US2496217A - Harpoon gun - Google Patents

Description

C. M. MEMWENY HARPOON GUN 2 Sheets-Sheet :2

Filed April M51, L5M@ INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to harpoon guns of the type adapted to mechanically propel the harpoon and with the harpoon fixed to a line by which the harpoon may be retrieved together with any game impaled thereby.

One of the objects is to construct such a gun so it is reasonably safe when in firing condition. Another is to provide an arrangement for storing the harpoon line on the gun in such a fashion that it is not easily entangled either during the time the gun is carried prior to firing or when the line is following the harpoon when the latter is in flight. Further objects include the provision of an arrangement permitting the gun to be comfortably cocked even though embodying very strongly elastic harpoon propelling means. Other objects will become apparent from the following disclosure.

The accompanying drawings illustrate specific examples of harpoon guns embodying the principles of the invention in what is at present believed to be their best form and including certain modifications, the various figures being as follows:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the first example of the gun;

Fig. 2 is a top view of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are longitudinal sections taken from the lines 3-3 and 4-4, respectively, in Fig. 2 but on a considerably'larger scale.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged scale showing of the muzzle end of the gun with the harpoon and line removed to clarify the illustration.

Fig. 6 is a simulated perspective illustrating the harpoon propelling means used, as they appear when removed from the gun; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are side views of modifications of the form illustrated by Fig. 3.

The illustrated gun is assembled around a piece of metal pipe having a long straight portion I, providing the guns forearm, a drop section 2, formed by bending the pipe, and another straight, but much shorter, section 3. The sections 2 and 3 provide the guns stock, with the drop section 2 providing the proper drop for making aiming comfortable. The sections l and 3 are shown parallel to each other, and the section 2 bent at an angle of about 25 respecting the straight sections. The section 2 is illustrated as also being a straight section, but it could be made with reverse curves, that is to say S-shaped, if preferred. The pipe used may be either the butt-welded or seamless tube varieties.

A gun barrel is provided in the Aforni of a piece of metal pipe 4 about half as long as the fore arm section l. This pipe 4 is, of course, made as straight as possible, and it is fastened to the forearm section I so that its muzzle is about flush with the front end of the forearm section. The two pieces may be fastened together by banding or by brazing or welding the two together. Brazing or welding naturally provides more permanent joining, but banding has the advantage of permitting easy disassembly should straightening of the parts become necessary due to an accident.

The harpoon 5 may have any kind of attacking end, a .barb naturally being most appropriate since it prevents the harpoon from being withdrawn from impaled game during retrieving of the latter. Thus a barb is illustrated at 6. The back end of the harpoon has a notch 'l such as is conventional in the case of an arrow.

Two arms 8 extend radially from the front end of the forearm I, with the arms spreading symmetrically apart from the center line of the bottom of the forearm. The arms may be metal rods brazed or welded to the forearm. Elastic bands 9 are fastened to each of the arms 8 and extend rearwardly with their back ends joined by a cord l0. The bands may be used either singly or as multiple strands, two strands being illustrated by the drawings. The elastic material may be rubber, either natural or synthetic, and the cord l0 is preferably the synthetic product merchandised under the trade mark Nylon. This type of cord works well when wet and has good wearing properties. The bands 9 should .be made as strongly elastic as is consistent with the force used to manually stretch them, and the cord l0 should be strong enough to carry the maximum stress these bands can exert.

Now it is to be understood that this harpoon gun is not a toy, It is intended for shooting game. This type of weapon is frequently used underwater in the shooting of large fish. Therefore, it is potentially a very dangerous thing if adequate safeguards are not provided. Heretofore guns of 'this type have had the disadvantage that when provided with a safe sear it is very dicult to discharge them. The great force exerted against the sear prevents easy movement by the trigger. This has led to the practice of using a sear arrangement that is not very safe against accidental discharge and, although this may permit easy firing without material aim disturbance, it makes the gun a very hazardous thing to handle, particularly during underwater work.

