Clay Target Dome Cavities for Breakage and Pellet Trapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current clay pigeon shooting targets face challenges in maintaining resistance to launch forces while ensuring breakage upon impact at long ranges, with existing geometries failing to optimize energy transfer and reducing ricochet effects.
Innovation Solution
A target design featuring axial symmetry with annular stages and cavities shaped as prisms, strategically positioned to concentrate stress and enhance vulnerability to pellet impacts, incorporating a checkerboard pattern for uniform stress distribution and pellet trapping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a smooth dome shape is used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but target resistance to pellet impact is excessive causing failure to disintegrate
Solution Approach 1:
The dome surface is segmented into multiple annular stages with steps and risers, creating a multi-level structure that concentrates stress at specific locations while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular geometry
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the dome are given different geometric properties - the annular stages with steps create localized stress concentration zones that are more vulnerable to pellet impact, while other regions maintain structural integrity for launch resistance
2Use of energy by moving object
If annular stages with steps are added to increase impact surfaces, then energy transfer upon impact is improved, but target resistance during launch becomes excessive at long distances
Solution Approach 1:
The dome is divided into multiple annular stages that create distributed impact surfaces for energy absorption, while the stepped geometry concentrates structural strength at the riser locations to maintain launch resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The dome geometry transitions from a simple curved surface to a multi-level three-dimensional structure with steps and risers, adding vertical dimensionality that increases impact surface area while concentrating strength at strategic locations
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the target geometry is modified to improve breakability, then vulnerability to pellet impact is increased, but resistance to projection forces is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The target geometry is modified locally at specific annular stages to create vulnerability zones that concentrate stress during pellet impact, while the overall dome structure and skirt-trad-dome configuration maintain resistance to projection forces
Solution Approach 2:
The dome is segmented into annular stages with steps that create localized weak points for pellet impact while distributing structural strength across multiple levels to maintain projection resistance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design increases the target's resistance to launch forces while ensuring effective breakage upon impact, enhancing energy transfer and minimizing ricochets by concentrating stress and trapping pellets within the cavities.
Implementation Method 1
the cavities, which are favorable locations for the pellet impact to effectively affect the target's breaking strength: firstly, the pellets are trapped within these cavities, and secondly, the cavities weaken the target due to the stress concentrations they produce
Data Source
Figure 1~2A
Figure 2B~3
Figure 4A
AI summary
Target (1) for clay pigeon shooting, in the general form of a dome having axial symmetry about an axis (z) and comprising a first convex face (10) comprising from the periphery, a skirt (101) then a tread (102) then a dome (100) having an envelope (110) which includes at least one annular stage (120 a, b, c) centered on the axis z, each annular stage comprising a step (121a) and a riser (121b), characterized in that, for at least one annular stage, the riser comprises a plurality of cavities (131) and in that each cavity has a prism shape having two lateral walls (1312, 1312') connected to a transverse wall (1313) extending from a bottom wall (1311) along the axis (z).