Abstract:
A target device is worn by a user in a game comprising projectiles covered with either hook or loop fasteners. The device includes a supporting element for being supported on the user which carries target panels having a target surface covered with hook or loop fasteners for mating connection with the projectiles. The target surface has an irregular in contour comprising various raised protrusions formed of resilient material. The irregular contour of the target surface results in a surface which lies at various angles, thus increasing the likelihood of a shot from any direction being perpendicular to a portion of the target surface for better attachment of the projectiles to the target surface in a hook and loop type game. The resilient nature of the protrusions also absorbs some of the impact force of the projectiles to reduce the tendency for the projectiles to bounce off of the target surface.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/630,575, filed Nov. 26, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a target device for being worn by a user in a game using projectiles which remain attached to the target device upon impact by hook and loop fasteners.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Various types of games are known using projectiles which remain attached to a target device upon impact. U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,092 to Simons Jr. et al. discloses on example of such a game wherein the target device comprises a coat type garment including various panels thereon upon which the projectiles can be attached on impact. When firing hook and loop type projectiles, using a compressed air powered gun similar to what is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,629 to Ratliff, the high velocities of the projectiles make it difficult for the projectile to attach itself to the target when fired at a sharp angle in relation to the surface instead of being normal thereto. When playing a game in which the target device is worn by an opponent, it is common to be shooting projectiles at random angles relative to the surface of the target device and accordingly it is commonplace for impacts to be improperly recorded when playing due to the projectiles bouncing off of the targets. Also, known targets to be worn by a user tend to be relatively stiff, which further encourages the occurrence of projectiles bouncing off of the targets.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a target device for use in a game comprising projectiles covered with one of either hooks or loops of a hook and loop fastening system, the target device comprising:  
         [0005]     at least one target panel having a target surface covered with the other one of the hooks or loops of the hook and loop fastening system; and  
         [0006]     a supporting element for supporting said at least one target panel on a body of a user of the device;  
         [0007]     the target surface of said at least one target panel being irregular in contour.  
         [0008]     The irregular contour of the target surface results in a surface which lies at various angles, thus increasing the likelihood of a shot from any direction being perpendicular to a portion of the target surface for better attachment of the projectiles to the target surface in a hook and loop type game. The irregular surface can also be more readily configured into a flexible design allowing the user wearing the target device more range of movement and more comfort. The resiliency of the protrusions forming the irregular contour absorbs some of the impact force of the projectiles to further reduce the tendency for the projectiles to bounce off of the target surface.  
         [0009]     The target surface is preferably covered with the hooks of the hook and loop fastening system.  
         [0010]     The target surface may comprise a plurality of protruding surfaces at various angles relative to one another in a non-planar configuration and formed of resilient and flexible material so that the target panels are also foldable.  
         [0011]     The target panel may further comprise a textured and resilient substrate, for example an undulating surface, forming various raised protrusions thereon and supporting the target surface thereon. The raised protrusions of resilient material may comprise elongate ridges or domed formations formed on the substrate and may include either a hollow core or a core of resilient soft foam material.  
         [0012]     In one embodiment, the target panels comprise a plurality overlapping sections of the target surface which are moveable relative to one another. The protrusions of the target surface may also be movable relative to the substrate of the target panels.  
         [0013]     In the first illustrated embodiment, the supporting element comprises a garment to be worn about the torso of the user. The garment supports a plurality of target panels thereon in which each target panel is selectively secured to the garment for detachment and reattachment thereto. In this instance, the supporting element preferably supports a front chest panel and a pair of shoulder panels. The supporting element may further comprise a pair of arm bands including adjustable fasteners for securement about an arm of a user in which an outer surface of each arm band comprises a target surface.  
         [0014]     In a further illustrated embodiment, the supporting element comprises a helmet including a transparent visor portion and a surrounding shield portion supporting the target surface thereon. The target surface in this instance is preferably also resiliently deformable.  
         [0015]     There may be provided a target indicator supported on the supporting element which is operable between an indicating condition which indicates that the target surface has been impacted by a projectile and a non-indicating condition which indicates that the target surface has not been impacted by a projectile.  
         [0016]     When the supporting element comprises a helmet, the target indicator preferably assumes the indicating condition automatically responsive to an impact of a projectile onto an actuating portion of the supporting element.  
