Mechanical guns and projectors – Fluid pressure – Having common supply to plural projector barrels
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-09
2001-08-28
Eldred, J. Woodrow (Department: 3644)
Mechanical guns and projectors
Fluid pressure
Having common supply to plural projector barrels
C124S072000, C222S079000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279562
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to toy guns and projectile launchers, and more particularly to such devices which incorporate a figurine into the structure of the device to simulate a vehicle, creature or other figure, and to such devices adapted to discharge water or other projectiles from multiple ports.
Dart guns are known in the art in which the body of the gun is in the form of an aircraft. In such guns a dart barrel is typically formed in the nose of the aircraft fuselage. A handle at the rear of the fuselage allows the user to draw back the plunger of an internally carried air pump. A pistol grip and trigger attached to the underside of the fuselage allow the user to hold and discharge the toy. The toy is identical in function and manner of operation to a typical single shot dart gun, except that its body is shaped like an aircraft rather than a gun.
Also known in the art are water guns concealed in, disguised as, or otherwise incorporating figurines. Examples are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,419 (Spector), U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,202 (D'Andrade), U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,918 (D'Andrade), U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,892 (Nadel), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,756 (Amici et al.).
A common characteristic of the above referenced dart guns and water guns is they are limited to discharging projectile matter from a single discharge port.
Also known in the art are air operated projectile launchers, such as dart guns, which are capable of launching projectiles sequentially from multiple discharge ports. Typically this involves the use of a multiple barrel magazine which can be rotated or otherwise moved on the frame of the gun to sequentially align the individual barrels with the air outlet of an air pump. For the purpose of such alignment with the barrels, the air pump outlet is fixed in position on the gun frame. Examples of this structure are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,237,678 (Lohr et al.). A variation on this structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,729 (Griffin et al.) wherein a magazine is held in a stationary position on the frame of a dart gun, and an air pump is rotated to sequentially align an air outlet with the barrels of the magazine.
A common characteristic of such multi-shot devices is the grouping of the barrels in a uniform pattern, immediately adjacent one another, in a magazine which is movably or releasably attached to the body. Commonly used magazine patterns include evenly spaced circular and linear arrays of barrels. Such arrangements are necessary in prior art devices to allow movable barrels to sequentially align with a stationary air outlet, or vice versa, through simple incremental motions. Another common characteristic of such devices is the proximity of the barrels to the air pump. Pumps and barrels in these and other multi-shot air guns are aligned and positioned adjacent to one another because it is efficient, both as to layout and construction of the gun and as to delivery of air from pump to barrel. Adherence to such conventions and the incorporation of such characteristics has limited prior art development of multiple barrel, air powered toy guns to generally conventional layouts, e.g., a magazine comprising a circular or linear array of barrels carried at the front end of a gun in direct contact with the cylinder of an air pump.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides novel constructions for toy guns wherein a pump or other pressurization mechanism is employed to project matter from a plurality of projectile discharge ports at locations generally remote from the pressurization mechanism, remote from one another, or otherwise irregularly positioned. The invention further provides novel constructions for toy guns wherein a plurality of projectile discharge ports, such as barrels or nozzles, simulate a plurality of weapons or the like being operated by or upon a figurine or model. For example, the invention can be employed to construct toys simulating such things as a multi-headed serpent that spits liquid from each head, a robot that fires a plurality of guns or other simulated weapons, and a vehicle (aircraft, water craft, army tank, spacecraft, etc.) that launches projectiles from a plurality of simulated cannons.
In general, the invention includes distribution mechanisms for directing pressurized matter, typically air or water, from a central pressure source, such as a pump, to remote locations on a gun. The invention may be employed in air guns, wherein the pressurized matter, air, is used as a propellant to discharge solid projectiles such as darts. The invention may also be employed in water guns wherein the pressurized matter, water, is itself utilized as a projectile. In either example, the invention allows a single pump at one location on the gun to discharge projectile matter from a plurality of locations remote from each other and/or from the pump. A typical embodiment includes the incorporation of a figurine into the frame or body of the gun, wherein primary components of the pump and associated pressure distribution mechanisms are concealed within a relatively large central portion of the body, and a plurality of barrels, nozzles or other discharge ports are carried upon extremities characteristic of the particular figurine incorporated. Other embodiments may comprise a pump on one part of a gun, a plurality of barrels on a remote subassembly of the gun, and a plurality of flexible conduits connecting the individual barrels to a selective distribution mechanism for delivering pressurized air sequentially to one barrel at a time.
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to enable the construction of pressure operated toy guns in a variety of novel configurations wherein extra play value is derived by the separation of multiple discharge ports from a common pressurization mechanism.
It is a further objective of the invention to enable the construction of novel toy guns wherein multiple projectiles appear to be discharged from or by a creature, vehicle or other object that can be simulated by a figurine incorporated into the toy.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5373832 (1994-12-01), D'Andrade
patent: 5797385 (1998-08-01), Thai
patent: 5878734 (1999-03-01), Johnson et al.
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