Handheld Clay Target Thrower With Dual-Hand Safety Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handheld clay target throwers lack efficient mechanisms for safely and reliably launching clay targets, often resulting in accidental injuries due to the simultaneous actuation of release and safety mechanisms with a single hand.
Innovation Solution
A handheld clay thrower assembly featuring a frame, a throwing arm, a target holder, and a safety mechanism that requires both hands to operate, ensuring the throwing arm is safely cocked and released to launch the target without risking operator injury.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single hand operates both release and safety mechanisms, then the device is easier to operate, but the risk of accidental injury increases
Solution Approach 1:
The operating mechanisms are segmented into separate spatial locations - the release mechanism is positioned in the interior of the frame while the safety mechanism is positioned on the exterior, requiring the operator to use both hands to operate them simultaneously, thus preventing accidental single-handed activation
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure serves as an intermediary that physically separates and positions the release and safety mechanisms at different locations, creating a spatial barrier that prevents simultaneous single-handed operation while maintaining the functional relationship between the two mechanisms
2Ease of operation
If the release actuator is positioned accessible to single hand operation, then the ease of operation improves, but the reliability of safe operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control functions are segmented into two separately accessible mechanisms positioned at different locations - the release actuator in the interior and the safety mechanism on the exterior - ensuring that both hands must be used to operate the device, thereby maintaining reliability while preserving operational ease
3Device complexity
If debris accumulation is allowed in the interior, then the device structure remains simple, but the reliability of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
A debris outlet is provided in the frame that extracts and removes debris from the interior cavity, preventing accumulation that could interfere with the operation of the release actuator and safety mechanism, thus maintaining reliability without significantly increasing structural complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A handheld target thrower, components thereof, and associated methods. In some embodiments, the target thrower includes a frame, a thrower, and a target holder that holds the target in position to be thrown by the thrower when the thrower moves relative to the target holder. In some embodiments, the target thrower includes a firing mechanism including a release actuator and a safety spaced apart from one another such that both hands of an operator are required to fire a target. In some embodiments, the target thrower includes one or more debris outlets that allow debris, such as from broken targets, that may enter the target thrower to migrate out of the target thrower so as to not disrupt the operation of the target thrower.