Dead Stop Assembly with Elastic Deceleration for Target Retrievers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Target retrievers used in training scenarios often have inadequate braking mechanisms, leading to high inertia and potential safety hazards due to failure to stop properly, which can result in damage to the equipment and risk of injury.
Innovation Solution
A dead stop assembly comprising a housing with projections that fit into slots on a rail and a deceleration member, such as a piston, spring, or elastic material, which compresses to gradually stop the target retriever, reducing the risk of damage and injury.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional dead stop is used to stop the target retriever, then the retriever is stopped, but the bolts may shear due to high impact force creating a dangerous situation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by incorporating a deceleration member (such as a spring or elastomeric material) between the housing and the target retriever. This cushioning element is pre-positioned to absorb and dissipate impact energy gradually through compression, preventing the high-impact shear forces that would otherwise cause bolt failure and creating a safer stopping mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The deceleration member serves as an intermediary element between the housing (dead stop) and the target retriever. Instead of direct contact between the housing and retriever, the deceleration member mediates the interaction, converting kinetic energy into compression energy and providing a controlled deceleration that prevents structural failure.
2Speed
If the target retriever moves at high speed, then training scenarios are more realistic, but the retriever has substantial inertia and is difficult to stop
Solution Approach 1:
The deceleration member is pre-positioned in the housing to provide gradual compression-based deceleration. When the high-speed target retriever impacts the housing, the cushioning member compresses over a distance, converting the retriever's kinetic energy into compression energy and bringing it to a controlled stop without requiring excessive stopping force.
3Reliability
If a robust dead stop assembly is used to stop the high-speed retriever, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deceleration member acts as a simple intermediary component that can be a basic spring or elastomeric element. This mediator provides the safety function of energy absorption without requiring complex mechanisms, maintaining relatively simple device architecture while significantly improving safety performance.
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 dead stop assembly effectively decelerates the target retriever over a distance, reducing the risk of damage to the equipment and injury, while also extending its functional life by preventing shear-off and providing a safer training environment.
Implementation Method 1
The deceleration member may be rubber or foam which has a first, extended ambient condition and a second, compressed position
Implementation Method 2
a deceleration member for decelerating a target retriever... the deceleration member may be a piston and cylinder which has a first extended position and a second, compressed position
Implementation Method 3
the deceleration member may be a spring which has a first, extended position and a second, compressed position
Data Source
AI summary
A dead stop assembly includes a deceleration member which is attachable at one end to a rail such that when a target retriever applies force to the deceleration member, the target retriever is decelerated. The deceleration member may be disposed in a housing which further engages the rail when the housing is impacted by a target retriever.