US-12618650-B2 - Portable target stand

US12618650B2US 12618650 B2US12618650 B2US 12618650B2US-12618650-B2

Abstract

A portable target stand includes a base aimed to be deployed over a surface in a usage position. The base includes an elongated body, extending horizontally between a first end and a second end, opposite said first end, in said usage position, and four legs. The body includes target attaching means, configured to attach at least one target assembly thereto. The target assembly includes means for holding at least a target. Each of said legs includes a first portion, attached to said body so that is horizontally tiltable between a first folded position wherein said first portion is folded to said body, and a first extended position wherein said first portion is tilted away laterally from said body. Each of said legs further includes a second portion, attached to said first portion so that is vertically tiltable between a second folded position.

Inventors

Diego DE LAS FUENTES GUTIÉRREZ
Dalton Rafael JIMÉNEZ CORONEL

Assignees

Diego DE LAS FUENTES GUTIÉRREZ
Dalton Rafael JIMÉNEZ CORONEL

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230621

Claims (20)

1 . A portable target stand comprising a base aimed to be deployed over a surface in a usage position, said base comprising: an elongated body, extending horizontally between a first end and a second end in said usage position; and four legs; said body having target attaching means, configured to attach at least one target assembly thereto, wherein said target assembly comprises means for holding at least a target; each of said legs comprising: a first portion, attached to said body so that is horizontally tiltable between a first folded position wherein said first portion is folded to said body, and a first extended position wherein said first portion is tilted away laterally from said body; and a second portion, attached to said first portion so that is vertically tiltable between a second folded position wherein said second portion is folded to said first portion, and a second extended position wherein said second portion is tilted away downwards from said first portion in an angle of at least 90°.
2 . The portable target stand according to claim 1 , wherein in each leg, said first portion is attached to said second portion by means of a toothed hirth-like joint.
3 . The portable target stand according to claim 1 , wherein each of said first portions is attached to said body by means of a swivel attachment, and wherein said body comprises: a first swivel attachment proximate to said first end of the body; and a second swivel attachment proximate to said second end of the body; wherein said four legs are grouped in two pairs of legs, a first pair of legs of said four legs, attached to said first swivel attachment, and a second pair of legs of said four legs, attached to said second swivel attachment.
4 . The portable target stand according to claim 3 , wherein said elongated body comprises: a central part; a first end part comprising said first swivel attachment; and a second end part comprising said second swivel attachment; wherein each of said first end part and said second end part are removably attachable to said central part by means of respective end part securing means; each of said end part securing means comprising a dovetail junction and a lock.
5 . The portable target stand according to claim 3 , wherein, for each pair of legs of said two pairs of legs, one leg of said pair of legs is horizontally tiltable from said first folded position to said first extended position in a forward direction, and the other leg of said pair of legs is horizontally tiltable from said first folded position to said first extended position in a backward direction, contrary to said forward direction.
6 . The portable target stand according to claim 3 , wherein, for each pair of legs of said two pairs of legs, it is provided an angular stopper configured to prevent the angle between said legs from being less than a predefined minimum angle, so that each leg of said pair of legs is horizontally tiltable independent from one another if the angle between each leg of said pair of legs is greater than said predefined angle between legs.
7 . The portable target stand according to claim 3 , wherein each swivel attachment of said first swivel attachment and said second swivel attachment comprises a top threaded part and a bottom threaded part, screwable with each other in a mounted position, thereby forming a vertical empty cylinder having a central axis, said empty cylinder opened to the exterior at least in a top side of said elongated body, so that a mounting hole accessible by said top side is formed, wherein said central axis of said vertical cylinder is also the axis of rotation around which each leg of the pair of legs attached to the swivel attachment can be tilted; wherein said target attaching means comprises: a first mounting hole, being the mounting hole corresponding to said first swivel attachment; and a second mounting hole, being the mounting hole corresponding to said second swivel attachment.
8 . The portable target stand according to claim 7 , further comprising a target assembly that comprises a first pole and a second pole, wherein, in a mounted position, said first pole is inserted in said first mounting hole, and said second pole is inserted in said second mounting hole, said poles configured for holding a target between them.
