US3601112A

US3601112A - Target trap having an overcenter cocking lever

Info

Publication number: US3601112A
Application number: US882676A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vernon F Dale
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: OUTERS LABORATORIES; Oregon Tool Inc
Priority date: 1969-12-05
Filing date: 1969-12-05
Publication date: 1971-08-24
Anticipated expiration: 1988-08-24
Also published as: CA920459A

Abstract

A target trap having a trigger operated throwing arm and an overcenter cocking lever for cocking the spring that swings the throwing arm. The arrangement is such that the throwing arm can be swung to its operative position and then loaded before the spring is cocked, thus preventing accidental tripping of the throwing arm during its loading operation.

Description

PATENTEU AUB24 I97! SHEET 2 [1F 2 Mil [AIME TARGET TRAP HAVING AN OVERCENTER COCKING LEVER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Target traps of the type to which the present invention pertains are well known and are used to throw frangible objects such as clay pigeons into the air for target practice.

Prior art target traps of this general type are well known and the present invention is an improvement over the device shown in the US. Pat. No. 3,368,542, issued Feb. I3, 1968 to V. F. Dale and entitled Target Trap with Friction-Reducing Target Holder. The trap shown in that patent worked entirely satisfactory, but in that device it was necessary to fully cock the throwing arm before the arm was loaded with the clay pigeon. Consequently, it was possible to inadvertently trip the throwing arm and thereby release it during the loading of the pigeons on the arm.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides an improved target trap having a throwing arm that can be set to its operative position and then loaded with the clay pigeons, after which the actuating spring for the throwing arm can be cocked by an overcenter lever means with complete safety to the operator. The overcenter lever means provides easy and quick cocking which are important factors when it is considered that the trap must be repeatedly, frequently and quickly loaded and discharged.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the trap in the position when the throwing arm is in operative position but the trap is not yet cocked;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the FIG. 1 device showing the overcenter linkage;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the trap in a fully cocked position;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The trap provided by the present invention includes a stand S having legs 1 which can be firmly anchored in the ground by any suitable means (not shown). Secured to the top plate 2 of the stand by means of bolts 3 aretwo vertically extending, spaced apart and parallel sheet metal frame members 4 and 5. These frame members have a pair of aligned slots 6 extending therethrough and a large bolt means 8 also extends through these plates adjacent the upper front comer thereof.

An elevation arm 10 is pivotally mounted on the bolt 8 intermediate the length of the arm and another bolt means 12 extends through the arm rearwardly of the bolt 8 and also extends through the arcuate slot 6. Large thumb nut or adjustment knob 14 is threadably engaged on the end of the bolt 12 and can be tightened so as to secure the elevation arm 10 in any angle of inclination to thereby vary the angle at which the clay pigeon is launched.

The tubular pivot shaft housing 16 is rigidly secured as by welding to the forward end of the elevation arm and a pivot shaft 18 extends through the housing 16 and is held in place by the nut 19 threaded on the lower end of the shaft. The upper end of the pivot shaft 18 is rigidly secured to the forward end of the throwing arm 20 to thereby permit the throwing arm to swing about the shaft 18 as will appear. The throwing arm 20 is conventional in nature as is the flight control clamp bar 22 which is fixed thereto. If a more complete description of the throwing arm or the flight control clamp bar is deemed to be either necessary or desirable, reference may be made to the said US. Pat. No. 3,368,542.

Extending downwardly from and rigidly attached to the underside of the forward end of the throwing arm is a swivel yoke shaft 30 on which is swingably mounted a swivel yoke 32. The swivel yoke 32 has a rear end portion having an aperture 33 in which one end of a large tension spring 34 is connected. The lower end of the yoke shaft 30 has a cotter key 31 fixed therein for holding the swivel yoke 32 captive on the shaft 30. A coil spring 38 is wrapped around the housing 16 and is anchored at one end 35 to the forward end of the elevation arm. The other end of the spring is hooked and extends around the swivel yoke shaft 30 and the purpose of the spring 38 is to bias the throwing arm towards the cocked position after the pigeon has been discharged.

Means are provided for pulling the other end of the spring 34 rearwardly to a cocked position and this means includes a reset cocking handle 50 which when swung rearwardly acts to extend the spring 34 thereby cocking the device as follows.

A pair of camshaft bearings 52 are rigidly secured to the elevation arm, one in each of openings 53 formed in the rearward portion of the elevation arm. A cocking camshaft assembly is oscillatably mounted in the bearings 52 and includes a shaft 54 which extends through the bearings and a pair of spaced-apart parallel arms 55 that are secured to the tubular shaft 54. The lower end of the reset cocking handle 50 is fixed in the outer end of the tubular shaft 54 and is detachably but rigidly secured in position by the setscrew 57 which is threadably engaged in the end of the shaft 54.

The rearward end of the large spring 34 is pivotally connected to the free ends of the pair of arms 55 by means of an arcuate-shaped cocking yoke 60. More specifically, the rear end of the cocking yoke is pivotally attached to the arms 55 by means of a shaft 62 which extends through holes in the forward end of the arms 55 and is held captive therein by cotter pins 64 extending through each end of the shaft 62.

