U.S. patent application number 09/852783 was filed with the patent office on 2002-11-14 for toy projectile launcher.
Invention is credited to Lee, Chung Hon.
Application Number | 20020166551 09/852783 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25314205 |
Filed Date | 2002-11-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020166551 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee, Chung Hon |
November 14, 2002 |
Toy projectile launcher
Abstract
A toy machine gun or a light-weight projectile launching device
including a projectile conveying mechanism and a projectile
shooting mechanism. The projectile shooting mechanism includes a
projectile shooting pass which is formed by a first and a second
opposing projectile engaging surfaces which are adapted to friction
drag and compressively engage the projectile to be shot. At least
one of the rotating surface is preferably driven by a motor. The
projectile conveying mechanism conveys a projectile towards said
shooting pass for launching.
Inventors: |
Lee, Chung Hon; (Kowloon,
CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
James A. LaBarre
BURNS, DOANE, SWECKER & MATHIS, L.L.P.
P.O. Box 1404
Alexandria
VA
22313-1404
US
|
Family ID: |
25314205 |
Appl. No.: |
09/852783 |
Filed: |
May 11, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
124/78 ;
124/6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41B 4/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
124/78 ;
124/6 |
International
Class: |
F41B 004/00 |
Claims
1. A light-weight projectile launching device including a
projectile conveying mechanism and a projectile shooting mechanism,
wherein said projectile shooting mechanism includes a first and a
second opposing projectile engaging surfaces, said first and second
projectile engaging surfaces are adapted to compressively engage
the projectile to be shot, at least said first projectile engaging
surface is rotatable about a first rotational axis and is connected
to a rotational power source for imparting energy to said
projectile, and said projectile conveying mechanism to convey a
projectile towards engagement with said projectile engaging
surfaces for launching.
2. A projectile launching according to claim 1, wherein said first
and second engaging surfaces are adapted to use friction to impart
energy to said projectile and said engaging surfaces are separated
by a distance which is slightly smaller than the width of a
projectile.
3. A projectile launcher according to claim 1, wherein said second
projectile engaging surface is freely rotatable about a second
rotational axis, and said second rotational surface is driven into
rotation by said first engaging surface upon engagement of a
projectile between said engaging surfaces.
4. A projectile launching device according to claim 1, wherein at
least one of said projectile engaging surfaces is elastically
deformable.
5. A projectile launching device according to claim 3, wherein said
first and second rotational axis are substantially parallel.
6. A projectile launching device according to claim 1, wherein said
first and second projectile engaging surfaces are substantially
parallel to each other at the position of engaging a
projectile.
7. A projectile launching device according to claim 1, wherein a
projectile guiding mechanism is provided at the exit of said
projectile engaging surfaces.
8. A projectile launching device according to claim 7, wherein said
guiding member includes a barrel member having an internal bore
adapted to receive said projectile in a lengthwise manner.
9. A projectile launching device according to claim 1, wherein said
rotational power source is an electric motor.
10. A projectile including a head portion and a body portion,
wherein said head portion is made of a rigid or semi-rigid material
and the body portion is made of a soft material, the length of said
body portion is significantly longer than that of the head
portion.
11. A projectile member according to claim 10, wherein the length
of the head portion is only about {fraction (1/12)}-{fraction
(1/20)} of the overall length of the projectile.
12. A projectile according to claim 9, wherein said head portion is
made of PVC or rubber while the body portion is made of foam.
13. An elongated projectile made substantially of a foam material
having a head portion which is covered by a layer of hard
material.
14. A light-weight projectile launching mechanism including a first
and a second opposing projectile engaging surfaces, said first and
second projectile engaging surfaces are adapted to compressively
engage the projectile to be shot, at least said first projectile
engaging surface is rotatable about a first rotational axis and is
connected to a rotational power source for imparting energy to said
projectile.
15. A projectile launching mechanism according to claim 14, further
including a projectile conveying mechanism, wherein said projectile
conveying mechanism conveys a projectile towards engagement with
said projectile engaging surfaces for launching.
