Patent Publication Number: US-RE45440-E

Title: Binary exploding target, package process and product

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/872,187 filed Aug. 20, 2001.More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,366. The reissue applications are 13/945,803 (the present application) and 11/206,283, all of which are continuation reissues of U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,366. This application is a continuation reissue application of U.S. Reissue application Ser. No. 11/206,283 filed on Aug. 16, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. Re. 44,386, which is a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,366 which issued on Feb. 1, 2005; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,366 was filed as U.S. application Ser. No. 10/274,464 on Oct. 17, 2002, which is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/872,187, filed on Aug. 20, 2001. The entire contents of all of the above-applications is hereby incorporated by reference.  
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a binary exploding target package, a process of forming an exploding target from the contents of the binary exploding target package, and the exploding target product formed therefrom. 
     In the past, several companies have offered for sale small exploding targets for use in target practice, training, long range competition, etc. Such exploding targets come with all of the explosive ingredients already mixed, and are classified by federal regulations as a hazardous material and as an explosive. In use, such exploding targets are difficult to be heard over the sound of the muzzle blast from a high powered rifle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION   
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a binary exploding target package that is safe and legal to ship and store. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to produce an exploding target from the binary exploding target package that produces a very loud sound upon detonation by a round fired from a center fire rifle. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a process of making an exploding target product from the binary exploding target package. 
     The binary exploding target package of the present invention includes a first, target container and a second container. An oxidizer composition is contained within one of the containers and a catalyst composition is contained within the other container. 
     An exploding target is formed by mixing the oxidizer and catalyst compositions, and introducing the mixture into the target container to form an exploding target just prior to using the exploding target as a target for a shooting exercise. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of the contents of the binary exploding target package of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention relates to a binary exploding target package, a process of forming an exploding target from the contents of the binary exploding target package, and the exploding target formed therefrom. The exploding target is for use as a target for target practice, training, competitive shooting, etc. (all hereinafter intended to be included within the phrase “shooting exercise”). 
     In  FIG. 1  the contents of the binary exploding target package  10  of the present invention are illustrated. The package  10  includes a first, target container  20  and its contents, a second container  30  and its contents, an empty mixing container  40  and a funnel  50 . The target container  20 , the second container  30 , the mixing container  40  and the funnel  50  are all made of a non-spark generating plastic material, such as polyethylene. 
     Target container  20  is comprised of a target bottle  22  having a sealing cap  24  removably attached thereto, such as a screw cap. A target area  26  is fixed on the outer surface of target container  20 , such as by being printed or embossed onto container  22 , or applied thereto as a label. 
     Preferably target area  26  is a fluorescent orange label having a cross  28  printed thereon. However, any suitable target may be printed on label, such as a bull&#39;s-eye, “X”, etc. 
     It is preferred to make the target bottle  22  of a material which shatters into very small pieces of a non-injurious size upon detonation in order to minimize or eliminate the formation of dangerous shrapnel. A suitable such material is polyethylene. 
     Second container  30  includes a bottle  32  having a sealing cap  34  removably attached thereto, such as a screw cap. It is preferred to make bottle  32  of polyethylene. 
     Preferably, the first, target container  20  contains the oxidizer composition and the second container  30  contains the “catalyst” composition. This is because the oxidizer composition is larger in volume than the catalyst composition, and it is desirable that the target container be the larger of the two containers. However, it is possible that the contents could be reversed, i.e., that the oxidizer composition would be placed into second container  30  and the catalyst composition placed into the first, target container  20 . 
     The preferred oxidizer composition is ammonium nitrate or, preferably, a mixture of ammonium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate, with ammonium nitrate being present in an amount between about 50% and 100% by weight and ammonium perchlorate being present in an amount between 0% and about 50% by weight. An especially preferred oxidizer composition is one which contains about 85% by weight ammonium nitrate powder having a particle size of about 200 mesh, and about 15% by weight ammonium perchlorate. 
     Although ammonium nitrate is not required to be present in the oxidizer composition of the present invention, its presence has been found to raise the detonation success rate from about 92% to substantially 100%. 
     In forming the oxidizer composition, ammonium perchlorate is added to ammonium nitrate and the two materials mixed together to form a substantially homogeneous mix. 
     The preferred catalyst composition includes a major amount of explosive grade aluminum powder, and minor amounts of titanium sponge and zirconium hydride. An especially preferred catalyst composition contains about 90% by weight explosive grade aluminum power having a particle size of about 600 mesh, about 5% by weight titanium sponge having a particle size of about 325 mesh, and about 5% by weight zirconium hydride having a particle size of about 200 mesh. 
     As mentioned above, the binary exploding target package  10  of the present invention includes the target container  20  which preferably contains the oxidizer composition, the second container  30  which preferably contains the catalyst composition, an empty mixing container  40  and a funnel  50  which are shipped and stored together in suitable packaging. Since the oxidizer composition and catalyst composition are sealed in separate containers, the product is not subject to hazardous or explosive materials shipping or storage laws. In addition, the need for steel storage magazines, as required for shooting ranges which use premixed bullet sensitive explosives as targets, is also eliminated. 
     Mixing container  40  includes a mixing bottle  42  and a stopper  44 , both preferably made of polyethylene. Funnel  50  is also preferably made of polyethylene. 
     When it is desired to form an exploding target from the binary exploding target package  10  of the present invention, the oxidizer composition contained in target container  20  and the catalyst composition contained in the catalyst container  30  are poured into mixing bottle  42  using funnel  50 . Stopper  44  is then secured in place on mixing bottle  42  and the contents shaken to produce a substantially homogeneous mixture of oxidizer and catalyst. After mixing, the contents of mixing bottle  42  are emptied into target container bottle  22  using funnel  50 , and target container lid  24  secured to target container bottle  22 . 
     The steps of mixing the oxidizer and catalyst compositions, and the introduction of the oxidizer/catalyst mixture into target container bottle  22 , are carried out just prior to use of the target container  20  as an exploding target and within a time frame that avoids violation of federal explosive shipping and storage laws. 
     A preferred exploding target is one that contains about 0.5 pound of oxidizer/catalyst composition. Although larger or smaller amounts may be used, larger amounts may cause a larger than safe detonation, and smaller amounts may not provide the marksman with the optimal blast showing that the target has been hit. 
     Whatever quantities are used, it is preferred that the weight ratio of oxidizer to catalyst is about 8:1 to ensure substantially complete detonation of all ingredients. 
     Even after the catalyst composition is added to the oxidizer composition, the resulting explosive composition contained in the exploding target of the present invention is safe as it is not flammable and cannot be detonated by friction. 
     The exploding target of the present invention requires high impulse energy to detonate its explosive composition. In fact, it requires the hydrostatic shock generated by a center fire rifle round to detonate it. A rim fire rifle round will not detonate the exploding target of the present invention, which means it is extremely unlikely to be detonated by accidental impact. 
     It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of this invention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.