS TO SAME INTO SAID BOWED POSITION.