16. A projectile launching mechanism according to claim 14, wherein
said first and second engaging surfaces are adapted to use friction
to impart energy to said projectile and said engaging surfaces are
separated by a distance which is slightly smaller than the width of
a projectile.
17. A projectile launching mechanism according to claim 14, wherein
said second projectile engaging surface is freely rotatable about a
second rotational axis, and said second rotational surface is
driven into rotation by said first engaging surface upon engagement
of a projectile between said engaging surfaces.
18. A projectile launching device according to claim 14, wherein at
least one of said projectile engaging surfaces is elastically
deformable.
19. A toy machine gun including a bullet shooting mechanism,
wherein said bullet shooting mechanism includes a first and a
second rotatable wheel which is adapted to permit compressive
passage of a bullet to be shot through the space formed between
said wheels and at least one of the wheels is power driven.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a toy projectile launcher
and, more particularly, to a motorised toy projectile launcher
which is adapted to launch a toy projectile substantially
resembling the shape of a bullet or a missile. More specifically,
although not necessarily solely, the present invention relates to a
toy gun, especially a toy machine toy, which discharges bullet-like
projectiles. The present invention also relates to a mechanism for
launching or accelerating a projectile object.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Projectile toys represent a wide category of toys which are
played by a wide variety of people. Projectile toys are available
in many different forms and the more commonly known include toy
bows, toy guns and toy flying objects (including spinning objects)
which are ejectable from a launching station which provides the
projectile with an initial flight velocity. In general, a
projectile toy includes a launching device and a free-flying
projectile which are launchable from the launching device. The
launching device imparts an initial velocity to the projectile to
discharge the projectile away from the launching device. The
discharged projectile then leaves the launching device and
continues to fly along a flight path which is substantially
characterised by the initial velocity and trajectory imparted to it
and the design and geometry of the projectile.
[0003] Among the various projectile toys, toy guns, especially toy
guns which are capable of emitting bullet-like projectiles, are
particularly popular among people who are fond of guns but who, for
obvious reasons, are unable to play with real guns in social
occasions or in games.
[0004] Conventional toy guns usually include a rigid plastic
housing inside which a shooting mechanism is mounted. The shooting
mechanism is usually powered by compressed air or by a loaded
spring. Compressed air guns ("air guns") are usually powered by
compressed carbon dioxide which is stored in a valved metallic
cylinder. The bullet in an air gun is propelled by the sudden
expansion of the compressed air which is released through a valve
into a bullet shooting cylinder. However, air guns are usually very
expensive as highly precise components are required. In addition,
operation and maintenance costs are also high. Further, because of
the high propulsive power required to drive a conventional bullet
of an air gun, typical air guns have very strong penetrating power
and are always very dangerous to handle or play with, especially by
children. A loaded spring is the more traditional power source of a
toy gun. However, toy guns with a loaded spring are usually very
noisy and the trigger is difficult to pull. Furthermore, the
recovery time, that is, the minimum time between sequential
discharge of bullets, in both air- and spring-loaded guns, are also
long, thus severely limiting the rate of bullet discharge and the
associated fun.
[0005] Bullets used in conventional toy guns usually have very high
density in order to overcome air resistance and so that a
trajectory similar to that of a real gun-discharged bullet can be
followed. Toy guns using conventional high-density bullets are
quite dangerous and have from time to time caused personal injuries
and accidents. Hence, it would be desirable if there can be
provided toy guns which can discharge bullet-shape projectiles made
of a low-density, and preferably soft, material so that the risks
of personal injuries are substantially reduced while a smooth
trajectory path as can be expected from real bullets can be formed
by the bullet discharge.
[0006] Among the various types of toy guns, toy machine guns are a
dream and fancy of many toy gun lovers. However, toy machine guns
usually require very complicated and precise components and
mechanisms in order to facilitate continuous discharge of bullets
to simulate the effects of a machine gun. As a result,
bullet-loaded toy machine guns which are capable of discharging
bullets continuously at a high speed are usually bulky, heavy and
expensive and are usually only available as professional toys or as
models.
