Cloth Tow Target Sleeve (1992)

8/22/2019 Cloth Tow Target Sleeve (1992)

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United States Patent [ 1 9 1l l l l l l i l l l l l l l i l l l l l l l l l l l l l i i iUS005078406A

[ 1 1 ] P a t e n t N u m b e r : 5 , 0 7 8 , 4 0 6

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L u t t r e l l e t a 1 . [ 4 5 ] Date o f P a t e n t : J a n . 7 , 1 9 9 2[ 5 4 ] AERIAL GUNNERYTARGET 5 , 0 2 6 , 0 7 3 6 / 1 9 9 1 L u t t r e l l e t a 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273/360[ 7 5 ] I n v e n t o r s : C l y d e K . L u t t r e l l , New M a r k e t ; FOREIGN PATENTDOCUMENTS

Donald . Moore, H u n t s v i l l e , b o t h o f 5 2 3 0 5 4 1 0 / 1 9 5 3 B e l g i u m Ala 0124785 4/1984 European P a t . O f f . .

7 ' z T - 0 3 0 0 5 6 1 1 8 / 1 9 8 1 Fed. Rep. o f Germany .[ 3 ] A s s l g n e e A??? g z l f s m e s I n c L o s 4 9 6 2 3 0 7 / 1 9 1 9 F r a n c e .g 783489 7/1935 France .

[ 2 1 ] A p p l . N 0 . : 5 3 6 , 1 1 2 7 5 0 0 6 8 7 - 4 9 / 1 9 7 6 Sweden .[ 2 2 ] H} d J 8 1990 2 0 3 4 2 6 7 6 / 1 9 8 0 U n i t e d Kingdom .e : un. , P r i m a r y E x a m i n e r - W i l l i a m H . G r i e b

R e l a t e d US. A p p l i c a t i o n D a t a A t t o r n e y , A g e n t , o r F i r m - B e v e r i d g e , DeGrandi &[ 6 3 ] f o n t i r l g u a t i g n - i r g - s g r t o f S e r . N o . 3 4 3 , 4 3 8 , A p r . 2 6 , w e l l a c h e r9 8 9 , a t . o . , 6 , 0 7 3 , and a c o n t i n u a t i o n - i n - p a r t ofPCT/US90/O224l, A p r . 2 5 , 1 9 9 0 . [ 5 7 ] ABSTRACT[ 5 1 ] 1 m. 0 1 . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F41J 9 /10 A" e r i a l gunnery t a r g e t which s Wed behind 1 W[ 5 2 ] us. 0 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 3 / 3 6 0 ; 2 4 4 / 1 TD i n g a i r c r a f t The gunnery t a r g e t i n c l u d e s a n e x t e n s i o n[ 5 3 ] F i e l d o f S e a r c h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 3 / 3 6 0 , 3 6 1 d e v i c e t h a t S e p a r a t e s a forebody a s s e m b l y from v i s u a l5 6 R C i d a u g m e n t e r . The t a r g e t a l s o i n c l u d e s a v e n t e d i n ? a t o r[ 1 e e r e n c e s t e p o s i t i o n e d a t t h e for ward end o f t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r .

U . S . PATENTDOCUMENTS T he e n t e d i n ? a t o r m a i n t a i n s t h e f r o n t end o f t h e v i s u a l1 , 8 6 0 , 9 3 2 5 / 1 9 3 2 B i n n i e . augmenter open u r i n g t o w i n g . The i s u a l augmenter s2 , 2 1 6 , 7 7 6 1 0 / 1 9 4 0 H o f f m a n _ g e n e r a l l y c y l i n d r i c a l i n s h a p e w i t h a n open f t end and2 , 2 3 8 , 8 7 5 4 / 1 9 4 1 Manson . a n a d j u s t m e n t d e v i c e f o r v a r y i n g t h e s i z e o f t h e a f t2 , 2 3 3 , 3 7 6 4 / 1 9 4 1 Manson - o p e n i n g . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e v i s u a l body s comprised o f a1 ? ; g r o w n ' 1 mesh n e t t i n g w h i c h p r e f e r a b l y i n c l u d e s a p l u r a l i t y o f2 ' 2 7 O 8 8 4 V1942 M22282 a ' ' i n t e r c o n n e c t e d s t r a n d s j o i n e d t o g e t h e r t o form p l u r a l ~2 : 3 4 2 : 6 5 1 2 / 1 9 4 4 D i r c k s e n ' _ i t y o f d i a m o n d s h a p e d o p e n i n g s . T h e i n t e r - c o n n e c t e d2 , 4 0 2 , 1 5 6 6 / 1 9 4 6 G r i e s i n g e r , s t r a n d s a r e each formed of p l u r a l i t y of n i t t e d t h r e a d s2 , 4 1 9 , 5 4 9 4 / 1 9 4 7 G r i e s i n g e r e t a 1 . . and t h e s t r a n d s a r e p r e f e r a b l y j o i n e d t o g e t h e r by k n i t1 3 07237 9 / 1 9 5 7 F r e y ~ t i n g some or l l of h r e a d s of one t r a n d with some or l l

