U.S. patent number 3,655,203 [Application Number 05/085,607] was granted by the patent office on 1972-04-11 for penetrable target screen.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Brunswick Corporation. Invention is credited to Anthony J. Gretzky.
United States Patent |
3,655,203 |
Gretzky |
April 11, 1972 |
PENETRABLE TARGET SCREEN
Abstract
The invention is an improvement in the construction of a
penetrable target screen comprised of an adjacent series of narrow
parallel strips of tape so mounted as to permit target images to be
projected thereon and the passage therebetween of an object
propelled at the target. The improved screen is comprised of a
relatively small number of individually mounted broad tape
sections, which sections are slit providing a multitude of adjacent
narrow parallel strips supported by common end portions between
which a projectile may pass. Stiffening pins are located in
cylindrical pockets at the ends of the broad tape sections. Tension
springs connect the stiffening pins to a supporting frame. The
broad tape sections slightly overlap each other and bear against
strips of low friction material provided on two parallel spaced
apart upright supporting members.
Inventors: |
Gretzky; Anthony J. (Muskegon,
MI) |
Assignee: |
The Brunswick Corporation
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
22192745 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/085,607 |
Filed: |
October 30, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/173; 273/358;
52/712; 359/443 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
63/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
63/00 (20060101); A63b 069/36 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/181,182,183,184,185,102.4,105.1,103,176,105 ;350/117 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Marlo; George J.
Claims
I claim:
1. In a target screen comprising a screen supporting structure, a
multiplicity of parallel juxtaposed narrow elongated strips arrayed
upon said supporting structure, each of said strips being adapted
to be displaced from its neighbor so as to permit a missle to pass
therebetween, and means for attaching said strips to said
supporting structure, an improvement wherein said array is
comprised of a plurality of elongated tape-like sections, each of
said sections having a plurality of slits therein parallel to its
longitudinal axis and extending between common end portions of said
tape sections so as to comprise a multiplicity of said narrow
elongated strips.
2. A penetrable target screen comprising a plurality of elongated
sections of flexible material, and means for arraying a plurality
of said sections so as to form a target surface, each of said
sections having a multiplicity of slits therein parallel to its
longitudinal axis and extending over a substantial portion of the
length thereof between preselected points proximate the distal ends
thereof, so that each of said sections comprises a multiplicity of
parallel narrow strips extending between common end portions.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein said elongated sections include
stiffening means disposed across each end thereof, and means for
accommodating said stiffening means in the respective ends of said
sections, and wherein said means for arraying said sections
includes means for longitudinally stretching said sections,
including means engaging said stiffening means.
4. The device of claim 3 wherein said stiffening means comprises an
elongated anchor pin, and said means for accommodating said
stiffening means in the respective ends of said sections comprises
a cylindrical pocket therein sized to receive said pin and having a
plurality of apertures therein through which said stretching means
engages said anchor pin.
5. The device of claim 4 wherein said stretching means comprises a
plurality of tension springs attached to a supporting frame, and
wherein the number of said plurality of tension springs is very
substantially less than the number of strips in any one of said
slit elongated sections.
6. The device of claim 5 wherein said means for arraying said
elongated sections to form a target further includes two spaced
apart supporting members disposed in parallel and having load
bearing faces falling within a common plane, and strips of low
friction material attached to said load bearing faces, and wherein
said plurality of elongated sections are arrayed in parallel across
said load bearing faces with adjacent edges of adjacent sections
overlapping not more than the width of one narrow strip.
7. A penetrable target comprised of a plurality of adjacent
parallel bands of flexible mildly resilient material arrayed within
a common plane, means supporting said bands within said array
including resilient means removably engaged with the respective
ends of said bands for stretching said bands, each of said bands
being comprised of a multiplicity of narrow parallel strips
disposed immediately adjacent one another and joined by an integral
common portion at each end thereof, whereby the positioning and
stretching of one of said bands results in the positioning and
stretching of a multiplicity of said strips.
