The present invention is concerned with a target; and while many aspects of the invention may be employed in targets provided for use with a variety of missiles, the target is particularly suitable for use as an archery target, in which connection the invention is described hereinafter.
Targets for various purposes have been made from a variety of materials. Until recent years, most archery targets were formed of straw, frequently in the form of a disk of approximately three feet in diameter. This well-known form of archery target has numerous disadvantages including heavy weight, bulkiness, and also deterioration when exposed to the weather. Moreover, targets of this prior type have a relatively short life. Scoring considerations commonly result in much more numerous strikes in the central area of the target than in the other areas, so that the central area wears and weakens quite rapidly and at a much higher rate than the other areas of the target.
Having in mind the foregoing disadvantages of the straw type of target, my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,246 provides an archery target formed of a combination of multiple layers of plastic membranes and porous or foamed plastic materials, and the target of my prior patent was constructed of a multiplicity of board-like components formed of the membranes and plastic materials, the board-like components being capable of being alternatively positioned in various positions in the target face, in order to bring new target material into the central region of the target, and thereby increase the overall life of the target. With the target of my prior patent, in order to bring different board-like components into the central region of the target, it is necessary to disassemble and reassemble the target.
The present invention provides a novel system providing for shiftably moving portions of the target material from one area of the target face into another area thereof, without the necessity for disassembling and reassembling the target. The novel system of this invention provides maximum convenience and facility for effecting such shifting movements of the target material.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the target material is arranged in the form of a continuous loop or loop assembly having flattened sides providing substantially flat front and back faces for the target. The target material of which the loop is formed is flexible and is shiftably movable into different positions in the loop assembly. This provides maximum convenience in shifting the position of target material from one area of the loop assembly into another area thereof, including shifting of the target material from an area of the front face of the target to an area of the back face of the target, and vice versa.
Preferably, the target comprises at least two loop assemblies formed of the target materials and arranged in the manner above referred to, the flattened sides of one of the loops being arranged to lie between the flattened sides of the other loop assembly. It is contemplated that at least a pair of loops be arranged on axes at right angles to each other, and this further maximizes the capability of shifting different areas of the target material from one position to another in relation to the center of the target.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, provision is made for forming the loop assemblies by helically winding turns of the sheet material employed, thereby greatly facilitating fabrication of the target, as compared with a construction requiring separate fabrication of individual board-like components.
While the loop assembly arrangement of the present invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with the type of target structure having multiple layers of membranes and intervening layers of porous material, it is to be understood that various of the features above described may be employed with target materials of other types employed not only for archery purposes but also for other purposes. However, it is preferred in accordance with the invention that the target materials be flexible, so that they can be shifted from one flat side of the loop assembly to the other flat side thereof.