l i z l e g m ' a n o f t h e t h r e a d s o f a n i n t e r c o n n e c t i n g s t r a n d .4 , 2 0 5 Z 8 4 8 6/1980 Smith e t a ] . . _ _4 , 6 2 4 , 6 4 8 1 1 / 1 9 8 6 W a t e r s . 9 Clams, 18 Dr?wmg h e e t s

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5 , 0 7 8 , 4 0 61AERIALGUNNERY TARGETRELATED APPLICATION(S)

T h i s a p p l i c a t i o n i s a c o n t i n u a t i o n - i n - p a r t o f U . S . a pp l i c a t i o n S e r . N o . 0 7 / 3 4 3 ,4 3 8 , ? l e d A p r . 2 6 , 1 9 8 9 , no wU . S . P a t . N o . 5 , 0 2 6 , 0 7 3 , g r a n t e d J u n e 2 5 , 1 9 9 1 . Thep r e s e n t a p p l i c a t i o n i s a l s o a c o n t i n u a t i o n - i n - p a r t o f I nt e r n a t i o n a l A p p l i c a t i o n P C T / U S 9 0 / 0 2 2 4 1 ? l e d A p r .2 5 , 1 9 9 0 .

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe ? e l d o f t h i s i n v e n t i o n l i e s w i t h i n t h e t a r g e t a n d

g u n n e r y a r t . I n p a r t i c u l a r , i t l i e s w i t h i n t h e s p e c i ? c ? e l do f a e r i a l t a r g e t s t h a t a r e towed b e h i n d a n a i r c r a f t .

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTT o m p r o v e t h e s h o o t i n g a n d p u r s u i t s k i l l s o f a i r c r a f tp i l o t s , v a r i o u s t y p e s o f t a r g e t s h a v e b e e n d e v e l o p e d

which a r e towed b e h i n d a towing i r c r a f t . Some o f t h ee a r l i e r t a r g e t c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n c l u d e d e l o n g a t e d f a b r i cp a n e l s o r b a n n e r s s u c h a s t h o s e d i s c l o s e d i n U . S . P a t .N o s . 2 , 7 3 1 , 0 4 6 a n d 2 , 8 0 7 , 2 8 7 . T h e s e t a r g e t s i n c l u d e dwoven p a n e l s a t t a c h e d t o a b r i d l e a s s e m b l y w h i c h , i nt u r n , wa s a t t a c h e d t o a long c a b l e secured t o a towinga i r c r a f t . A l t e r n a t e p r i o r a r t f o r m s o f to w a r g e t s i n c l u d et h o s e f o u n d i n U . S . P a t . N o s . 2 , 3 4 2 , 6 5 1 a n d 3 , 0 0 0 , 6 3 4which f e a t u r e one o r m o re c y l i n d r i c a l s l e e v e s b e i n gd r a g g e d b e h i n d a tow a i r c r a f t . Such t a r g e t s h a v ep r o v e n t o b e s u s c e p t i b l e t o ? a g g i n g a n d o s c i l l a t i o nwhen d r a g g e d a t h i g h s p e e d s .