[0007] To satisfy the market drive created by the fancy and desire
of machine gun lovers, especially the younger gun fans, many toy
guns which try to simulate the look-and-feel of machine guns are
available. However, known simulated toy guns are essentially
limited to producing the sound, vibration and the kickback effect
of a real machine gun rather than simulating the real bullet
discharging functions. Such toy machine guns are for example
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,808,143, 5,004,444 and U.S. Pat. No.
5,283,970. However, such a look-and-feel simulation of a toy does
not satisfy the demands of the more serious machine gun lovers who
have a craving for the control of a nearly-real gun and at the same
time enjoying the look and feel of the high-speed continuous
discharge of bullets from the barrel of a machine gun. Hence, it
would be desirable if an improved toy gun or an mechanism for a toy
gun which simulates the high-speed continuous discharge of bullets
from the barrel of a toy gun with a relatively simple bullet
shooting or projectile launching mechanism can be provided.
Preferably the improved bullet launching mechanism can be adapted
to launch bullets or projectiles which are substantially harmless
for obvious safety reason. Preferably such a gun or mechanism
should be simple, light, easy to use and inexpensive to cater for
the needs of the general public.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a toy gun or a projectile launching mechanism which is
adapted to launch bullet-like projectiles which are, preferably at
least partially made of a relatively low-density material such as
foam and which is adapted to drive the projectile with a trajectory
which is substantially similar to that of a real bullet. It is also
an object of the present invention to provide a toy gun or a
mechanism for launching bullets of a toy gun or other projectiles
so that a toy gun incorporating the launching mechanism can operate
like a machine or submachine gun which discharges bullets
continuously. Preferably, the improved projectile launching
mechanism should be simple, inexpensive, light and easy to use. It
is also a further object of the present invention to provide a toy
gun or a launching mechanism for toy gun or other projectiles which
produces the afore-mentioned bullet discharging effect with bullets
which are substantially non-harmful to children or adults. It is at
least an object of the present invention to provide the public with
a choice of toy guns or other projectile launchers having a new
bullet or projectile launching mechanism which is simple,
inexpensive and can simulate the effect of a real machine gun.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] According to the present invention, there is provided a toy
projectile launcher including a projectile conveying mechanism and
a projectile shooting mechanism, wherein said projectile shooting
mechanism includes a first and a second opposing projectile
engaging surfaces, said first and second projectile engaging
surfaces are adapted to compressively engage the projectile to be
shot, at least said first projectile engaging surface is rotatable
about a first rotational axis and is connected to a rotational
power source for imparting energy to said projectile, and said
projectile conveying mechanism to convey a projectile towards
engagement with said projectile engaging surfaces for
launching.
[0010] Preferably, the first and second engaging surfaces are
adapted to use friction to impart energy to said projectile and
said engaging surfaces are separated by a distance which is
slightly smaller than the width of a projectile.
[0011] Preferably, the second projectile engaging surface is freely
rotatable about a second rotational axis, and said second
rotational surface is driven into rotation by said first engaging
surface upon engagement of a projectile between said engaging
surfaces.
[0012] Preferably, at least one of said projectile engaging
surfaces is elastically deformable.
[0013] Preferably, the first and second rotational axis are
substantially parallel.
[0014] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a toy gun which includes a first and a second opposing
projectile engaging surfaces, said first and second projectile
engaging surfaces are adapted to compressively engage the
projectile to be shot, at least said first projectile engaging
surface is rotatable about a first rotational axis and is connected
to a rotational power source for imparting energy to said
projectile.
[0015] Preferably, further including a projectile conveying
mechanism, wherein said projectile conveying mechanism conveys a
projectile towards engagement with said projectile engaging
surfaces for launching.
[0016] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a projectile launching mechanism which includes a
bullet shooting mechanism, wherein said bullet shooting mechanism
includes a first and a second rotatable wheel which is adapted to
permit compressive passage of a bullet to be shot through the space
formed between said wheels and at least one of the wheels is power
driven.
[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a projectile which includes a head portion and a body
portion, wherein said head portion is made of a rigid or semi-rigid
material and the body portion is made of a soft material, the
length of said body portion is significantly longer than that of
the head portion.