Description
BACKGROUND
The invention is in the field of game targets, and more
particularly penetrable target screens made up of a multiplicity of
adjacent strips of reflective material upon which target images may
be projected.
Earlier models of this type of screen are disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,072,410 to L. G. Simjian and U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,524 to W. D.
Cornell et al. In each of the above patents, individual narrow
tape-like strips of material comprise a target screen surface and
are individually mounted by resilient means which retain them in
the target forming position. The Cornell disclosure further teaches
a mechanism for periodically off-setting alternate strips from the
plane of the target screen to free adjacent strips of any tangle
which may have developed during play.
One of the objections common to each of these prior art targets was
that each tape or strip of the target screen was individually
mounted. It was thus necessary to provide a spring and mounting
bracket for each end of each strip, and upon assembly to attach
each end of each strip to the mounting bracket separately. Further,
because they were mounted individually, the strips were more
subject to twisting, and other disorientation which resulted in a
degradation of the appearance and reflective quality of the surface
of the target screen.
It is therefore an objective of the invention to overcome the above
objections by providing a penetrable target screen comprised of a
plurality of relatively broad tape sections, each such section
comprising a multiplicity of adjacent parallel narrow strips in an
integral unit.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide for the
mounting of a multiplicity of adjacent parallel narrow strips
through the mounting of a plurality of relatively broad tape
sections, each comprising a multiplicity of such narrow strips.
It is another objective of the invention to provide an improved
target screen which can be manufactured at a considerable cost
saving.
SUMMARY
The invention is an improvement over screen-type penetrable targets
comprised of a multitude of individually mounted narrow strips of
material. The target of the invention is comprised of a plurality
of tape sections, each of which is longitudinally slit over its
exposed surface providing a multiplicity of narrow strips which
will permit the passage of a projectile therebetween. Means are
provided for mounting the tape sections, which mounting
automatically accomplishes the mounting of the multiplicity of
narrow strips which comprise a target. Resilient mounting means
stretch the tape sections between spaced screen positioning means,
with the edges of said tape sections slightly overlapped. The
mounting means for said tape sections includes stiffening means
disposed across the ends thereof and tensioning means attached to
said stiffening means to urge the ends of said tape sections apart
and into line across the positioning means.
A primary advantage of the invention is the ease with which a
target made up of the tape sections thereof may be assembled. It
has been found that a target made up of the tape sections of the
invention may be assembled in a fraction of the time required for
the assembly of similar targets comprised of individually mounted
marrow strips.
A further advantage of the invention is the reduced number of
resilient tensioning means required to position the tape sections
and their integral strips across the target screen positioning
means.
Additionally, it has been found that the individual strip members
of each tape section of the invention maintain their alignment
significantly better than the individually mounted strips of the
prior art.
Other objectives, advantages and various further features of
novelty and invention will be pointed out or will occur to those
skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of the target of the
invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of an unassembled end of a tape section of
the invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an assembled end of a tape section of the
invention.
FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view of a partially completed end fold
of a tape section of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an anchor pin of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a fragmented view of a portion of the tape section
anchoring means of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a top view of a portion of the tape anchoring means of
the invention taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 illustrates an erected target of the invention. The target
is comprised basically of a target face 1 made up of a series of
relatively broad tape sections 2, each of which includes a
multiplicity of adjacent parallel narrow strips 3 formed as
hereinafter described. These broad tape sections 2 overlap a
fraction of an inch so as to form a solid screen against which a
picture may be projected, such as the golf course fairway and green
illustrated in FIG. 1. The tape sections 2 are stretched between
two vertical screen positioning posts 5 and 6, which posts are
protected from projectiles aimed at the target by angled shields 7
and 8 placed on either side of the target 1.
The target 1 illustrated is designed to be penetrable by golf
balls. Each tape section 2 measures approximately 9 inches by 15
feet and is preferably made of a spun bonded olyfin having a smooth
reflective surface and a thickness of approximately 0.01 inch.
