A NEW OR IMPROVED TARGET-TRAP
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Herbert John Haddan, of Kensington, Middlesex, for an
Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED TARGET-TRAP." A communication from
abroad by Julius Reis, of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Herbert John Haddan at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th December 1881.
"
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of Kensington, Middlesex. A NEW OR IMPROVED
TARGET TRAP." A communication from abroad by Julius Reis, of Cincinnati,
Ohio, United States of America.
The object of this Invention is to furnish a trap especially adapted for throwing
those flying targets which are provided with a projecting tongue or other grasping
device, and said trap consists essentially of a throwing lever and clamp, a spring
for actuating said lever, another one for gradually arresting its motion, an
adjustable trigger, a sectional standard, and devices for maintaining said standard
at any desired inclination, as hereinafter more fully described.
In the annexed Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of this trap, the throwing
lever being shown at the end of its stroke, and portions of the frame being
sectioned; Fig. 2 is a plan of the trap, the throwing lever being shown engaged
with the adjustable trigger of the implement; Fig. 3 is an enlarged axial section
of the head of the trap, the throwing spring being omitted; Fig. 4 is an elevation
of the trigger detached from the trap; Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the adjusting
devices of the standard; Fig. 6 is a plan of a portion of the throwing lever, the
latter being shown in the same position as in Fig. 1.
Referring to Figure 1, the base or stand of the trap consists of a tripod A, A¹, A",
radiating from a common center B, which latter is bored axially at 6 to admit the
standard spindle C that is held in position so as to prevent longitudinal shifting by
n screw B', the point of which enters a circumferential groove c in said spindle.
This tripod has at top a circular rack D with either one of the notches of which' is
engaged a detent or pawl E, loaded at e and pivoted at e' to the lower section F of
the adjustable standard.
"

page_text: Section F has a serrated or notched knuckle f, wherewith is locked a similar
knuckle g of the intermediate standard section G. H is a pivot-bolt, and a lever
nut for coupling these knuckles together. The upper end of section C has a
knuckle g engaged with a knuckle i of the third section I of the standard, a
pivot bolt J and nut j being employed for coupling said members G and J.
Section I carries an annular flange K, two lugs L, L, and a cylindrical head or
lub M having an axial shaft N.
Surrounding this head M and resting on flange K is a coiled spring O, one end of
which o is secured in the lug L, while its other end o' is bent upwardly and is adapted
to bear against the edge of the throwing lever, as seen in Fig. 6. As this spring
operates said lever, it is designated as the principal or throwing spring. Coiled
within cylinder M and having one end secured at r is the secondary or check-
spring R, the upward prolongation of which serves to arrest the effective stroke
of the throwing lever S, which latter has a tubular bearing s adapted to revolve
freely around the axial shaft N. T is a thimble interposed between the bearing &
and check-spring R.
The free end of throwing lever S has a button U covered by a button V of
clamp v, the latter being pivoted at 8¹ to said lever. Button V has an opening v¹
for the passage of a stump that projects upwardly from the other button U, said
stump being arranged to serve as a stop for the target tongue Q, as seen in Fig. 2. S
This clamp is set at any desired tension by means of the springs w, screw threaded
pin W, and thumb nut n'.
Located above the throwing lever S is a segmental rack X attached to shaft N by
arms and having a depending leg a¹, which leg enters a slot l' of the lug L', and
thereby holds said rack in its proper position. Adapted to engage with either one
of the notches of said rack is a tension arm Y, the inner end of which is jointed to
a swivel hinge y rotating around the shaft N, while the outer end of said arm is
bent down and carries a trigger plate Z. Pivoted to this plate at is a jaw 1
having a catch or shoulder 2, behind which latter is engaged the throwing lever S
when the trap is set. 3 is a spring for closing the jaw 1, and 4 is a rope for 3
opening the same, said rope or cord being passed through a sheave 5 running on a
fair leader G. This fair leader is secured to the triangular frame 7 that can be
pinned to the ground with stakes or spikes.
The trap is usually employed for imparting a horizontal flight to the target,
which result is accomplished by slackening the nuts h, j, and then setting the 3
joints f, g, and i, g', so as to preserve the standards F, G, I, in an exact position,
and dispose the throwing lever S horizontally.
The tension-arm Y is then engaged with the third or fourth notch of segmental
rack X, and the lever S is swung around and locked behind the catch 2 of lever 1,
as seen in Fig. 2.
4
The thumb lever v is now depressed far enough to raise the button V and allow
the tongue or other projecting device Q of the target to be inserted between the
buttons U, V, and to be clamped between them. Now, as the projection o¹ bears
against the edge of throwing lever S, it is evident that the act of engaging said
lever with the trigger of the trap imparts a greater or less tension to the spring O, 4
according to which notch of rack X the arm Y is inserted in, consequently, the
instant cord 4 is pulled so as to open said trigger 1, the throwing lever S at once
flies around in the direction of the arrow, seen in Fig. 2; when this sweeping
motion of the lever has attained its maximum velocity, the tongue of the target
is automatically disengaged from the clamping devices U, V, and said target skims 5
off with a spinning action that imitates very closely the flight of the quail. But
the moment this maximum velocity has been reached, the further sweep of
lever is gradually arrested by it coming in contact with the upward pro-
longation of the check spring R, thereby preventing any violent jar or concussion
that would be liable to break the target, which latter being composed of a fragile 5
material would be shattered to picces in case said lever should be suddenly
stopped. This trap can be set to throw the targets to any point of the compass by