With the above in mind, the drawings show the harpoon 5 with a transverse hole II formed through it near the notch l'. The sear is in the form of a pin I2 working upwardly through a vertical bushing I3 fixed inside the forearm section I near its junction with the drop section 2. This pin I2 is moved upwardly through the hols Il in the harpoon, when the gun is cocked, and, thus provides an extremely safe arrangement.- But its resistance to release is. rather high due to the great force of' the bands 9 and the large friction areas between the sear and the sides ot the hole II in the harpoon, and also the sides of the hole in the bushing I3.

According to the invention a bent lever having a short arm Ill and a long arm I5 isv provided with a hole it in its fulcrum. A screw il is passed through a hole formed in the junction between the forearm and drop sections lf and' 2 and through the hole Iiz-in the bent lever. This screw extends at anV angle approximately bisect-v ing the angle formed by the leverarms. The hole IE` should be smaller than the head of the screwy Il. but substantially larger than the latters shank', thus permittingY the bent lever to have. a pivoting action loosely about the screw il. The screwr il may bean ordinary machine screw with nuts It. screwed on it on either side of: the pipe forming the drop section 2, with the nuts tightcned to rigidly iixthe screw Il. The lower one of the. nuts i3. shouldbe spaced fromthe heads of;

the screw IEE to leave a space in which the bent lever may work. A suitable pin with appropriate shoulders might bev substitutedv for this screw. The short arm I-i, ofthis lever, projects forward'- ly and' is provided with a longitudinal recess I9v in its end, to provide a fork-like effect. The lower end oi the pin I2f is provided with longitudinally spaced shoulders or heads 2li and the pinis tted in the slot I9' with these heads 2t* on either side of. the short lever arm I4. The longer lever arm I5 then automatically extends, along the drop section 2 and, through the mechanical advantageA it provides, permits smooth and. easy withdrawal ci the scar pin I2 from the hole it, in the harpoon 5, without disturbing the aim. The recess or slot I9, in the short lever arm, permits smooth translation of the. arcuate. lever swing to the linear motion of the Sear pin.

The rear end of the long lever arm i5 is providedwith a helical compression spring 2! workn ing between it and the point where the drop` section 2 joins withV the stock section: 3, this compression spring being retained by a stud or rod Elia extending from that end ofthe drop section 2 and passing through a longitudinally.I elongated hole in the adjacent or rear end ot the long lever arm I5. A pin 2lb is passed throughV a transverse hole in the end of this stud, to retain the lever arm i5 against disengagement from the stud by the spring force. The stud may be passed through holes in the drop section 2' and retained by brazing or welding.

It is to be noted that the arrangement illustratedV is extremely simple. There is nothing to get out of order yet accidental ring is not a great hazard. The dropsection 2V may be grasped by thel hand with thev fingers between it and the long lever arm I5, and when the gun is handled in this fashion accidental ring is practically impossible. At the same time the'V hand can be quickly shifted" to iiringv position with all ngers., excepting the thumb, engaging the longi lever arm l5 near its swinging. end, the. great mechani. cal advantage of the system then permitting a smooth and easy withdrawal of the Sear pin I2 from its harpoon engaging position. The stud 2Ia serves to steady the two-armed lever to prevent any tendency to wobble. Thus it is a guide for the trigger. Should the parts become bent, due to extremely rough handling, disassembly for straightening is very easy. Removal of the screw I1 and 01"' the stud 2 Ia used to position the spring iS, completely frees the bent lever from the guns trigger andi sear'cperator. The short lever arm it may be very easily pulled awayv from its engagement with the sear pin. The stud 2 Ia must pass through an elongated hole in the long lever arr-neto permit the latter to swing.