Each tape section 2 is slit longitudinally approximately every
0.225 inches forming slits running between a pair of vertical
reference lines positioned approximately 16 inches inwardly from
the respective ends thereof. This results in each tape section 2
comprising about 35 narrow strips 3. The tape sections 2 may, of
course, be made of other durable materials having qualities suited
to a particular type target.
FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of an end portion 9 of a tape
section 2 prior to being folded and sewn to the finished form as
illustrated in FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 illustrates a completely assembled end of a tape section 2
in which the end portion 12 is double folded, as illustrated in
FIG. 3a, and stitched along two lines 13 and 14 parallel to and
across the fold. The double folds provide an opening 15
therebetween into which an anchor pin 16 (FIG. 4) is fitted. The
anchor pin 16 serves to distribute the force of the retaining
springs 23 evenly over the unslit portion of the tape section,
avoiding wrinkles therein and tension variation between the narrow
strips extending therefrom.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 3a, a series of slots 17 are cut in
each end of tape sections 2. These slots are arranged in two
adjacent verticle rows of three each, so that when the end portion
9 is folded as indicated in FIG. 3a, the slots 17 will extend
around and to each side of the end fold 12. The purpose of the
slots 17 is to permit the hooked end 23a of a tape tensioning
spring 23 to pass therethrough and engage the anchor pin 16,
disposed within the opening 15, as illustrated in FIG. 6. As
illustrated in FIG. 4, three annular notches 18 are turned into the
anchor pin 16, which notches serve to retain the hooked ends 23a of
the tensioning springs 23 in position around the anchoring pin
16.
FIG. 5 illustrates an assembly for mounting the tape sections 2
across and between two positioning posts 5 and 6 to make up a
target face. Only a portion of one side of the target is shown for
clarity, the remainder of the mountings being the same. A mounting
bar 20 is secured to an upright stanchion 21 positioned outside and
slightly behind the front face of post 5. A flange 22 extends from
the mounting bar 20 inwardly toward the target 1, along a line
tangent to the front face of positioning post 5. Three tension
springs 23 serve to attach an end of a tape section 2 to a mounting
bar 20, replacing the 35 or so springs required to mount an
equivalent number of strips of the prior art. These tension springs
23 are provided with hooks 23a and 23b at the respective ends
thereof. One hook 23a extends through a slot 17 and engages the
anchor pin 16, and the other hook 23b engages the flange 22 through
a hole 24 lying opposite the slot 17. A strip of friction reducing
material 25 such as teflon tape is placed on the posts 5 and 6 to
permit the tape sections 2 to assume a smooth contour
thereover.
A series of spring retaining holes 24 are positioned on the
mounting bar flange 22 so as to cause adjacent tape sections 2 and
2a to overlap approximately one-fourth of an inch. To make this
overlap possible, the corner 18 of each end portion 12 of the
sections 2 are beveled, and the length of the anchor pins 16
limited, so as to prevent any interference between the end portions
12 when the sections 2 are overlapped. This overlap eliminates any
open space between the adjacent tape sections 2 which would be
visibly offensive. All of the end portions of tape sections 2
utilized to make up a target screen are attached to the mounting
frame in precisely the same manner as above described, so that the
target face in between the verticle positioning posts 5 and 6 is a
smooth planar surface. The sections 2 are mounted and the posts 5
and 6 so spaced that the slits 4 fall in between the posts, so that
the portions of tape sections 2 in contact with posts 5 and 6 are
unslit.
As each tape section includes approximately 35 narrow strips, the
time saved in mounting the tape sections 2, as opposed to mounting
each of the 35 narrow strips individually as in the prior art, can
readily be appreciated. The face of the target 1 is also improved
by the invention as it distributes the tension of three springs 23
over the reinforced common end portion 12 of each tape. This
results in a more uniform tensioning of the individual narrow
strips, and consequently produces a more uniform appearance. The
end result is a target which retains its shape over a longer period
of time and serves as a superior reflective surface.
While the principles of the invention have been described in
connection with the above specific apparatus, it is to be clearly
understood that this description is made only by way of example and
not as a limitation to the scope of the invention.
* * * * *