9 . The portable target stand according to claim 7 , further comprising a target assembly that comprises a first clamp and a second clamp, each clamp having a bottom straight mounting part and top clamping part having the general shape of an inverted R, wherein, in a mounted position, said straight mounting part of said first clamp is inserted in said first mounting hole, and said straight mounting part of said second clamp is inserted in said second mounting hole, said clamps configured for holding a target between them.
10 . The portable target stand according to claim 1 , wherein said target attaching means comprise a central mounting hole provided in a top side of said elongated body.
11 . The portable target stand according to claim 10 , further comprising a pendulum target assembly that comprises a U-shaped holding structure configured to hold a target, said holding structure connected to a counterweight, and rotatably attached to a vertical fork, so that it can oscillate vertically; said target assembly further comprising a ball joint, having: a ball connected to a bottom shaft which is configured to be inserted in said central mounting hole; an upper part; and a clamp, configured to clamp the upper part to the ball; wherein said vertical fork is attached to said upper part of said ball joint; and wherein said target assembly further comprises a spirit level, configured to show the inclination of said upper part of said ball joint.
12 . The portable target stand according to claim 11 , wherein said counterweigh comprises a pole, said pole comprising one or more weight elements that can be assembled together thereby forming said pole.
13 . The portable target stand according to claim 11 , wherein said target assembly further comprises a locking bracket comprising: a first L-shaped end, configured to engage with said counterweight of said target assembly; a second U-shaped end, configured to engage with said elongated body; and a straight pole connecting said first L-shaped end and said second U-shaped end; wherein, in a mounted position, said holding structure and said counterweight are in a horizontal position, and said locking bracket is vertically arranged between the elongated body and the counterweight thus securing said counterweight in a horizontal position; and wherein said straight pole comprises an intermediate articulation, so that the upper part of the pole can be tilted backwards.
14 . The portable target stand according to claim 13 , wherein said target assembly further comprises a releasing actuator, configured to throw down said locking bracket, thereby releasing said counterweight, wherein said releasing actuator comprises at least one of: a secondary target attached to said straight pole; and a cord attached to one end of said locking bracket.
15 . The portable target stand according to claim 11 , wherein said target assembly further comprises a locking latch, provided in said U-shaped holding structure of said target assembly and configured for engaging with said vertical fork thus securing said U-shaped holding structure in a horizontal position; wherein said locking latch is rotatably mounted to said U-shaped holding structure and has an unlocked position wherein said locking latch is folded to the U-shaped holding structure and retained thereto by at least one magnet, and a locked position wherein said locking latch extends perpendicularly to the U-shaped holding structure.
16 . The portable target stand according to claim 15 , wherein said target assembly further comprises a releasing actuator, configured to pull down said locking latch from one of its ends, so that said locking latch is moved from said locked position to said unlocked position, thereby releasing said U-shaped holding structure, wherein said releasing actuator comprises a cord configured to be attached to one end of said locking latch.
17 . The portable target stand according to claim 10 , further comprising a rotatory vertical target assembly that comprises a U-shaped holding structure configured to hold a target, said holding structure comprising two vertical poles and a horizontal bottom part; said target assembly further comprising a rotatory module configured to be inserted in said central mounting hole and having: attaching means, configured for removably attaching said bottom part; and rotatory means, configured for rotating around a vertical axis, thereby driving said U-shaped holding structure to rotate around said vertical axis; wherein said elongated body is provided with rotation driving means configured to drive said rotatory means to rotate.
18 . The portable target stand according to claim 1 , wherein said elongated body further comprises a control module shielded inside said elongated body, said control module being configured for performing at least one of: activating or deactivating at least one light provided in said body; activating or deactivating at least one laser pointer provided in said body; driving at least one speaker provided in said body to emit at least one sound; activating a releasing actuator which in turn throws down a locking bracket thereby releasing a counterweight of a pendulum target assembly; and activating a releasing actuator which in turns pulls down a locking latch from one of its ends, thereby releasing a holding structure of a pendulum target assembly; wherein said control module is configured for performing at least one pre-defined sequence.
