AN INDICATING TARGET
Year: 1857

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Odoardo Gandini at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th February
1857.
I, ODOARDO GANDINI, of No. 4, Newman Street, Oxford Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Major, lately in the Venitian Army, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN INDICATING TARGET," to be as
follows
This Invention relates to a new description of target, intended to be used in
combination with an indicating apparatus, for denoting by numeral figures the
number of times that particular parts of such said target have been struck by
a projectile thrown thereat, either by hand, or it may be discharged from a
rifle or other fire-arm by gunpowder, or by any suitable mechanical con-
trivance.
T
The mode hitherto commonly practised of constructing targets has been to
make them solid, or in other words, with an entire flat surface. Now, the
peculiar feature in this Invention consists, first, in making a target with an
open skeleton framework, and in adapting thereto at equal distances asunder
certain short tubes, one end of each of which is closed, same being marked with
numeral figures in the order herein-after set forth. In connection with the
above-mentioned tubes, and attached to each one separately, is a spring, so
that when the end of one or other of such, said tubes has been struck by a

page_text: projectile with sufficient force to overcome the resistance offered by its
respective spring, the inward movement of the tube shall be communicated by
a wire or other contrivance to another smaller indicating target of similar
construction to the former one, and thereby uncover and expose to view
ich the
numerals corresponding with the numeral which the before-mentioned tube is
marked with. I propose also to use a marking board, divided into rows of
squares, in each of which numerals are marked in regular progressive order
of ten in each square; that is to say, suppose the first row to be divided into
ten equal parts, I mark the first square to the left-hand number 20, the
second square 30, the third 40, and so on, for each row of squares, which are
provided with sliding index hands for pointing to any particular numeral.
The construction of the target is as follows:-I take three rings of light
metal or other material of different diameters and connect them together in
the following order :-the smallest or centre ring I connect to the second
ring by four straight pieces of metal, and I connect the second ring to the
third by four small rings, equal in diameter to the distance between the second
and third rings; the aforesaid small rings I arrange at equal distances asunder,
and in like manner I connect the aforesaid third ring to the fourth and outer
ring; but instead of arranging and disposing the small rings thereof opposite
to the former small rings, I place them midway between each two of them, and
into each of the above-mentioned small rings I place the before-mentioned
tubes, and connect them with springs and wires, as before stated. The central
tube I mark 100; those four tubes which are next thereto I mark each one
60; and the other four outer tubes I mark two opposite ones each 20, another
one 40, and the other 30, and in like manner I mark the other or indicating
target. Thus it will be seen that the person marking has only to notice the
particular numbers which are successively exposed on the indicating target,
then add them together and register them upon the before-mentioned marking
board; so that, suppose several persons to be playing at the above game, that
person who shall be the first to score the highest number on the marking
board shall have won the game.