[0018] Preferably, the length of the head portion is only about
{fraction (1/12)}-{fraction (1/20)} of the overall length of the
projectile.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
explained below in more detail by way of examples and with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
[0020] FIG. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of a toy gun of
the present invention with one of the side panels removed,
[0021] FIGS. 2a to 2e respective shows the first, right side, rear,
left side and top views of a detachable bullet cartridge for
supplying bullets to the toy gun of the present invention,
[0022] FIG. 2f is a cut-away view of FIG. 2b showing its internal
structure,
[0023] FIG. 3 shows the side view of a second preferred embodiment
of a toy gun of the present invention with one of the said panels
removed,
[0024] FIG. 4 shows a side view of an example of a preferred
projectile suitable for use with the toy gun of the present
invention, and
[0025] FIG. 5 is a side view of the toy gun of FIG. 1 showing a
window adapted to receive a bullet cartridge.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] In the description below, the terms "projectile" and
"bullet" are used interchangeably to have the same meaning to the
extent that it is appropriate and where the context permits.
[0027] Referring firstly to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a first
embodiment of a toy projectile launcher which is made in the shape
of a toy gun for illustrative purpose only. The toy gun (1)
includes a solid housing (10) having a first and a second side
panels (11) which together substantially form the exterior
(including the handle (12)) of a toy gun. The toy gun in general
includes a projectile shooting mechanism, a projectile conveying
mechanism and a projectile guide all of which are preferably
mounted on the gun housing and within the side panels. To provide
for an abundant supply of bullets, a spring-loaded bullet cartridge
is detachably mounted on one side of the gun housing. The bullet
cartridge (20) is similar to a conventional bullet cartridge which
is adapted to receive a plurality of bullets in a stack. The
cartridge has a substantially solid rectangular housing (21) which
is provided with an opening (22) at the top end and a loaded spring
at the bottom end so that bullets stored within the housing are
always pushed towards the top opening for exit to the launching
system. A latching means in the form of a catch (24) is provided at
the top opening end (22) of the cartridge to prevent a bullet (30)
from leaving the cartridge along the direction of the spring bias.
The front end (25) of the top cartridge opening is left open so
that a bullet can move away from the cartridge housing in a
direction which is substantially normal to the direction of the
spring bias and towards the barrel when pushed by a bullet pusher.
In FIG. 5, a window (50) which is adapted to receive the bullet
cartridge for a supply of bullets to the shooting mechanism is
illustrated for better understanding of this embodiment.
[0028] The projectile shooting mechanism includes a first (15) and
a second (16) projectile engaging surfaces which are directly
opposing each other during projectile launching. In the present
preferred embodiment, the first and second projectile launching
surfaces are formed on the circumferential surfaces of first (17)
and a second (18) rotatable wheels which are mounted respectively
about first (41) and a second (42) rotational axes on the housing
(10). The rotational axes are preferably substantially parallel and
the opposing circumferential surfaces of rotatable wheel members
are separated by a distance which is slightly less than the width
(or diameter in the case of a cylindrical projectile) of the
projectile. The rotational planes of the first (17) and second (18)
rotatable members are preferable parallel and coplanar so that a
projectile being fed through the projectile shooting pass (which is
the space defined by the shortest distance between the two opposing
engaging surfaces) will come into simultaneous frictional contact
with both engaging surfaces. The projectile shooting pass (the
space between 15 and 16) is deliberately made slightly smaller than
the width or diameter of a projectile so that adequate frictional
force can apply on a projectile during engagement by both engaging
surfaces in order to impart sufficient energy to the projectile for
a reasonable trajectory path.
[0029] To impart adequate velocity to energize a projectile, the
first rotatable member (17) is driven into rotation by connecting
to a rotational power source which is an electric motor (not shown)
in the present preferred embodiment. Alternatively, the first
rotatable member (17) can be driven by a loaded spring or other
suitable driving means. The second rotatable member (18) is
preferably a freely rotating wheel so that an engaged projectile
can be transported across the projectile shooting pass smoothly and
in the desirable direction with minimum adverse friction due to the
second rotatable member. Alternatively, the free rotating wheel
(18) can be replaced with a very smooth and fixed surface (made for
example of plastic or polished metal) to provide a projectile
engaging surface, although this is less desirable as the friction
between the projectile surface and the fixed projectile engaging
surface will somehow cause speed imbalance on the sides of the
projectile and possible consequential deterioration in performance.
