IMPROVEMENTS IN BALLS USED IN SHOOTING FROM TRAPS AND OTHERWISE, AND IN THE METHOD AND MEANS EMPLOYED FOR INFLATING THE SAME
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BALLS USED IN SHOOTING FROM TRAPS AND OTHERWISE, AND IN THE METHOD
AND MEANS EMPLOYED FOR INFLATING THE SAME." A communication from
abroad by Pierre Joseph Jarre and Etienne Alphonse Jarre, both of Paris,
France, Gunmakers.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th March 1882.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of 53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent "IMPROVEMENTS IN BALLS USED IN SHOOTING FROM TRAPS AND
OTHERWISE AND IN THE METHOD AND MEANS EMPLOYED FOR INFLATING THE
SAME." [A communication from abroad by Pierre Joseph Jarre and Etienne
Alphonse Jarre, both of Paris, France, Gunmakers.]
This Invention relates to balls used as marks in shooting matches, exhibitions,
and practice for shooting from traps and the invention also relates to the method
and means employed in inflating the same.
In these exercises balls blown in glass are commonly used as marks, and when
shattered by the markman's shot the fragments are liable to injure persons in the
vicinity and are otherwise objectionable. Balls have also sometimes been made of
indiarubber inflated with air and enclosed in a metallic cage to give them the
necessary weight, but this renders them comparatively expensive and the shot often
bits the metal cage and leaves the ball intact so as to lead to the belief that the
marksman has missed the mark.
Others have been made of wood, resin, plaster or other solid substance which is
not broken when struck.
The object of the present Invention is to provide an efficient substitute for balls
of the kinds above described which shall be free from their objections as well as
simple and inexpensive
According to this Invention balls of india rubber or other similar material are
inflated by means of a suitable gas and weighted by the introduction within the
מr
"

page_text: ball of a solid substance in a pulverized or other condition, preferably of a liquid,
water being generally employed. By filling about one third of the internal cavity
of the ball it will be sufficiently weighted to render it stable when placed upon any
support or to enable it to be projected by hand or from a ball trap to form a mark for
shooting at. In order that these balls may be of practical use it is important that the
filling and inflation should be capable of being readily effected even by the marks-
man himself if necessary, and for this purpose it is proposed to use either a small
portable pump or a vessel charged with aerated water, by means whereof the balls
may be filled with the necessary mixture of water and air or gas. These apparatus
are slightly modified to adapt them for the purpose required. The pump cylinder
is provided with a nozzle to which the neck of the ball is attached, and the plunger
rod has notches into which takes a spring acting stop for the purpose of regulating
the quantity of water and air drawn into the pump by suction and thence to be
forced into the ball. The aerated water apparatus may be made on the principle
of a seltzer water "siphon" with a cock for drawing off the water and gas into the
ball and a nipple to which the ball is applied.
A method of inflation by which apparatus is dispensed with consists in intro-
ducing into the neck of the ball after weighting it with water, but uninflated, a
pilule of tartaric acid and bicarbonate of soda temporarily held out of contact with
the water by throttling the neck with a ligature which can be readily removed.
When this is done the ball will be immediately inflated by the gas generated
When the apparatus above described are employed it is necessary to provide
means of easily and quickly securing the neck of the ball after it has been inflated.
This may be effected by tying with string, but preferably by means of a device of
this Invention. This consists of a short tube or collar of copper or tin having
V shaped notches in one end forming two wings or lips which are turned or doubled
down alongside the tube. The neck of the ball is then inserted in the tube and its
edges turned over the edges of the tube into the space between the outside of the
tube and the said wings or lips which are then compressed against the tube so as
to firmly secure the tube to the neck. The tube is applied by means of suit-
able tools and this would be done by the manufacturer. The neck of the ball is
then an open tube sufficiently rigid to enable it to be readily placed upon the nozzle
of the pump or aerated water apparatus for the purpose of filling as before
described. In order to hermetically close the neck of the ball after it has been
filled and inflated, it is simply necessary, in the act of removing it from the nozzle,
to compress and flatten the metal tube or collar with the finger and thumb or a
pair of nippers and thus close the orifice. The filling and closing of the balls in
this manner form two simple operations requiring no skill.
The balls may be made in various ways, for instance, they may be formed of two
indiarubber pockets placed one in the other, the inner pocket to contain the water
and the outer pocket to be inflated with air, or the water pocket might be exterior
and attached to the other by the neck so as to vary the appearance of the object
to be shot at. A ball filled with water only without any air or gas may also be
employed.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the balls of this Invention may be made
much cheaper than those hitherto in use, and that they will never fail to be
destroyed on being shot, while the debris which falls to the ground will simply
consist of water and particles of indiarubber, so that the fragments of the balls
cannot possibly injure any person who may be accidentally struck by them.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th September 1882.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of 53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex
Patent Agent
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BALLS USED IN SHOOTING FROM TRAPS AND
OTHERWISE, AND IN THE METHOD AND MEANS EMPLOYED FOR INFLATING THE
SAME A communication from abroad by Pierre Joseph Jarre and Etienne
Alphonse Jarre both of Paris, France, Gunmakers.
This Invention relates to balls to be thrown from traps or otherwise for use as
marks in match, exhibition, and practice shooting, and the Invention also relates
to the method and means employed in inflating the same.
In these exercises balls blown in glass are commonly used as marks, and when
shattered by the marksmans' shot, the fraginents are liable to injure persons in the
vicinity, strew the ground, and are otherwise objectionable. Balls have also some-
times been made of indiarubber inflated with air and enclosed in a metallic cage to
give them the necessary weight, but this renders them comparatively expensive
and the shot often hits the metal cage and leaves the ball intact so as to lead to
the belief that the marksman has missed the mark. Others have been made of
wood, resin, plaster, or other solid substance which is not broken when struck by
the projectiles. The object of the present Invention is to provide an efficient
substitute for balls of the kinds above described which, whilst free from their
objections, shall be made of common material as well as simple and inexpensive.
According to this Invention hollow balls of thin sheet indiarubber or other
similar material sufficiently elastic to be inflated by means of a suitable gas, are
weighted internally by the introduction within the ball of a solid substance in a
pulverised condition, or preferably of a liquid as shown in Figures 1 and 2. By
filling about one third of the internal capacity of the ball with water (which is
generally used by preference as being absolutely harmless and costless) the ball
will be sufficiently weighted to render it stable when placed upon any support or to
enable it to be projected by hand or from a ball trap to serve as a mark for
shooting at. In order that these balls may be of practical use, it is important that
the filling and inflation as well as the sealing of the neck of the ball, should be
capable of being readily and effectually performed, even by the marksman himself
if necessary, and for this purpose I provide either a small portable pump or a vessel
charged with aerated water, by means whereof the balls may be filled with the
necessary mixture of water and air or gas. Or I may generate the gas within the
ball itself without the use of any apparatus for inflating.
Figure 6 shows a pump of special construction for filling and inflating the balls.
It consists of a pump barrel A having a discharge outlet and nozzle pipe a at
bottom to which the neck of the ball is attached. A capped leather plunger P
works within the barrel, and when moved downward, forces the water and air
beneath it into the ball for inflating and weighting it. The plunger rod t is
provided with rack teeth and passes through a guide socket T upon the cover B of
the barrel and gears with a pinion p on a horizontal spindle b turning in a bearing
on the cover and operated by a crank handle M at the opposite end. A funnel E
to receive the exact quantity of water required for each ball communicates with
the upper part of the pump barrel by a pipe. The action of the pump is very
simple; after having raised the plunger until it is above the inlet from the funnel,
the neck of the ball is attached to the nozzle pipe a and the proper quantity of
water is poured into the funnel E from a measuring vessel of proper capacity. The