page_text: simply lifting pawl E out of rack D, and then turning the standard F, G, I, around
as far as may be desired, after which act, said pawl is reengaged with the rack,
and the standard is thus locked in its new position. By properly manipulating
the joints f, g, and i, g', the standard can be pitched to any desired angle so as to
cause the targets to fly obliquely according to the force and direction of the wind.
From the above description it is evident these two notched joints allow an almost
unlimited range of angular adjustment of the trap, and at the same time they
enable the implement to be held securely in position after the desired range has
been obtained. It is also evident that by shifting the tension arm Y to the extreme
rear notch of rack X, the lever S will coil the throwing spring with a very great
degree of force, but by engaging said arm with any notch intermediate of the first
and last one, the power of said spring can be regulated to suit circumstances.
Furthermore, the nut W allows the thumb lever v of the clamp to be adjusted so as
to hold the target or other similar projectile with a greater or loss grip.
Finally, the Invention can be modified by dispensing with the special throwing
lever S and prolonging laterally the upper coil of spring O, so as to enable this
prolongation to take the place of said lever, the check spring R being in this case
omitted. When thus constructed, the spring O would be gradually arrested on its
own coils as soon as its maximum velocity had been attained.
The Invention may be still further modified by arranging the standard F so as
to bave an axial rotation imparted thereto, and adapting the trap to throw the
target the instant this rotation ceases. By this arrangement it would be impossible
to determine the exact flight of the target, and consequently the sport of shooting
at such projectiles would be greatly increased.
1. The combination in a target-trap of a spring for actuating the throwing
lever, a check-spring for gradually arresting the motion of the same, and a clamp
or its equivalent device applied at or near the free end of said lever, for the purpose
herein described.
2. The combination in a target-trap of an actuating spring, a check-spring, a
trigger, and a throwing lever, which lever carries the clamp, said springs, trigger,
and lever being applied to the head of the implement, as herein described.
3. The combination in a target-trap, of a throwing lever provided with a clamp,
an actuating spring, a check spring and an adjustable arm carrying the trigger with
which trigger said lever engages, as heroin described.
4. The combination in a target-trap of throwing lover S, actuating spring O, o, o',
check-spring R, r,, rack X, adjustable arm Y, and trigger Z, 1, 2, 3, as herein
described.
5. The combination in a target-trap of actunting spring O, coiled around the
head M, fastened at o, and bearing at o' against the throwing lever S, as herein
described.
6. In a target-trap, the check-spring R, coiled within the head M, fastened at 7,
and bearing at r against the throwing lever S, as herein described.
7. A target-trap provided with the jointed standard F, G, I, notched knuckles
fg, g', i, pivots H, J, and nuts h, j, as herein described.
8. In combination with the jointed and rotable standard of a target-trap, the
rack D, and pivoted pawl E, e', as berein described.
9. In a target-trap the combination of throwing lever S, buttons U, V, thumb
lover u, tension devices W, w, w', aperture v', and pin u, as herein described.
10. The combination in a target-trap of arm Y carrying the plate Z, which
latter has pivoted to it at the catch 1, 2, closed with the spring 3, as herein
described.
11. The combination in a target-trap of fair leader G and sheave 5, through
which latter is passed the cord 4 that operates the trap-trigger, as hercia
described.

page_text: 12. The rack X attached to the shaft N of a target-trap by arms x, and having
a leg engaging with the slot of lug L, as herein described.
13. The combination in a target trap of cylinder M, check-spring R, r, r³,
thimble T, throwing lever S, 8, and axial shaft N, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Herbert John Haddan, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, A.D. 1881.
HI HADDAN
(La)