Dispensing – Simulations – Firearms
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-20
2003-10-14
Mancene, Gene (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Simulations
Firearms
C251S075000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06631830
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a snap action ball valve assembly, and more particularly to a spring-controlled snap action ball valve assembly and the use of the valve assembly in apparatus for dispensing liquids, preferably pressurized liquids. Still more particularly, the valve assembly of the present invention is well suited for use in toy water guns and especially toy water guns in which the water is air-pressurized or is pressurized by the elastic force of an elastic bladder. The valve assembly of the present invention has open and closed valve positions in which the valve is switchable substantially instantaneously upon appropriate activation from a closed position to an open position and from an open position to a closed position.
There are a large number of different valve structures used to control the flow of liquid in all types of apparatus. Some valves allow different flow volumes by allowing the user to control the extent to which a valve opens and closes. Other valves are full open or full closed. The valve assembly of the present invention is of the latter type. The valve assembly can be used in all types of applications, particularly where control of pressurized liquids, that is, the flow of the liquid is controlled by a motive force, such as a pump, by air pressure or an elastic bladder. The present invention will be described with respect to its use in toy water guns.
Water guns for decades have been very popular toys. The most traditional form of water gun is a single stroke water gun that uses a small pump within the housing of the water gun to pump a small amount of water from water contained in the housing through various conduits connected to a nozzle at the front of the water gun where each pull of a trigger activates a pump stroke to shoot one small stream of water at a time from the water gun. These water guns are limited in the distance the water travels, the amount of water projected and the duration of the pumping cycle. In some instances, battery-operated motors activate the pumps when a trigger is depressed, but such battery-operated water guns still typically are subject to the same problems as the fully manually operable water guns. The primary advantage of battery operated water guns is that they are capable of rapid fire pump strokes based on the operation of the motor, or in some instances, a continuous pump action by which the battery-operated motor is activated for as long as the trigger is depressed. In both of the single stroke and battery operated water guns, the conduit leading from the pump to the nozzle typically is not controlled by any valve, since a valve is not necessary because the water is only being forced through the gun by the action of each individual pump stroke or by the activation of the pump motor.
In an attempt to improve upon water guns, so as to increase the distance the water travels when shot from the gun and to increase the duration of the time of an individual stream of water being shot, the toy industry has developed pressurized water guns which work on the principle of the pressure differential between the water in the water gun and atmospheric pressure. In pressurized water guns, water in the water gun is at a pressure higher than the pressure of the ambient atmosphere. As a result, when the water within the water gun is open to the atmosphere, typically by opening a valve in a conduit between the source of pressurized water and a nozzle, the water will stream out of the water gun under pressure. Thus, the use of a valve to release water to the nozzle is essential in pressurized water guns. There are two general types of pressurized water guns.
A first type of pressurized water gun traps water in a collapsible area where, as the collapsible area expands, a force is created on the water, such as by an elastic bladder. The collapsible area or bladder is filled with water under pressure, such as from a municipal water source or by pumping the water from a reservoir, using a remotely located pump or a pump contained on the water gun. During the fill cycle and until the water is desired to be shot, a valve between the pressurized water source and the nozzle is closed so that the water cannot escape from the water gun. When it is desired to shoot water from the gun, the valve is opened, typically by an actuator connected to a trigger, so that as the collapsible area is collapsed or as the elastic bladder contracts to its pre-expanded size, water is expelled from the gun under pressure. Typical of these types of water guns are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,197,070, 4,735,239 and 4,854,480, as well as several SUPER SOAKER® CPS™ bladder-type water guns sold by Larami Limited. These types of water guns generally provide a constant pressure for the water being shot from the guns until the supply of water within the bladder is effectively exhausted. Various embodiments of the Larami Limited types of water guns are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,800, in which the bladder is charged from a water reservoir mounted on the water gun with a hand pump also located on the water gun. U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,619 is an example of a water gun in which bladders are contained in a backpack that can be filled by a quick charging device using water from a municipal water source. The hand-held component in this product in essence is an assembly comprising a trigger-activated valve and a nozzle through which a stream of water is dispensed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,925 discloses another type of bladder of water gun in which water used to fill a bladder may be pumped from a water tank in which the water tank and pump are located on or in the housing of the water gun, and also from a municipal water source using a quick charge device.
The other general type of pressurized water gun uses air pressure to force water through a nozzle. The air is pressurized using a pump that can be remote from the hand-held water gun or on or in the housing of the hand-held water gun. As with the first type of water guns, the water is shot from the guns by using a trigger actuator to open a release valve located between the pressurized water source and the nozzle. An example of a device using a remote pump is U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,674. Another example of a water gun using both an on-board water tank and air pump is U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,437, typical of Larami Limited's original SUPER SOAKER® water guns exemplified by the SUPER SOAKER® 50 model water gun.
Other water guns in the air pressurized category operate under the principle disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 35,412 and 5,322,191, by which water from an unpressurized source, such as a pool of water or a vented water tank that may be mounted on the water gun, may be pumped by a pump that likewise may be mounted on the water gun to a pressurized tank initially containing air. As the water is pumped from the vented water tank to the pressurized tank, the air in the pressurized tank is compressed, providing a motive force for the water, which is shot from the gun upon opening of a trigger-controlled release valve. U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,871 discloses a toy water gun in which the source of water in a pressurized tank is from an external water supply, such as a municipal water supply. A quick charging device allows water from the municipal water supply to fill a pressurized tank initially containing air such that the air is compressed and acts as a motive force to eject water from the gun upon opening of a trigger-controlled release valve. In the water gun disclosed in this patent, an air pump mounted within the housing of the water gun is used to pump additional compressed air into the air pressure water tank so that there will be enough compressed air to expel substantially all of the water from the pressurized tank.
With all of the air pressurized water guns, the duration and distance of the stream of water being shot from the water guns are based on the amount and pressure of the air used as the motive force. When the pressure of the air used as a motive force for the water reaches th
Ma Chor Ming
Skinner George L.
Zimmerman Jeffrey
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P.
Cartagena Melvin A.
Larami Limited
Mancene Gene
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