19 . The portable target stand according to claim 1 , wherein it is manufactured using at least one plastic material, said at least one plastic material has at least all but one of the following properties: Young's Modulus: 0.1 to 2.9 GPa; Tensile Resistance: 10 to 80 MPa; Shear Modulus: 85 to 100 MPa; Shore Hardness (D scale): 50 to 80; and Glass-transition Temperature: −125 to 40° C.
20 . The portable target stand according to claim 1 , wherein it is manufactured using at least one of: nylon; polyethylene; polypropylene; acrylonitrile butadiene styrene; and polyvinyl chloride foam.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention lies in the field of stands for target, for example, those dedicated to support targets for aiming and shooting practice. In particular, the invention relates to a portable target stand comprising a base aimed to be deployed over a surface in a usage position. Background Target stands are used for supporting targets form aiming practice, for example, for shooting firearms, arrows, or the like. Typical stands known in the art are fixed structures that provide a good stability but that are difficult to transport and manipulate. For this reason, some other solutions of foldable stands have been developed. Examples of these type of target stands are diverse in the art, the most usual being trestles to tripods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,295,315 discloses a trestle-like target stand with four foldable legs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,356 discloses a tripod-like target stand having three foldable legs. These types of stans are portable, they can be unfolded and deployed over a surface and, when the aiming session finishes, they can be folded back so they can be transported, stored, or moved to another location. However, in these types of stands, the structure is still large to be easily transported even when folded. Another problem is the lack of adaptation to the terrain or surface where the stand has to be deployed. U.S. Pat. No. 8,955,846 discloses a tripod stand having a base with three foldable legs and yoke gimbal assembly that allows to deploy the base in an uneven terrain and support the target in a vertical position. U.S. Pat. No. 8,176,665 discloses stands having a base having an elongated body and a leg formed in a single piece articulately joined at the middle, so it can be horizontally unfolded in a X-like shape or folded against the body for storage and transportation. Several bases may be jointly used in order to improve stability. Even if the aforementioned examples provide improved transportation and storage capabilities, the adaptation to the terrain is still limited. A further problem of many of the stands known in the art is that the required rigidity and stability often requires using metallic parts. In particular, in the case of targets for firearm shooting practice, when a projectile impacts a metallic part, it can generate shards that may fly away and be a potential risk. US20190186874 deals with this shortcoming by using a stand formed by flat pieces of multilayer polymeric material that can be assembled together, the pieces having a low-density polymer foam in the centre, so it can absorb impacts without creating shards. The resulting stand, however, is not suitable for being deployed in uneven terrains and the type of targets it can support is limited. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is aimed to provide portable target stand of the type stated at the beginning, being able to avoid the problems that have been identified above. This purpose is achieved by a portable target stand of the type indicated at the beginning, wherein said base comprises: an elongated body, extending horizontally between a first end and a second end, opposite said first end, in said usage position; andfour legs; said body having target attaching means, configured to attach at least one target assembly thereto, wherein said target assembly comprises means for holding at least a target; each of said legs comprising: a first portion, attached to said body so that is horizontally tiltable between a first folded position wherein said first portion is folded to said body, and a first extended position wherein said first portion is tilted away laterally from said body; anda second portion, attached to said first portion so that is vertically tiltable between a second folded position wherein said second portion is folded to said first portion, and a second extended position wherein said second portion is tilted away downwards from said first portion in an angle of at least 90°. The base may therefore be deployed showing a front side that will usually be directed towards the location of the person who is practicing shooting, and a back side opposite the front side. Each of the four legs have two portions: the first portion is articulated regarding the body and can be folded and unfolded horizontally with respect to the body, while the second portion is articulated regarding the first portion and can be folded and unfolded vertically with respect to the first portion. As a non-limiting example, one end of the first portion of each leg may be attached near one to the ends of the body by an articulation element, and the other end of the first portion may be attached to one end of the second portion of the leg by another articulation element. This way, when unfolded, the free end of the second portion may be in contact with the surface where the base is deployed. Since each portion of each leg may be unfolded independently and into different angles, the resulting stand may be easily ad