VCooking oi a powerful gun, of the type being f y described, is normally diiiioult. The natural procedure is, to` put, the gun stock in the groin and to pulldown with both arms on the cord IE so as tofit itin the notch 'I of the harpoon, the latter being positioned since its front is in the barrels breech and its rear.- is retained by the sear pin in thehole tI. According to the. present invention the butt end` of the stock section 3` is tted with a large soft ball 22.v This ball may be provided with a hole in which the endY of' the. pipe, comprising the butt section 3, is pushed, with a strong watereprooi cement, holding the. ball on. The bali may be inthe nature of alarge rubber sponge ball havingF a non-porousA exterior skin. Preferably it is about 3' inches indiameter. The rubber used maybe either natural. or synthetic, YVitli this arrangementthe-f.groinoi the, person cooking the gun is not injured, cooking being a relatively comfortable and safev operation.A At the same time the ball does; not get inthe wayl of the person manipulating the gun.

W hen the gunis red the ener-gy released drives the cord It forward with a very great force, the elastic bands also, of. course,1 iiying forwardly. Thel present invention provides an arrangement for preventing these parts from getting entangled each time the gun is.l fired. Thisis.- done by providingthe breech en d-` of;` the barrel 4 with a downwardly angled end 23 which provides, in cooperation with the forearmv pipe` section I, a. notch.

I Therefore, when the gun is red the cord I!) drives forwardly, while performing. itsY function of propeilingv the harpoon, and when it arrives at the breech it. iinds ar notch into whichit drives so as to be retained thereby'.v The, lengthl of the bands. and. or the cordE should; be proportioned so that the cord: isc drawn snugly into the notch, shown at 23, afterl the.- gun is fired. It follows tha-tthere is never anyl chanceolv thee elastic bands v and the cord il); becoming entangled.

As previously indicatedgthegunbeing described is or the typewhere the harpoon is, kept captive with the gun. This is, done by the harpoonl line 24 which is. fixed'. to. they forward end of the harpoon and to one of the arms 8i which anchor the elastic bands 9a, rThe line may be permanently orl releasably fastened. Ir thislinel becomes entangled, duringv the ringof the arm, the flight of the' harpoon is interfered"with.V The handling of' theline, on a gun. of Ithis type, has always been a problem which has neverbeen:` heretofore completely solved. However, in the. present invention the nozzle end: ofthe gun is provided with a front sight 2'5 in the form of a relatively largen equipped with a ramp 26. It. looks. like. a large ramp sight excepting that the forward end is provided. with a forwardly extending.r projection 2T. at the.top.offthesight..

The rear sight is provided by an upstanding arm 28 adapted toswing l'ongitudmally ofthe gun by being mounted on a pivot pin 29 transversely supported between the opstanding arms 3|) of an inverted U-shaped bracket which is Xed to the top of the gun barrel near its breech end. The bracket may be fastened by brazing or welding, or in any other convenient fashion. The bottom end of the pivot rear sight 28 is releasably engaged by a spring clip 3l, retained in any convenient fashion inside of the bracket end, of the type permit ting release of the bottom end of the rear sight by the application of suicient displacing force. The upper end of the rear sight 28, which may be in the form of a thick wire or a rod, is bent to provide a rear notch 32.

With the above described arrangement of sights, the harpoon line, when the gun is cocked and loaded, is passed back to the rear sight from the lines anchorage on the arm 8, the rear sight being raised, the line being then looped around it and back to the front sight, looped around the front sights front and back to the rear sight, at a slightly higher level, and then looped around the rear sight, it now being in the notch 32, and forwardly to the harpoon. Thus the line is looped back and forth in an orderly fashion and stored in a manner whereby it cannot be easily en tangled. The rear sight is used simply by lining it up with the front sight. If sighting is not needed, due to close range work for example, the front and rear sights may be considered simply as arms or mountings for holding the loops of line.

Preferably the line includes a short strand 33 of elastic material, such as a short piece of relatively thin natural or synthetic rubber, with this strand fixed at spaced points to gather a little loop 3d in the line It. This permits the line to be put under elastic tension while it is looped around the sights and assures snugness of the arrangement.

