U.S. patent application number 11/788013 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-23 for war game toy grenade.
Invention is credited to Kam Luen Hui, Lap Shan Lee, See Lap Siu.
Application Number | 20080257193 11/788013 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39870932 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080257193 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Siu; See Lap ; et
al. |
October 23, 2008 |
War game toy grenade
Abstract
The toy grenade is provided with a non-destructive main casing.
Smoke simulated powder is filled in a powder container in
communication with a compression air cylinder. A plunger rod
slidably mounted on a safety support in located at the top of the
main casing. The plunger rod is operative by the removal of a pivot
arm to release the compressed air from the air cylinder to force
the powder to emit under pressure from two emission openings at the
side wall of the main casing to provide simulation of the operation
of a grenade.
Inventors: |
Siu; See Lap; (Tsuen Wan,
CN) ; Hui; Kam Luen; (Tseung Kwan O. N. T., CN)
; Lee; Lap Shan; (Kowloon, CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVID W. WONG
46 WILLOWBROOK ROAD
THORNHILL
ON
L3T 4W9
CA
|
Family ID: |
39870932 |
Appl. No.: |
11/788013 |
Filed: |
April 19, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
102/498 ;
446/401 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F42B 8/26 20130101; F42B
12/48 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
102/498 ;
446/401 |
International
Class: |
F42B 8/26 20060101
F42B008/26; F42B 12/46 20060101 F42B012/46 |
Claims
1. A toy grenade comprising: a main casing having a top cover
portion removably mounted thereon in an airtight manner, a smoke
powder container and a compressed air cylinder mounted within said
main casing, said powder container being filled with a powder
material, and said compressed air cylinder having an air conducting
tube engaged with a coupling tube of said powder container, a
safety support mounted on said top cover portion and said safety
support having a vertical cylindrical through opening formed
therein, and said through opening being aligned with a top opening
formed in said top cover portion of said main casing, an central
opening formed at a top cover of said powder container, and said
central opening being aligned with said top opening of said top
cover portion of said main casing, two ducts formed at an underside
of said top cover portion of said main casing and extending
outwards from said top opening to opposite side walls of said top
cover portion of said main casing, said ducts being in
communication with two powder smoke emission openings formed at
opposite side walls of said top cover portion of said main casing,
and said smoke emission openings being in communication with said
top opening through said ducts, a plunger rod slidably mounted in
said safety support, said plunger rod being normally biased by a
compression spring to locate at an upper position with a sealing
head at a lower end therein spaced from said central opening of
said top cover of said powder container, said plunger rod being
pushable downwards to a lower position with said sealing head
engaged within said central opening of said powder container, an
inverted L-shaped pivot arm removably mounted to said safety
support, said pivot arm having a holding plate portion depressing
on a top end of said plunger rod to retain said plunger rod in said
lower position, a safety pin removably mounted to said safety
support for retaining said pivot arm mounted to said safety
support, an inlet air valve located at a bottom of said compressed
air cylinder, said inlet air valve being accessible through a
bottom opening formed in said main casing, and said compressed air
cylinder being chargeable with compressed air through said inlet
air valve.
2. A toy grenade according to claim 1 including an O-ring mounted
on said sealing head to provide an air tight engagement between
said sealing head and said outlet opening of said powder
container.
3. A toy grenade according to claim 2 including two torsion springs
mounted on said powder container, said two torsion springs having a
arm portion located at opposite sides across an edge portion of
said outlet opening, said arm portion of said torsion springs
engageable with said sealing head of said plunger rod for
temporarily retaining said plunger rod in said lower position.
4. A toy grenade according to claim 3 including a sleeve having an
upstanding tubular portion extending into a vertical cylindrical
opening in said safety support, said plunger rod having a middle
section slidably engaged with said upstanding tubular portion of
said sleeve, and said compression spring surrounding said
upstanding tubular portion of said sleeve.
5. A toy grenade according to claim 4 including a second O-ring
mounted on said plunger rod, said second O-ring being engageable
with a top end of said sleeve for sealing any air leakage from said
main casing through said sleeve.
6. A toy grenade according to claim 5 wherein said pivot arm has
two bifurcated hooks formed at a free edge of said holding plate
portion, said hooks are slidably engageable with two rods extending
sideways from said safety support to facilitate pivotable movement
of said pivot arm relative to said safety support.