         [0017]     Some embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the target device shown with a projectile and a gun for shooting the projectile at the target device;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the target device according to  FIG. 1  after an impact has occurred;  
         [0020]      FIGS. 3 through 8  illustrate various embodiments of the configuration of the target surfaces of the various embodiments of the target device; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  are perspective views of an alternative embodiment of the supporting element of the target device. 
     
    
       [0022]     In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]     Referring to the accompanying drawings there is illustrated a target device generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . The target device generally comprises a garment to be worn by a user in a game comprising projectiles and associated targets formed of hooks or loops of a hook and loop fastening system so that projectiles  12  remain attached to the target device  10  upon impact. The projectiles  12  each comprise a bead which is covered in loop material and which is suitably sized for being fired through the barrel of a comprised air powered gun  14  of the type commonly used for shooting paintball projectiles.  
         [0024]     In all embodiments described herein, the device  10  includes a supporting element  20  which is worn by the user for supporting target panels  22  thereon. Each target panel  22  includes a substrate layer  30  which supports a target surface  31  of hooks of the hook and loop fastening system thereon. The target surface is irregular in contour, comprising a multifaceted surface of protruding facets or surfaces at various angles relative to one another in a non-planar configuration.  
         [0025]     The substrate layer  30  generally comprises a textured substrate forming various raised protrusions  33  thereon and supporting the target surface  31  thereon. The raised protrusions  33  of the textured substrate and the target surface  31  are both formed of resilient material to allow the target surface to be resiliently and angularly deformed upon impact. The protrusions are therefore movable relative to the substrate panel element upon impact to absorb some of the force of the impact and reduce the likelihood of projectiles to bounce off the target surface.  
         [0026]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the supporting element  20  generally comprises a garment to be worn about the torso of a user and which is formed of flexible cloth material which conforms about the user&#39;s body. The supporting element  20  includes front and back panels for covering the front and back sides of the torso of the user. Openings are provided for the neck and arms of the user. Adjustable straps  35  connect between the front and back panels at both sides of the garment and permit the supporting element  20  to be tightened about the torso of the user.  
         [0027]     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the supporting element  20  carries a plurality of the target panels  22  thereon. Among the target panels  22  there is provided a front target panel  22 A, a back target panel (not shown), and a pair of shoulder target panels  22 B. The supporting element  20  also includes arm band target panels  22 C which are formed independently and separate from the garment about the torso of the user. The arm band target panels  22 C each comprise an arm band including adjustable fasteners for securement about an arm of a user in which an outer surface of the arm band comprises the target surface  31  including protrusions  33 .  
         [0028]     The protrusions  33  on the front target panel  22 A and the arm band target panels  22 C comprise elongate ridges formed on the substrate by stitching raised portions of hook material back to back with one another. The flexible nature of the material forming the hook material permits the protrusions  33  to be foldable relative to the substrate for movement of the protrusions relative to the substrate upon impact by a projectile.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the protrusions  33  of the substrate may include a hollow core  35 .  
         [0030]     The protrusions  33  on the shoulder target panels  22 B comprise ridges which form an undulating surface of domed formations in profile. The protrusions  33  of the substrate in this instance comprise a resilient core  37  of soft resilient foam as shown in  FIG. 8 . Alternatively, a hollow core may be provided when the substrate and target surface are resilient and self supporting.  
         [0031]     Each of the target panels  22  is selectively secured to the supporting element  20  using conventional fasteners, for example snap fasteners, hook and loop fasteners or straps and the like to permit removal and subsequent reattachment. Removably securing the panels on the supporting element  20  permits the configuration of the target panels to be varied depending upon the type of game being played.  
         [0032]     A target indicator  39  is supported on the supporting element  20  for operation between an indicating condition which indicates that the target surface has been impacted by a projectile and a non-indicating condition which indicates that the target surface has not been impacted by a projectile. The target indicator  39  comprises reflective indicia which is normally hidden behind the front target panel  22 A in the non-indicating condition. Upon impact by a projectile, the user detaches a portion of the fasteners securing the front target panel  22 A to the supporting element  20  so that the front target panel may be folded downardly into the indicating position of the target indicator  39  in which the indicia is clearly visible.  