Now with this arrangement, when the gun is red, the harpoon drives forwardly and puts more stress on the rear sight 28 than the clip 3i can resist, the latter therefore permitting displacement of the lower end of the rear sight and allowing the rear sight to swing forwardly. This releases the stored loops of line at the instant of ring, the harpoon then driving forwardly and taking its line from loops which are almost literally floating in the air or water, depending on where the gun is used. During this action the smooth, forwardly sloping, ramp 26 permits the loops to be pulled over it without any risk of entanglement. Thus the accuracy of the harpoon flight is not interfered with materially. Furthermore, the line does not become entangled during the handling of the gun prior to firing.

Considerable shock results from the cord ill striking into the notch provided by the undercut 23 in the breech end of the guns barrel. This rapidly destroys the cord il) and renders the gun inoperative until the cord is replaced but, in the illustrated gun, this trouble is avoided by fastening a heavy strap of natural or synthetic rubber, or any easily elastic material, around the parts to provide a shock absorber. More specifically, this strap, which is in the form of a flat strip of the material, is shown at 36 as being looped over the top of the barrel so its projects a little beyond the latters breech end, the strap ends extending downwardly and being tightly hound together by a cord serving 32'. Preferably the depending ends of the strap are narrowed so that, with the aid of the serving 31, a forward handle is provided somewhat in the fashion of a light, shoulder-type subemachine gun. The width of the strap should be sufficient to provide a iirm engagement with the forearm and barrel, it wrapping around them both, and to also project rearwardly a little bit beyond the breech end of the barrel t. Now, when the gun is fired, the cord i6 must first engage the elastic strap side and elastically deforln it, prior to driving into the notch provided by the barrels undercut 23. The elastic deformation gently dissipates a considerable portion of the driving force of the cord, and thus greatly prolongs its service life. Furthermore, it takes up some of the shock transmitted to the gun proper, thus removing some of the jerk incidental to the ring of this type of gun.

In the modification shown by Fig. 'l the rear sight 28a is mounted somewhat differently, :as by being pinned by a transverse pin projecting from the outside of the barrel, and its lower end is retained against swinging by a friction clip Sla. That is to say, its lower end is very strongly, frictionally engaged by a clip, preferably urged against the swinging lower end, of the sight, by its elasticity. The engagement may be made so strong as to interfere with the flight of the harpoon. This does not cause trouble, however, since the lower end is connected by a string .'58 with the forward end of the short lever arm lll, the string being looped over a small sheave 39 so it may extend downwardly to the lever end. Now, with this system, operation of the long lever arm i5 not only fires the gun but drags the lower en-d of the rear sight 23a from its engagement with the clip 3 la, thus relieving the harpoon line from the task of doing this. Consequently, the line loops are again free so that the harpoon is not materially interfered with.

In Fig. 8 the same arrangement is shown as is shown in Fig. 7, excepting that the string 38 connects with a two-armed lever 40 pivoted to the side of the forearm section I with its upper arm in the path of the cord l0 as: the latter drives forwardly during firing. The string 38 connects with the lower arm of this lever 4D. In this instance the string I0 drives forwardly, engages the upper end of the lever 4l) and swings it to immediately drag the lower end, of the rear sight 28a, from its engagement by the clip 31a. This relieves the trigger arrangement from the extra load of releasing the rear sight.

Since the gun is built around the pipe length providing the parts l, 2 and 3, it is possible to make the gun more or less buoyant by making certain the pipe is watertight throughout its length and by closing its ends. Thus a cork or plug M is shown driven in the forward end of the pipe, the ball 22 closing its rear end. The bushing I3 is made watertight respecting the pipe, so that water cannot enter at this point, and, for the same reason, the screw I8 may be provided with rubber washers l8a for preventing leaking at this point. The pin 2id, or other arrangement, used to position the spring 2| should also be associated with the pipe in a watertight manner, as well as all the other parts. With these precautions the gun may be made so it actually oats. Should the user nd this annoying, in underwater work, it is possible to let a little water into the pipe, by removing and subsequently replacing the cork or plug 40, until the preferred feel is obtained. If actual buoyancy is required it is suggested that aluminum parts be used.