When the lever is in the forward or uncocked position, (FIGURE) it will be noted that the spring is released and the cocking yoke is forward of the cocking camshaft assembly. When the handle 50 has been swung to the rearward position however, it will be noted that the cocking yoke has been brought'back rearwardly so that it overlies the shaft 54. More specifically, as viewed in FIG. 4, when in the cocked position, the shaft 62 which extends through the rear end of the cocking yoke is located overcenter of the shaft 54 and beneath a line of action which extends through the center of the spring 34, thus providing an overcenter connection for the line of action of the spring relative to the shaft 54. Thus, when the handle has been fully brought to the rearward position, the spring is cocked and held in position by the overcenter action.

Prior to swinging the lever rearward however, the throwing arm has been moved to the operative position shown in FIG. 1 where it is held rigidly in place by a spring loaded plunger that is slideable in an extension 72 carried by the upper end of the elevation arm. The forward end of the plunger holds a latch 75 which is rigidly fixed to the rearward end of the throwing arm and prevents the throwing arm from swinging forwardly until the device has been cocked by the cocking handle 50 and the plunger is then released by pulling the cord 1 76 attached to the plunger in a rearward direction. By pulling the cord in the rearward direction, the plunger is caused to move rearwardly, thus permitting the latch fixed to the throwing arm to clear it and swing outwardly.

RESUME With the present invention, the throwing arm can be swung to the operative position where the plunger holds the arm in locked position prior to the cocking handle 50 being swung rearwardly. At this time the throwing arm is not under any spring tension. When the throwing arm has thus been positioned, the pigeons can be placed on the arm in the desired position and without any danger of the throwing arm being accidentally tripped to the release position by inadvertent entanglement with the cord.

Thus, with the present invention, the operation that governs the resetting of the throwing arm is completely independent of the actual cocking of the trap.

After the pigeons have been placed on the throwing arm, the device is then cocked by simple swinging the handle rearwardly, thus causing the cocking yoke 60 to move rearwardly up and over the shaft 54 to the overcenter position. Due to the overcenter position of the cocking yoke, the spring remains in the cocked position, but tightly pulls on the swivel yoke 32 which is pivotally attached to the forward end of the throwing arm at a location forward the pivot shaft 18 of the throwing arm. It will be noted that the swivel yoke also passes overcenter of the pivot shaft 18, thus providing a moment arm through which the spring 34 can act on the forward end of the throwing arm.

I claim:

l. A target trap having a stand, an elevational arm mounted on the stand intermediate its length, a throwing arm swingably mounted adjacent one end on the forward portion of the elevational arm, latch means to hold said throwing arm releasably fixed in an operative position alongside said elevational arm, and an overcenter reset cocking handle means mounted on said elevational arm and connected to said throwing arm, said reset cocking handle means including an overcenter link, and a spring connected at one end to said throwing arm and connected at its other end to said overcenter link, said cocking handle means adapted to apply a torque to the throwing arm only after the throwing arm has been latched by said latch means.

2. A trap as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said cocking handle means includes a handle swingable about an axis, and said overcenter link has a pivotal connection with said handle means whereby when said handle is swung to a throwing arm cocked position, said pivotal connection is located rearwardly of said axis and the spring,

3. The trap as claimed in claim 2 further characterized in that said link is of arcuate shape and extends over said axis when throwing arm is in the cocked position.

4. A target trap having a stand, an elevational arm mounted on the stand intermediate its length, a throwing arm swingably mounted about a generally vertical pivot axis adjacent one end on the forward portion of the elevational arm, latch means to hold said throwing arm releasably fixed in an operative position alongside said elevational arm, and an overcenter reset cocking handle means mounted on said elevational arm and connected to said throwing arm; said reset cocking handle means including a handle swingably mounted on said elevational arm about a generally horizontal axis, crank arm means fixed with said handle, link means connected to said crank arm means fixed with said handle, link means, a spring connected to said throwing arm at a point spaced from said generally horizontal axis, said spring also connected to said link means said crank arm means adapted to apply a torque force to the throwing arm only after said throwing arm is latched by said latch means.

5. The trap set forth in claim 4 further characterized in that said link means is a link of arcuate shape having a pivotal connection with said crank arm means which is located rearwardly of said generally horizontal axis and said spring when said handle is swung to a throwing arm cocked position.

Claims

1. A target trap having a stand, an elevational arm mounted on the stand intermediate its length, a throwing arm swingably mounted adjacent one end on the forward portion of the elevational arm, latch means to hold said throwing arm releasably fixed in an operative position alongside said elevational arm, and an overcenter reset cocking handle means mounted on said elevational arm and connected to said throwing arm, said reset cocking handle means including an overcenter link, and a spring connected at one end to said throwing arm and connected at its other end to said overcenter link, said cocking handle means adapted to apply a torque to the throwing arm only after the throwing arm has been latched by said latch means.

2. A trap as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said cocking handle means includes a handle swingable about an axis, and said overcenter link has a pivotal connection with said handle means whereby when said handle is swung to a throwing arm cocked position, said pivotal connection is located rearwardly of said axis and the spring.