         [0033]     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a further embodiment of the target panel construction is illustrated. Elongate strips  26  of hook material are first cut from a larger sheet so as to have a thickness in the order of ¼ inch to 1½ inches. In the illustrated embodiment, the strips are between half an inch and one inch wide. The strips  26  are woven in a crisscross pattern to form a woven sheet  28  when the strips are secured to one another by sewing stitches, adhesive or an ultrasonic weld. The woven sheet  28  can then cut to form any desired shape of target panel  22  which is then carried by the supporting element  20  of the garment forming the target device. The woven pattern of the strips causes the strips to flex so that the underlying substrate of the hook material forms the protrusions  33 . The resulting target panels  22  are generally non-planar, being formed of various surface portions oriented at various angles relative to one another. The irregular profile or contour of the woven sheet defines a plurality of raised portions and a plurality of corresponding recessed portions wherein the mix of concave and convex surfaces result in a flexible and textured form for catching projectiles impacted thereon from any one of various angles.  
         [0034]     As illustrated in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the resulting irregular contour of the target surface of hook material forming the target panels  22  can instead be formed by a substrate layer  30  which is moulded into an irregular contoured shape. The substrate layer  30  may comprise a plurality of elongate ridges  32  as illustrated in  FIG. 4  which define the protrusions  33  and which permit some folding movement of protrusions relative to one another. The target surface thus comprises an undulating surface forming the various raised protrusions thereon. The substrate layer and the target surface of hook material are each resilient in this instance.  
         [0035]     To maximize foldability and range of movement, the hook material forming the target surface  31  may be applied to the substrate layer  30  of  FIG. 4  in strips  36  positioned adjacent one another and parallel to the ridges. Alternatively a continuous flexible sheet of hook material may be fastened by adhesive and the like to the textured substrate layer  30 .  
         [0036]     Alternatively as illustrated in  FIG. 5  the substrate layer  30  includes protrusions  33  in the form of a plurality of domed dimples or other irregular protrusions. The protrusions in this instance are covered with a continuous sheet of hook material forming the target surface  31 . In either embodiment of  FIG. 4  or  5 , the substrate layer  30  is stiff enough to hold its shape while being resilient to permit some flexing with movement of the user&#39;s body and to permit some deflection under impact by a projectile.  
         [0037]     Turning now to  FIG. 6 a  further embodiment of the target panels  22  is illustrated in which a plurality of strips  38  of hook material forming the target surface  31  are carried on overlapping plates which define the substrate layer  30 . The plates and target surface of hook material thereon are pivotal relative to one another or relative to the supporting element for independent movement thereof which similarly increases freedom of movement of the wearer. The relative movement of the plates defining the substrate layer  30  in the embodiment of  FIG. 6  also allows some deflection under impact.  
         [0038]     Turning now to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a further embodiment of the supporting element  20  which supports the target panels  22  thereon is illustrated. In this instance, the supporting element comprises a helmet arranged to be supported on the head of a user and including a transparent visor portion  40  and a surrounding shield portion  42  which spans outwardly from the visor portion for shielding a face of the user. The shield portion  42  about the visor portion defines the target panels  22  which support hook material of the target surface thereon. The substrate layer  30  in this instance comprises a plurality of curved members  44  which overlap one another to define plural surfaces lying transversely to one another. The curved members  44  are formed of resilient material having a soft foam or hollow core to permit the target surface thereon to be resiliently deformed upon impact.  
         [0039]     A target indicator  39  is also provided on the supporting element  20  according to the embodiment of  FIGS. 9 and 10 . Similarly to the first embodiment, the target indicator  39  is operable between an indicating condition which indicates that the target surface has been impacted by a projectile and a non-indicating condition which indicates that the target surface has not been impacted by a projectile. The target indicator  39  in this instance comprises a flag which is raised from a lowered and non-visible position in the non-indicating condition to a raised and visible position in the indicating condition. The flag may instead be operable in reverse to be raised and visible in the non-indicating position, so that the absence of a visible flag instead indicates that an impact has occurred.  
         [0040]     The supporting element  20  according to  FIGS. 9 and 10  also includes an actuating portion  46  which forms a portion of the target surface. The actuating portion  46  is coupled to the flag of the target indicator by a suitable linkage for automatically displacing the indicator into the indicating condition responsive to an impact of a projectile onto an actuating portion of the supporting element.  
         [0041]     Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.