Improvements in and connected with Automatically Indicating or Recording Targets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov., 1891-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Automatically Indicating or
Recording Targets.
I, Professor CARL VOGEL of 40 Sofienstrasse, Stuttgart in the Empire of
Germany, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to make known the result of a shot on a target
automatically at the shooting point or at any other suitable place in such a way
that the party shooting may of himself ascertain, by number or letter tablets placed
in front of his eyes, the result of his shot almost at the same moment as the shot
was fired.
I attain this result by covering the shooting target, on its front and back, with
substances which are conductors of the electric current, for instance, with thin
metallic plates or the like, and the disc itself is made out of insulating material, for
instance, paper pulp, etcetera, in such a way that the front side of the target,
covered with the conducting substances, is thoroughly isolated from the back of the
target.
Electricity is brought from an electric battery or other suitable source to both
the conducting coverings of the target in such a way that the front covering
receives the positive electricity, whilst the back receives the negative, or rice versa,
and conducts it further as soon as connection is effected between the frout and
back coverings of the target. The shot itself, penetrating through the target,
is intended to effect this closing of the circuit.
As these shots are mainly formed of a good conducting material, and, when
penetrating the target, come in contact, if only for a very little fraction of a second,
with the front and back conducting coverings, a good conducting connection of both
electrical currents is produced, that is to say, a short circuit is produced.
The further conducting of the electricity from the target to where the shot is
fired from, or to any other desired point, is effected by a special conductor from the
target, and is placed in connection with numeral tablets, or any one of the numerous
well known indicating devices, so that, at every shot, a corresponding number or
other sign immediately appears on the marking board and shows what part of the
target has been hit.
For further explanation, I refer to the accompanying drawings, on which :—
Figures 1 to 3 show a round target divided into several concentric rings, and
Figures 5, 6 and 7 show a rectangular one.
Figure 4 shows the shot from the time of its contact with the target until it
leaves the same, and
Figure 8 represents one of many devices which may be employed for protecting
the conducting wires against the shot.
The round disc S¹ is divided into three parts s¹² 5ª to show the shot specially, in
each ring.
In order to attain this, the front of the target S¹ is coated with a thin metallic
plate a, but its back, on the contrary, has, corresponding to the divisions of the
target in the middle, a thin little metallic disc a and two concentric thin metallic
rings a and a'. The latter and the metallic disc a³ are so far separated from one
another that the electricity cannot pass from one ring to another, or the same may
be specially insulated from each other. The various metallic discs a¹ a² a³ are
supplied from any source of electricity with a positive current, the metallic plate a
with a negative current (or vice versa) and, by means of extra wires, the metallic
D

page_text: discs a¹ a² a³ are combined with conducting wires which lead to number tablets at
the place from which the shot is fired.
The insulating layer b, lying between the front and the back metallic plates, is
as thin as possible in order that the shot, passing through the target S', may remain
in contact as long as possible with both the front and the back parts of the metallic
discs.
In Figure 4, a shot is shown on a larger scale which is penetrating the target:
in position 1, the contact of the same on the front metallic covering of the target;
in position 2, contact with the same on the back metallic covering of the target; in
position 3, when leaving the front metallic covering of the target; in position 4,
when leaving the target altogether. The time taken up by the shaft in passing
between the positions 2 and 3 is the one in which a short circuit takes place, and
during which both metallic plates, front and back, are in contact with the shot.
During this interval of time, the electric current is conveyed from the metallic
covering of the target through the conducting wires leading to the place from which
the shot is fired to the recording device and sets in action the contacts for the
prospective indicating numbers.
If now a shot penetrates in any part ss or s³, each of which has its own con-
ducting wire, of the target S', the corresponding numbers are shown on the
board.
If, however, for instance, a shot passes between the two metallic rings a' and a²,
whereby the metallic rings a' and a will be brought in contact with the same, and
the wires in question connected, whereby the corresponding numbers of a¹ and a²
are shown on the scoring board. For this purpose, the distance between any two
metallic rings a¹ a² a must, of course, be less than the diameter of the shot.
In order to avoid any damage to the wires leading to or from the target, they are
placed within a tube for warding off the shot A, placed, in the case of the round
targets, behind the latter, which tube is made of steel or any other suitable resisting
material (Figure 8).
Such portions of the wires as cannot be protected against the action of the shot,
for instance, the connections of the conductors to and from the separate metallic
discs a a² a³ and a, consist of flat metallic strips, so that the conductibility of the
same is not impaired even after numerous perforations in consequence of being
struck by several shots.
In Figures 5, 6 and 7, a rectangular shaped target S2 is shown, divided by cross
strips into spaces c¹ c² c³, in which, by the application of corresponding metallic
coverings, similar to the target S₁ on the front and back of each single division,
which is struck, a special notification is given.
Any part of a disc may be especially marked so long as, on one side of the same,
a metallic covering of a suitable form is introduced, and is connected with the metallic
covering on the other side by means of special conductors with batteries and
indicating devices. The shape, therefore, of these parts need not be considered, and
discs, for instance, like animals, may be made, and the vital parts of an animal, when
struck, may be specially notified, by making the metallic covering on one side of
the disc of the shape of such vital part, and having it insulated from the adjoining
metallic part.
Repairs of the metallic covering are easily performed, it being a simple matter to
fasten on the metal which is as thin as paper; they are only requisite in the case of
frequent use of the target.
The advantages of this invention, as against the shooting targets at present in
use with indicating devices, will be at once seen without further explanations.
They require no mechanically working devices, which only act incompletely, and,
when desirable, any suitable part of the disc which is struck may be specially
indicated, at the shooting points. Further, there is no longer any mismarking
possible, as no marker is required, and also there is no longer any danger, but
principally, however, very much time, when shooting, is saved, as each shot is

page_text: immediately, and with mechanical exactitude, visible to the man firing at the
shooting point itself.
If, for instance, the conducting wires be connected at the shooting point with a
marking device, any shot may be noted automatically by a corresponding number,
and the result of a number of shots may then be immediately ascertained by simple
addition of the respective numbers standing successively one beneath the other.
I do not consider it is necessary to describe further what an advantage there is
most principally for military purposes as well as for shooting practice, that each
shot is noted and the shooting result of each soldier can be easily added up, such
must be apparent as against previous methods of indicating.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improvements in shooting targets provided with automatic means, actuated
by electricity, for indicating the accuracy of each marksman, which improvements
consist in providing the front and back of the target with electric conducting
surfaces, insulated from one another, and each in connection with a source of
electricity, so as to serve as positive and negative conductors, whereby, when a shot
strikes the target, both conductors will momentarily be connected and a short
circuit is established.
2. In a target of the kind described in Claim 1, the application of special con-
ducting wires to the conducting plates on the front and back of the target, for the
purpose of conducting the electricity, which is caused by the shaft passing through
the target, to any suitable point.
3. In a target of the kind described in Claim 1, the combination of the conductors
(as in Claim 2) with number boards or marking devices for the purpose of allowing
the accuracy of each shot to be ascertained or to be automatically recorded.
4. In a target of the kind described in Claim 1 the arrangement for the purpose
of allowing any special part of the target to be specially indicated or recorded,
consisting in making the conducting coatings of the front or back of the target with
one continuous part and on the other hand forming on the opposite side of the
target the conducting coatings of such shape and size as are to be specially
indicated or recorded and insulating these from the adjacent parts of the conducting
covering.
Dated this 21st day of November.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.