Before closing, it is appropriate to again emphasize that this arm is intended for shooting relatively' large game. Itis especially designed for use. un Ywater in c,onnecticnv with. hunting large. game In thiseld the sun is of particular value1 in that. its. designV reduces the chances for accidents, retains the harpoon line. against entanglement, and has a low drag resistencev as'v it is I novedV about inthe water. The parts are all simple and rugged. Very smooth. ringv is possible because all of the` ngers, excepting the thumb,` may. be Wrapped around theV lower end of they long lever arm t5., comprisingA the; guns trigger.,` with the thumb and heel of the: hand ont the dropr section 2.. Eractically all of the hands power is, available for ring. This, togetherr with. the mechanical advantage provided by the system, results in a very smooth let-01T, At they instantr of discharge the harpoon line is freed. Up to thisl time the rear sight 2S has been available for sighting purposes. Due to the' ease with which the gun may be cocked, extremely powerful propeller bands may be, used, so. the, harpoonl acquires, very highA velocity. A1- 'togetherv the gun makes a Very elcient Weapon fory use in connection with. huntingpurposes generally, and particularly,v inA connection with "Y:

under; water fish andk shooting.

The guns advantages adapt it forv other than huntingpurposes.. Thus, itmay be used-wherever it is necessary to shoot a line` from one place to another. Spears', arrowsy and. similar projectiles may be; fired, by` the gun, if they are adapted for the, purpose,

A gun including the combination oi a barrel having a downwardly. and forwardly slanting breech, a support extending rearwardly from. breech, elastic strane-leon either side oi said bai'- rel` with their iront ends anchored: forwardly of Said. breech and their rear ends joined by a connection, whereby a harpoon.- or similar projectile may` be mechanically red through said barrel by propulsion` received through said con neetiona from said strandsl said, connection driving into` the; notch. formed by said breech and said support. and. retaining itselfY there. after its. @ring action, whereby tov reta-in itself and said strandsy againstentanglement, and with said come binatcn further including a band of deormable elastic material looped' over said barrel near its breech and partly projecting beyond the. latter to function as a shock absorber for said connection, with said support comprising a forearm for said gun and with the depending ends of said band extending below saidr iorearim and serving applied over said depending ends, to pro vide said gun with a fore grip.

2. A gun including the combination of a line storage armv about which a projectile-carried. line looped, a pivot for mounting said arm tothe gun so said arm may swing, a clip for frictionally. holding said arm upwardly, amm/ing, mechanical propo-lient for the projectile red by the gun, an. eieinent in the path of said propellent and a connection between said element4 and said. arm for dragging the latter from said clip when` said eienient is. struck by said propellent, whereby to ieease said erm upon the firing. o said gun.

CRESSON H. KEARNY.

REFERENCES CITED The .following references are of record in the oi this patent:-

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 477,747 Emerson June 28, 1892 1,124,726 Gray Jan. 12,1915 1,133,189 Shannon Mar. 23,v 1915 1,259,463: DeFir Mar. 12, 1918 1,580,854 Piessens Apr. 13, 192,6 1,704,810 Sperry Mar. 12, 1-929 1,797,945v Blackman Mar. 26, 1929 1,726,829 Heinen et al Sept. 3, 1929 1,746,246 Elworthy Feb. 11, 1930 1,971,137 Geraci Aug. 21, 1934 2,267,065 Wilen Dec. 23, 1941 2,305,176 Littman Dec. 15, 1942 2,334,332 Johnson Nov. 15, 1943

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