On the other hand, both engaging surfaces can be driven into
rotation by, for example, connecting both rotatable members to the
same or different rotational power sources, although this may
require a more precise transmission mechanism to ensure that both
surfaces have the same rotational speed or synchronism. Preferably,
the projectile engaging surfaces of both rotatable members rotate
at the same linear speed at the time of contact with the projectile
so that a substantially identical speed is imparted to both sides
of the projectile for a balanced initial flight.
[0030] Turning now to the operation of the toy gun by referring
firstly to FIG. 1 in which there are illustrated the progressive
movements of a bullet (30) through the toy machine gun (1).
Referring to FIG. 2, a bullet (30) is pushed to the top end of the
bullet cartridge (20) which is adapted to allow the top-most bullet
to be released towards the front end (25) of the cartridge (20) and
therefore the barrel side (43) of the toy gun. The top-most bullet
is next conveyed towards the bullet shooting pass by a conveying
mechanism which consists of a bullet pusher (44). The bullet pusher
(44) is connected to a lever transmission link which is controlled
by a trigger lever (46) disposed outside the housing for trigger
control by a user. Referring to FIG. 1, the toy gun is in the
stand-by mode in which the power-driven rotatable wheel is turning
at a speed which is suitable for shooting a projectile. When a user
pushes the trigger lever (46) so that it rotates in a
anti-clockwise manner, the rotational movement of the trigger lever
(46) will be converted into a translational movement of the bullet
pusher (44) towards the bullet shooting pass by a known movement
translation means such as a lever system.
[0031] When the bullet (30) has been conveyed to the projectile
shooting pass, the head of the bullet will become engaged by the
two bullet engaging surfaces (15, 16) and the head of the bullet
will be friction dragged by the engaging surface of the rotating
member and moves across the pass and towards the barrel portion
(43) of the toy gun as a result of the rotation of the engaging
surfaces. The bullet shooting pass is made slightly narrowly than
the width of the bullet so that the bullet will be slightly
compressed to ensure sufficient fictional contact to impart
adequate velocity for an ideal flight.
[0032] The bullet engaging surface (15) on the power driven
rotatable member is preferably made with a resiliently or
elastically deformable material such as foam or sponge on the
player so that the slight deformation which occurs during the
passage of the bullet will provide additional and adequate friction
to impart sufficient initial velocity to the bullet. The
elastically deformable surface is desirable because the front part,
i.e. head, of the bullet may be made of a reasonably strong
material such as resin or plastic for a good flight trajectory to
be explained below. An engaging surface connected to a resiliently
deformable rotatable member would ensure that the relatively hard
bullet head can pass without difficulty. The other rotatable member
(18) is preferably made of a rigid material such as rubber or hard
plastic, although the rotatable member can also be provided with a
slightly resilient surface.
[0033] Once the bullet has been engaged by the bullet engaging
surfaces and caused to move towards the barrel portion (43) of the
gun as a result of the rotation of the rotatable members (17, 18),
the bullet (30) will be delivered towards the barrel member (43) to
start the trajectory flight. The barrel member (43) preferably
includes a tubular section which has a width about the same as that
of the projectile. The barrel member (43) serves as a guiding
member which regulates the exit velocity of the bullet and to
compensate the possible imbalance of velocity which may have been
imparted to the sides of the projectile. To provide rotational
movements necessary to drive a bullet to pass the bullet shooting
pass and to impart sufficient velocities to a bullet during
engagement with the bullet shooting pass, the rotational member is
preferably rotated by a rotational power source which can for
example be an electric motor or a spring-loaded rotational source
or other appropriate power device.