U . S . P a t . No. 4 , 2 0 5 , 8 4 8 d i s c l o s e s a b a n n e r p r o p o s e df o r us e a s an a e r i a l gunnery t a r g e t which includes ap l u r a l i t y o f s i n g l e s t r a n d s e x t e n d i n g b e t w e e n f o r w a r da n d a f t f r a m e s t r u c t u r e s . T h i s t y p e o f p r i o r a r t t a r g e t i sd e s c r i b e d a s a v o i d i n g t h e p r i o r a r t p r o b l e m s o f f l a g g i n ga n d o s c i l l a t i n g a t h i g h s p e e d s c l u e t o t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o ft r a n s m i t t e d f o r c e s between t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t r a n d s e xt e n d i n g a l o n g t h e l e n g t h o f t h e t a r g e t .N o n e t h e l e s s , s i n g l e s t r a n d s a l s o t e n d t o whip n d ? a gand snap i n a manner s i m i l a r t o a whip c r a c k i n g . Thiswhipping a c t i o n t e n d s t o b r e a k t h e e n d s o f t h e s t r a n d st h u s s h o rt e n i n g t h e l e n g t h o f t h e a u g m e n t e r . A l s o , t h eu s e o f i n d i v i d u a l i z e d s t r a n d s c r e a t e s a problem o f t a r g e ts u r v i v a b i l i t y a f t e r r e p e a t e d h i t s b y t h e p u r s u i n g p l a n e .Once t h e i n d i v i d u a l i z e d s t r a n d s a r e hi t t h e y t e n d t of r e e l y f l o w a b o u t t h u s d e g r a d i n g t h e v i s u a l a c u i t y o f t h et a r g e t a n d i t s p e r f o r m a n c e . M o r e o v e r , t h e p o s i t i o n i n go f t h e r a d a r o r s c o r i n g d e v i c e c l o s e t o t h e forward endo f t h e t a r g e t makes h e d e v i c e s u s c e p t i b l e t o d e s t r u c t i o nd u e t o h i t s b y t h e p u r s u i n g a i r c r a f t .The v a r i o u s v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r s s u c h a s t h e b a n n e r s ,s l e e v e s , a n d i n t e r c o n n e c t e d s t r a n d s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e ,h a v e a l s o p r e s e n t e d t h e p r o b l e m o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l i mp a c t . Fo r t h o s e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r s which a r e r e l e a s e db e f o r e l a n d i n g o f t h e t o w i n g a i r c r a f t , t h e r e l i e s t h ep o s s i b i l i t y o f t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r d r o p pi n g i n t o a b o d yo f w a t e r . T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l y t r u e f o r t h e l i g h t e r b a n n e r swhich a r e more a p t t o be in?uenced by wind c u r r e n t s .The v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r s which a l l i n t o a body o f w a t e rand a r e formed o f r e l a t i v e l y b u o y a n t m a t e r i a l s u c h a sp o l y p r o p e l e n e p r e s e n t a p r o b l e m t o ? s h e r m e n a n d t h el i k e i n t h a t t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r s t e n d t o t a n g l e up nt h e n e t t i n g u s e d b y ? s h e r m e n a n d t h e p r o p e l l e r s o f b o t hcommercial and r e c r e a t i o n b o a t s . P r i o r a r t a t t e m p t s t os o l v e t h i s p r o b l e m h a v e i n c l u d e d t h e p o s i t i o n i n g o fw e i g h t s on t h e f o r w a r d end o f t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r .However, even w i t h t h e w e i g h t s a t t a c h e d t o t h e f o r

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2ward e n d o f t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r , p o r t i o n s o f t h e v i s u a laugmenter t e n d t o f l o a t upwardly t o w a r d s t h e s u r f a c eo f t h e water t h e r e b y c a u s i n g even a g r e a t e r h a z a r d duet o d i f ? c u l t y i n s p o t t i n g t h e a u g m e n t e r s .

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r s o f t h e p r i o r a r twere prone t o be d i f ? c u l t t o v i s u a l l y d e t e c t due t o al a c k o f v i s u a l a c u i t y . T h i s p r o b l e m i n v i s u a l d e t e c t i o nb e i n g e s p e c i a l l y t r u e f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t r a n d c o n ? g ur a t i o n o f t h e p r i o r a r t a s o f t e n t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t r a n d sb e l l o w o u t w a r d l y d e c r e a s i n g c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n t h e a u gm e n t e r and t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l b a c k g r o u n d .

SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTIONThe r e s e n t i n v e n t i o n , among t h e r t h i n g s , p r e s e n t s a

