GB2055282A - Device for capturing animals - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for projecting a sheet- like member e.g. a net packaged in a bulk condition to a remote location in a substantially spread condition has at least two barrels 15, 16 and a projectile is housed in each barrel with each projectile being tethered to the sheet-like member. Means are provided to simultaneously discharge the projectiles from the barrels. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for capturing animals This invention reiates to a device for use in projecting a sheet like member packaged in a furled or bulked condition to a location remote from the device in a manner that during transmission the member will wholly or partly unfurl.

The device is of particular use for instance in assisting in the capturing of animals by projecting a net which can ensure the animal.

A further instance of use is in projecting a cover from the device to a remote location, such cover being in the form of a sheet of material which may or may not be foraminate.

A still further instance of use would be in projecting a rope ladder or a rope net onto a wall or other structure.

Accordingly the invention may broadly be said to comprise a device for projecting a sheet like member packaged in a bulked condition to a remote location in a substantially spread condition, comprising at least two barrels each of which is adapted to house a projectile tethered to said member and also comprising means to propel the projectiles from the said barrels.

A preferred form of the invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of the device; Figure 2 is a view of the device from the direction of the arrow A of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a view of the device from the direction of the arrow B of Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a view of the device including the packaged sheet like member which has been housed within a container associated with the device; Figure 5 is a view, partly cut away, of the projecting device, and Figure 6 is an exploded partly sectioned plan view of an ejector mechanism.

Referring to Figs. 1 through 4 of the drawings, a container 10 has sides 1 0a and upper and lower plates lOb and 1 Oc, a rear wall 10dank lips 11. The container can be shaped as indicated, or be of any other suitable shape so as to accept a sheet like packaged member 1 2 (see Fig. 4) while the lips 11 will ensure a smooth exit of the member 1 2 from the container 10 during use. The packaged member 1 2 can be for instance a net, a sheet of single layer or multilayer material which may have a continuous or foraminate surface, or it can be a rope ladder or a rope net or the like.

The member 1 2 will be of a composition that it can be packaged, that is it can be folded, furled or otherwise formed into a compact bundle and be housed in the container in a manner that it can readily unfurl after or during projection of the member from the device.

The container 10 is made so as to be readily detachable from the remainder of the device and one preferred form of doing this is by providing hooks 1 3 which project upwardly from the top lOb and which are positioned directly underneath barrels 1 5 so that the container 10 can be supported on the barrels 15. A member 17 (see Fig. 1) deta- chedly secures the rear of the container 10 to a chamber 18 so that when in position, the container 10 will be securely attached to the barrels but the container can be readily detached therefrom for reloading of the member 1 2 or else for replacement of a prepackaged member and/or container 10.

The projecting device includes a first pair of barrels 1 5 and a second pair of barrels 1 6.

The first pair of barrels project outwardly from the chamber 1 8 at a diverging angle to each other but in the same plane with the second pair of barrels 1 6 diverging also outwardly but further diverging at an angle to the plane of the first pair of barrels as indicated more particularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The bore 15a of each barrel 1 5 is of greater diameter than the bore 1 6a of each of the second pair of barrels 16.

Projectiles 20 are housed within the bores 15a and 16a of the barrels 15 and 16, these projectiles being in the form of pistons having seals 20a adjacent either end thereof. One preferred form of seal consists in forming a peripheral groove adjacent either end of the projectile 20 into which an O-ring or the like is fitted so as to ensure a gas-tight seal between the projectiles and the respective bores of the barrels and also to provide an element of friction to assist in retaining the projectiles within the barrels prior to use. Each projectile is attached by means of a tether 21 to the member 1 2 (see Figs. 4 and 5).

The projecting device also includes an ejector mechanism, one form of which is shown in Fig. 6. In the figure the chamber 18 has a circular body with the chamber being suitably closed at its top and bottom for instance by plates 18a. A breech block 25 is securely attached to the wall of the chamber 1 8 so that the bore 25a of the breech block will communicate with the interior of the chamber 18. The bores 15a and 16a of the barrels 15 and 1 6 also communicate with the interior of the chamber 1 8 and the barrels 1 5 and 1 6 are suitably secured to the wall of the chamber 1 8. The breech block 25 has an internal screw thread 26 adjacent its outer end which can engage with the male threaded end 27 of a firing mechanism 28.The breech 25a of the breech block terminates in a shoulder 25b so that a cartridge 28 can be placed within the breech 25a and be correctly held therein. A solenoid indicated at 34 is associated with the firing mechanism 28 and has a firing pin 36 suitably guided within the firing mechanism 28. The firing pin 36 and the solenoid 34 are so arranged that when the parts have been correctly assembled and the solenoid actu ated, the end of the firing pin 36 will strike the primer cap of the cartridge 28 to detonate same. The solenoid 34 is suitably connected by electrical wiring to a remote firing switch (not shown in the drawings).

The ejector mechanism illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings is only one form of means which can be utilized with the device shown in Figs. 1 through 6 and hereinbefore described. In order for the device to operate it is necessary that gas under pressure enter the chamber 1 8 so that the pressure within the chamber will be communicated to the bores 15a and 1 6a respectively of the barrels 1 5 and 1 6 so as to eject the projectiles from the bores.The simplest manner of doing this has been found to detonate an explosive charge either directly within the chamber 1 8 or in an auxiliary chamber which communicates with the chamber 1 8. Such an explosive charge can be obtained in various ways and the invention is in no way limited to the particular form shown in Fig. 6.

