Shot Cup Petal Deployment for Pattern Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shot cups often impede the shot pattern due to difficulties in separating the shot from the cup, causing interference with the flight path.
Innovation Solution
A shot cup design featuring distally-facing petals that deploy after leaving the shotshell, with a configuration of varying widths and shapes to facilitate easy separation from the shot load, minimizing interference with the shot's flight path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a shot cup is used to hold and protect the shot load, then the shot is better protected and the shot pattern is improved, but the shot cup often impairs the shot pattern due to difficulties in separating the shot from the cup
Solution Approach 1:
The shot cup is divided into a main body and multiple detachable petals. The petals are connected to the cup body through score lines that allow them to detach easily. This segmentation enables the cup to maintain its protective function during flight while allowing the petals to separate and minimize interference with the shot pattern after the shot has exited the barrel.
Solution Approach 2:
The petals are designed to be dynamic rather than static - they can deploy from a retracted position during flight to an extended position that minimizes interference with the shot pattern. The score lines allow the petals to move and detach as needed, transforming the rigid cup structure into a dynamic configuration that adapts to different phases of the shot's trajectory.
2Reliability
If the shot cup is designed to hold the shot load securely, then the shot is well contained, but the separation between the shot and cup becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cup structure is segmented into the main body and multiple petals connected by score lines. This segmentation allows the cup to securely contain the shot load during flight while enabling easy separation of the petals from the main body, facilitating smooth transition from containment mode to separation mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The score lines are pre-formed in the cup body during manufacturing, creating predetermined weak points that allow the petals to detach easily. This preliminary action of creating the score lines during fabrication ensures that separation occurs smoothly and predictably when needed, without requiring additional force or complex mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If the petals are made wider to facilitate separation, then the separation is easier, but the interference with the shot flight path increases
Solution Approach 1:
The petals are designed with varying widths along their length, being narrower at the attachment point to the cup body and wider toward the tip. This dynamic width variation allows the petals to deploy smoothly from a compact position while minimizing their cross-sectional area in the flight path, reducing interference as they extend.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the petals have different widths and shapes optimized for their specific functions. The base portion of the petals is narrower to facilitate attachment and deployment, while the tip portions can be wider to provide structural integrity during separation. The varying local qualities of the petals allow them to fulfill multiple functions simultaneously.
Data Source
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AI summary
A shot cup for holding shot In a shotshell has a generally cylindrical sidewall, having a dosed proximal end, and an open distal end, and at least one distally-facing petal connected to the sidewall at its proximal end, the petal configured so that it is widest at a point intermediate the proximal and distal ends of the petal. The at least one petal being capable of opening outwardly after the shot cup leaves the shotshell.