s o l u t i o n t o t h e a f o r e m e n t i o n e d p r o b l e m s a s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h e p r i o r a r t . I n s o d o i n g , t he p r e s e n t i n v e n t i o np r o v i d e s f o r t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r t o b e s p a c e d w e l laway from h e f o r e b o d y a s s e m b l y c a r r y i n g t h e r a d a r o rs c o r i n g d e v i c e . T o a c h i e v e t h i s s p a c i n g , a n e x t e n s i o nd e v i c e i s u t i l i z e d which h a s a f r o n t end a t t a c h e d t o t h er e a r end of forebody assembly and a r e a r end t t a c h e dt o t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r . H e n c e , t h e e x t e n s i o n d e v i c ep l a c e s t h e f o r e b o d y a s s e m b l y i n a p o s i t i o n w h i c h i s l e s sl i k e l y t o b e s u b j e c t e d t o h i t s by p u r s u i n g a i r c r a f t . Theextension device includes o ne or m o r e r i s e r l i n e s extending e i t h e r from a frame or s w i v e l connection a tt a c h e d t o t h e f o r e b o d y a s s e m b l y . A l u r a l i t y o f s u s p e ns i o n l i n e s e x t e n d from h e e n d o f e a c h o f t h e r i s e r l i n e s .The s u s p e n s i o n l i n e s e x t e n d o u t w a r d l y away f r o m t h er i s e r l i n e s and a r e a t t a c h e d t o a vented i n ? a t o r which sa t t a c h e d t o t h e f o r e f ro n t o f t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r .

I n t h e p r i o r a r t s y s t e m s r e f e r r e d t o , t h e v i s u a l a u g ~menter was connected t o a frame structure which gavet h e f r o n t , open end o f t h e v i s u a l augmenter t h e d e s i r e ds h a p e . T h i s f e a t u r e o f u s i n g t h e f r a m e s t r u c t u r e a t t a c h e dt o t h e f o r e b o d y i s n o t a v a i l a b l e when t i l i z i n g t h e p r e se n t i n v e n t i o n s ? e x i b l e e x t e n s i o n d e v i c e which e x t e n d sf a r from t h e f r a m e . I n o t h e r w o r d s , w i t h o u t a frames t r u c t u r e c o n n e c t e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e f o r w a r d end o f t h ev i s u a l a u g m e n t e r , t h e r e e x i s t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f t h e v is u a l a u g m e n t e r l o s i n g i t s s h a p e a t t h e f o r w a r d e n d .The v e n t e d i n ? a t o r o f t h e pr e s e n t i n v e n t i o n a v o i d st h i s p r o b l e m b y c r e a t i n g t h e a e r o d y n a m i c f o r c e s n e c e ss a r y t o k e e p t h e f o r w a r d e n d o f a c y l i n d r i c a l t y p e v i s u a laugmenter open and i n a n i n f l a t e d c o n d i t i o n . T hev e n t e d i n ? a t o r i n c l u d e s a forward hoop and a rearwardh o o p j o i n e d t o g e t h e r b y a p l u r a l i t y o f ? e x i b l e p a n e l sc o n n e c t e d between t h e f o r w a r d a n d r e a r w a r d h o o p s .The p a n e l s a r e s p a c e d f r o m one a n o t h e r a l o n g t h e p er i p h e r y o f each o f t h e hoops s o a s t o c r e a t e a i r v e n t sb e t w e e n a d j a c e n t p a n e l s . The a n e l s a r e a l s o p r e f e r a b l yconnected t o t h e hoops i n a manner which p r e v e n t ss l i p p a g e o f t h e p a n e l s a l o n g t h e h o o p . A l s o , t h e f o r w a r dhoop s l a r g e r t h a n t h e r e a r w a r d hoop s u c h t h a t whent h e f o r w a r d and r e a r w a r d hoops a r e t e n s i o n e d t h e pane l s form a f r u s t o c o n i c a l rim a t t h e for ward end of h ev i s u a l a u g m e n t e r . The e n t e d i n ? a t o r t h u s a c t s t o maint a i n t h e f o r w a r d e n d o f t h e v i s u a l augmenter n a n openp o s i t i o n .The i s u a l a u g m e n t e r i s g e n e r a l l y c y l i n d r i c a l w i t h a nopen f r o n t end and an open f t end which i n c l u d e s ana d j u s t i n g d e v i c e t h a t e n a b l e s t h e s i z e o f t h e a f t o p e n i n gt o be a d j u s t e d . T h i s a d j u s t m e n t f e a t u r e a l l o w s f o r man i p u l a t i o n o f t h e d r a g c r e a t e d b y t h e v i s u a l a u g m e n t e r .Fo r s i t u a t i o n s i n which t h e v i s u a l augmenter i s t o b et o w e d a t h i g h s p e e d s , i t i s p r e f e r a b l e t h a t t h e a d j u s t i n gd e v i c e c r e a t e a l a r g e o p e n i n g a t t h e a f t end o f t h e v i s u a l


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Cloth Tow Target Sleeve (1992)

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