The device will have suitable mounting means (not shown in the drawings) by which it can be temporarily of permanently attached to a transport vehicle which may for instance be a ground vehicle or an air vehicle such as for instance a helicopter. The particular dimensions of the apparatus will thus be dependent upon the type of usage for which the device is destined. For instance in one form the device can also be utilized as a hand held device and in such circumstances a suitable mounting frame will normally be utilized.

When the explosive device is actuated the compressed gas will enter the bores of the barrels 1 5 and 1 6 from the chamber 18 and the gas pressure will force the projectiles out from the bores of the barrels. The muzzle velocity of the projectiles will be adjusted by an appropriate adjustment of the charge within the cartridge. The projectiles which are discharged from the barrels 1 5 will have a much greater velocity than the projectiles which are discharged frorn the barrels 1 6 because of the comparatively larger diameter of the former projectiles.The larger projectiles will also preferably be of a greater weight so as to have greater inertia and thus the projectiles which are discharged from the barrels 1 5 will tend to fly further and faster than the projectiles which are discharged from the barrels 1 6. The projectiles are tethered to the member 12 by the tethers 21 and the junction of the tethers with the member 1 2 is so arranged that the projectiles will not only carry the member 1 2 forwardly the required distance, but will also unfurl and so spread the member 1 2 during flight.The function of the projectiles is thus twofold, firstly the projectiles will carry the member 1 2 to the remote location and secondly will unfurl the member during flight by reason of the diverg ing projectories from the respective barrels 1 5 and 1 6 and by reason of the difference in the weight and velocity of the projectiles. Thus the projectiles that have been discharged from the pair of barrels 1 5 ensure that the leading part of the member 1 2 travels outwardly for a distance which is greater than the trailing part. In addition, the diverging nature of the line of discharge from the barrels will ensure that the member 1 2 is spread to the greatest degree possible.Preferably the device is so aimed that the trajectory of the projectiles from the barrels 1 5 will be upwardly in relation to the horizontal so as to ensure the correct pattern of spread of the projectiles.

In a modification to the invention, instead of pressurizing the chamber 1 8 with an explosive charge, th projectiles can be given the necessary impetus by other means. For instance each barrel could incorporate a coil spring so arranged that the springs can be tripped either simultaneously or in sequence by a suitable tripping device.

The described embodiment ensures that the member 12, when projected, moves forwardly rather than being merely dropped downwardly. If, however, a dropping action is desired the barrels and projectiles would all be substantially the same with the four barrels substantially in the same plane. In such an arrangement a different form of container 10 would be required so that the member 1 2 could spread outwardly. For example the floor of the container could drop or slide away to permit the member 1 2 to fall therefrom.

The open end of the container 10 can have retention means (not shown in the drawings) across the opening to keep member 1 2 within the container. These retention means would automatically release when the member 1 2 is ejected and in the simplest form these can be thin strips of material adhered to the front of the container. The adhesion is such that the strips will be ripped from the container by the member 1 2 as it is discharged from the container 10.

While the preferred number of barrels is four, nevertheless more or less barrels can be utilized as required. For instance the device can include two barrels 1 5 and one barrel 1 6 and in such a case the barrel 1 6 will preferably project downwardly when the device is in use and will be positioned below but between the two barrels 1 5. Th projectiles discharged from the barrels 1 5 will carry the member 1 2 to the remote location while the projectile discharged from the barrel 1 6 will act mainly as a retardant to assist the unfurling of the member 12.

Claims (11)

1. A device for projecting a sheet like member packaged in a bulked condition to a remote location in a substantially spread con dition, comprising at least two barrels each of which is adapted to house a projectile tethered to said member and also comprising means to propel the projectiles from the said barrels.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said barrels extend from a support at a diverging angle but in substantially the same plane to each other.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, including three barrels wherein two of said barrels form a pair each of which extends from a support at a diverging angle to each other and in a substantially same plane to each other and wherein the third barrel extends from said support at a diverging plane to the said pair of barrels.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 including two pairs of barrels, wherein the first pair of barrels extend from a support at a diverging angle to each other and in a substantially same plane to each other and the second pair of barrels also extends from the said support ai a diverging angle to each other and in a substantially same plane to each other and wherein the second pair of barrels also extends from the said support at a diverging plane to the first said pair of barrels.

5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bore of each barrel of the said second pair of barrels is of lesser diameter than the bore of each barrel of the said first pair of barrels.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each barrel is supported at one end from a common chamber and wherein the bore of each barrel is in communication with the interior of the said chamber.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6, including means to generate an explosive charge within said chamber.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said sheet like member is packaged in a bulked condition within a container associated with the device.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the said container is removably detachable from the device.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein hooks extend from the said container and are adapted to be engaged over said barrels to enable the container to be supported by the said barrels.

11. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the means to generate an explosive charge comprises a breech block having a breech in communication with the interior of the chamber, and means adapted to detonate a cartridge placed within said breech block.

1 2. A device for projecting a sheet like member packaged in a bulked condition to a remote location in a substantially spread condition as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.