page_text: water falls to the bottom of the pump barrel and the plunger is then forced down-
wards by turning the handle M whereby the water and air beneath it are forced
into the ball. The downward stroke of the plunger is limited by the collar R on
rod t abutting against the guide T upon the cover and by suitably adjusting the
position of said collar on the rod t by means of its set screw, the volume of the balls
may be varied. A marksman may thus regulate the size of the balls to suit his
skill or convenience, &c.
The means of securing the neck of the ball after inflation consists of a short tube
or thimble of thin copper shown at c Figure 3 through which the neck is previously
passed and turned over on the outside of the tube, the edges being turned in again
if desired at the opposite end of the tube, as shown in Figure 4. In this manner
the tube c is completely enveloped by the india-rubber and so secured to the neck
of the ball to which it forms a sufficiently rigid mouthpiece to enable it to be
readily fitted upon the pump nozzle. After inflating and weighting the ball the
neck is disconnected from the pump and at same time compressed by the fingers so
as to flatten the tube c and to retain the ball in its inflated condition whilst the
neck is again seized at a point further back and the flattened mouthpiece inserted
in the manner shown in Figure 6 between the collar R on the plunger rod and the
guide T. The collar R and guide T are formed with flanges projecting towards
one another and forming jaws between which the mouthpiece is forcibly nipped
when the jaw R is brought down by turning handle M. The mouthpiece c thus
becomes indented transversely at about its middle, and the forcible compression of
the metal and the undulated form which it receives, as shown in Figure 5, ensure
a strong and perfectly tight joint.
In lieu of the pump above described I may use an aerated water apparatus such
as that shown at Figure 7 for inflating and weighting the balls. The apparatus is
constructed on the principle of a seltzer water "syphon " with a cock and nozzle a
to which the ball is attached to receive the water and gas.
Another method of inflation by which apparatus is dispensed with consists in
introducing into the neck of the ball after it is weighted with water but uninflated,
a pilule of tartartic acid and bicarbonate of soda temporarily held out of contact
with the water by throttling the neck with a ligature which can be readily
removed. Immediately the pilule comes in contact with the water on the removal
of the ligature, the ball is inflated by the gas generated within it.
The balls may be made in various ways, for instance they may be formed of
two indiarubber balls or pockets placed one in the other, the inner one to contain
the water and the outer one to be inflated with air, or the water pocket might be
exterior and attached to the other by the neck so as to vary the appearance of the
object to be shot at. A ball filled with water only without any air or gas may also
be employed.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the balls of this Invention may be made
much cheaper than those hitherto in use, and that they will never fail to be
destroyed on being shot, while the debris which falls to the ground will simply
consist of water and particles of indiarubber so that the fragments of the balls
cannot possibly injure any person who may be accidentally struck by them.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is.
1st. A water ball" for use as a mark in shooting, being a hollow ball made of
indiarubber, weighted with water and inflated by air, substantially as and for the
purposes specified.
2nd. A ball for use as a mark in shooting made of two indiarubber balls placed
one within the other, the one filled with water and the other inflated by air,
substantially as specified.
3rd. A ball for use as a mark in shooting consisting of two balls, the one inflated
by air and the other filled with water, united together by a neck, substantially as
described.

page_text: 4tb. A ball of the kind described inflated and weighted by means of artificial
aerated water as described.
5th The pump constructed and arranged as herein described and represented in
Figure 6 for filling balls with water and air.
"
6th. The means of closing the neck of the herein described "water ball con-
sisting of a metal tube or thimble applied to the neck of the ball and flattened
after inflation of the latter to form a tight closure, substantially as shown and
described.
In witness whereof I the said Alexander Melville Clark have hereunto set
my hand and seal this second day of September, A.D. 1882.
A M CLARK (L.)