[0034] The toy gun shown in FIG. 3 represents a second preferred
embodiment of the present invention which more closely simulates a
real machine gun. The parts of this embodiment are substantially
identical to that of the first preferred embodiment with the
exception of the bullet conveying mechanism which is adapted to
convey bullets at a relatively high speed by way of a motorised
bullet conveyer. Referring to FIG. 3, the bullet conveyer includes
a cam member which is connected to a bullet pusher. The cam member
(47) is connected to a transmission link which is in turn connected
to an electric motor (48). The electric motor is connected to a
micro-switch which is controlled by the trigger lever in the
similar fashion as a real gun. When a user pushes the trigger
lever, the micro-switch will be turned on and the motor (48) will
rotate. Rotation of the motor will drive the transmission link (49)
which will in turn drive the cam member and therefore the bullet
pusher into reciprocating motion so that a single pull of the
trigger will cause a plurality of bullets to be delivered to the
bullet shooting pass for as long as the micro-switch is turned on,
thereby resembling the effect of a toy machine gun. As it is
relatively easy to produce a relatively high reciprocating
frequency of the bullet pusher (44) when it is connected to an
electric motor, the maximum rate of bullet delivery will largely
depend on the rate at which the cartridge (20) can deliver bullets
to the bullet loading position of the gun. The gun is preferably
set into a stand-by mode before shooting by turning on the
rotatable member so that the bullet shooting pass is ready to
accept the bullets delivered from the bullet conveying system when
the trigger is pulled.
[0035] To alleviate the risk of personal injury associated with a
projectile toy of this kind, the bullet is preferably made of a
soft material such as foam or the like. However, because of the low
density of a soft material such as foam and the air resistance that
it can expect to encounter when exiting the gun barrel, it is
extremely difficult to provide a bullet made purely of such a soft
material with a reasonably good trajectory path even though a high
speed has been imparted to the projectile on exit. To obviate this
problem, a preferred bullet of the present invention comprises a
bullet head (31) made of a rigid or semi-rigid material such as
resins or plastic and a body portion (32) which is made preferably
of foam or other soft material. In general, the bullet is
substantially made of a foam or other low-density soft materials
and the head portion covered by a rigid material.
[0036] The bullet head (31) is made preferably of a semi-rigid
material so that it has a good air-breaking ability. The bullet
head is preferably semi-rigid so that it is still slightly
deformable to allow passage through the bullet shooting pass while
having a good air-breaking effect. Of course, when the bullet head
is made of a hard material such as hard plastic or other rigid
material, it can still pass through the shooting pass as the
rotatable members are deformable. Naturally, it is also possible to
have the head portion made smaller than the dimension of the
shooting pass to allow passage through the rotatable members and
the bullet body is designed so that it tapers towards the bullet
head to allow passage of the whole bullet across the pass while
allowing a good flight characteristic.
[0037] As the bullet head is provided primarily for air-breaking,
it only needs to cover the front part of the bullet and occupy a
very tiny portion of the length of the bullet. In the specific
embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, the bullet is in a substantially
cylindrical form having a diameter (.phi.) of 12.5 mm with an
overall length of about 45 mm. The depth of the bullet head is only
about 3 mm, that is about {fraction (1/15)} of the length of the
whole bullet. As a general rule, the length ratio of the head and
body portion of this type of projectile is preferably in the region
of {fraction (1/12)} to {fraction (1/20)}. As the bullet head is
made of a relatively high density material such as PVC or rubber,
the weight ratio between the bullet head and the body is preferably
about 3 to 1. Using this preferred embodiment by providing a bullet
having a relatively rigid bullet head portion and a soft bullet
body portion, the overall weight of the bullet can be as low as 0.4
g (0.3 g for the bullet head and 0.1 g for the body portion), a
very good flight trajectory characteristic can be provided while
the risk of personal injury is substantially obviated due to the
light weight of the bullet. To provide a good air-breaking
characteristic, the bullet head is preferably made into a
semi-spherical shape and the whole bullet is preferably made into a
more aerodynamic shape. While the present invention has been
explained with reference to the specific embodiments described
above, it should be appreciated that the scope and ambit of the
present invention is not limited by such embodiments which are
merely provided for illustrating some unique features of the
present invention only. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that
modifications or trivial variations of the embodiments above by
ways or methods which are known in the art will fall within the
scope of the present invention without lost of generality.
* * * * *