Article dispensing – Simulations
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-09
2001-06-12
Bollinger, David H. (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
Simulations
C221S269000, C221S270000, C221S271000, C221S274000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244463
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to toys and, more particularly, relates to candy dispensing toys.
Children have long enjoyed the entertainment value offered by candy dispensers. Not only are children typically excited by the end result of obtaining a piece of candy, but the mechanics of presenting and delivering the candy to the child is often equally exciting. Such candy dispensers can be provided in the form of well-known gum ball machines, often provided outside commercial establishments such as supermarkets and the like, wherein the gum ball machine typically includes visually captivating elements such as a large clear globe filled with brightly colored candies, and/or a spiral or labyrinthine pathway for delivering the candy.
Candy dispensers may also be provided in the hand-held or portable variety. Such dispensers are provided in a number of forms, with the most common being a toy gun of some sort which is adapted to fire a candy upon manipulation of a trigger. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,631,578 and 2,921,573 provide two examples of toy candy dispenser guns. Similar dispensers may be provided in the form of toy animals, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,360,930 and 5,651,475.
While such devices attempt to provide visually and audibly stimulating toys to captivate the interest of children, it is important to understand that the attention span of children is often limited. Complicated and multiply sequenced steps for dispensing a candy can often require time beyond the patience of the child. Moreover, complicated mechanical structures requiring multiple steps such as a toy gun requiring, among other things, a first step of cocking a firing mechanism and a second step of triggering the release of the firing mechanism can lend themselves to mechanical malfunction, fatigue, or failure. This, in turn, can upset the child, or the parent, ultimately leading to the child stopping usage of the toy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a candy dispenser is provided which may include a candy hopper, an opening, an actuating mechanism, and a trigger mechanism. The candy hopper may include a bottom aperture with the opneing being disposed below the bottom aperture of the hopper. The actuating mechanism may be disposed in the opening and be adapted to move between a firing position at least partially closing the aperture, and a loading position opening the aperture. The trigger mechanism may be connected to the actuating mechanism, with a single actuation of the trigger mechanism moving the actuating mechanism from the firing position to the loading position, and back to the firing position. A piece of candy falls into the opening through the aperture when the actuating mechanism is moved from the firing position to the loading position, and the piece of candy is forcibly ejected from the dispenser when the actuating mechanism moves form the loading position to the firing position.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, such a candy dispenser may be provided wherein the trigger mechanism includes a pivotable plate, an actuation rod connected to the pivotable plate, a drag arm connected to the pivotable plate, and a spring biasing the actuating mechanism toward the firing position. Depression of the actuation rod may rotate the pivotable plate, which in turn pulls the drag arm and drags the actuating mechanism to the loading position. Upon further depression of the actuation rod, the drag bar disengages from the actuation mechanism, and allows the spring to force the actuating mechanism toward the firing position, thus dispensing a candy.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a candy dispenser in the shape of a spacecraft is provided which may include an internal candy reservoir adapted to retain a plurality of candy pieces, and an actuating mechanism that loads and forcibly ejects candy pieces from the dispenser based on a single user action. The forcible ejection of the candies simulates a weapon being fired from the spacecraft.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a toy spacecraft adapted to dispense objects is provided which may include a simulated fuselage, a simulated cockpit, and a simulated passenger mechanism. The simulated fuselage may have a base, with an object dispensing chute being provided in the base of the fuselage. The simulated cockpit may be adapted to store a plurality of objects, with the cockpit being in communication with the dispensing chute. A single depression of the simulated passenger mechanism may cause an object to be fired from the toy spacecraft and another object to be communicated from the cockpit to the dispensing chute. The object dispensed by the toy spacecraft may be in the form of candies.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method of dispensing candies is provided which may comprise the steps of providing a toy spacecraft having at least one appendage, and depressing the appendage to cause a candy to be forcibly ejected from the spacecraft. The forcible ejection simulates a weapon being fired from the spacecraft.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.
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Anis Jeff
Boyle Ronald C.
Hasan Syed
Richards David
Zak Marc
Bollinger David H.
Marshall O'Toole Gerstein Murray & Borun
OddzOn, Inc.
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