7. A toy grenade according to claim 6 including a ring mounted on
said safety pin and operative to facilitate removal of said safety
pin from said safety support.
8. A toy grenade according to claim 7 wherein said powder material
in said powder container is dyed with a selected color.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a toy grenade usable in playing a
war game for creating a simulated warfare environment.
[0003] 2. Background Art
[0004] War game is very popular among some adults, in which
opposing teams of people are dressed in army fatigues and using
simulated weapons for shooting nonharmful ammunition at one
another. The weapons impose on the target with a color mark to
indicate that the latter has been hit in a simulated manner. Toy
grenades are also used in the war game to create a simulated
condition of a grenade explosion by the discharge of a mass amount
of smoke consisting of white or colored powder. Presently known toy
grenades are generally self destructive in use and are complex in
construction. Thus, the use of such toy grenades increases the
expense in playing the war game and the destroyed toys inherently
contribute to the unnecessary creation of garbage.
[0005] A re-usable toy grenade is shown in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 11/407,364 filed on Apr. 20, 2006, by the same inventors
of the present invention in which the grenade may be re-assembled
after use. Such re-useable toy greatly reduces the expense in
playing the war game. However, the outer enclosure of toy grenade
therein consists of two separable half shells. In use, the half
shells as well as most of the internal components may disperse over
a large area and may thus become unretrievable for re-assembly for
re-use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is a principal object of the present invention to provide
a toy grenade which contains no separable components in use so that
it may be easily recharged for re-use after operation.
[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
toy grenade which may be easily disassembled and re-assembled.
[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
toy grenade which is simple in construction and easy to use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] In the drawings,
[0010] FIG. 1 is a side perspective elevation view of the toy
grenade of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a rear side perspective elevation view
therein.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a side perspective elevation view of the toy
grenade with the pivot arm and the safety pin removed showing the
plunger rod and the compression spring mounted slidably within the
safety support.
[0013] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective elevation view of the toy
grenade showing the component parts therein.
[0014] FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional side elevation view
of the top cover and the safety support of the toy grenade.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a bottom elevation view of the top cover shown in
FIG. 5.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a sectional side elevation view along section line
VII-VII of FIG. 5 of the top cover showing the duct for conducting
the smoke powder for emitting from the toy grenade.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a perspective front and top elevation of the
powder container showing the location of the torsion springs for
retaining the sealing head of the plunger momentarily against the
force of the plunger compression spring.
[0018] FIG. 9 is a perspective bottom elevation view of the powder
container showing the location of the coupling tube for connecting
to the air conducting tube of the compressed air cylinder.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0019] With reference to the drawings in which like reference
numerals designate corresponding parts in the various views, the
toy grenade 10 has a cylindrical main casing 11 with a top opening
12 and a small access opening 13 formed at the center of its bottom
panel 14. Threads 15 are formed at the outer surface of the top
edge portion of the top opening 12. A top cover16 is mounted at the
top opening 12 of the casing 11 with complementary threads 17
provided in the inner side wall of its lower edge portion. The
threads 15 and the complementary threads 17 engage with one another
threadingly for mounting the top cover16 to the main casing 11 in
an airtight manner.
[0020] As best shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the short cylindrical top
cover 16 has a central opening 18 formed in its top panel 19, and
it has a diameter equal to that of the main casing 11. Two tubular
ducts 20 and 21 extend diametrically from the central opening 18 at
the underside of the top panel 19 to the two sides of the top cover
16. Two powder emitting openings 22 and 23 are formed at the side
wall of the top cover16. The powder emitting openings 22 and 23
communicate with the central opening 18 through the tubular
channels 20 and 21 respectively. A safety support 24 is mounted on
top of the top cover 16. A vertical cylindrical through opening 25
is formed in the safety support 24. The through opening 25 has a
larger diameter than the diameter of the central opening 18 of the
top panel 19. A generally T-shaped sleeve 26 is sandwiched between
the top panel 19 and the safety support 24 and it has an upstanding
tubular section 27 extending upwards into the through opening 25 of
the safety support 24. The sleeve 26 has an inner diameter equal to
that of the central opening 18 and an outer diameter smaller than
the diameter of the through opening 25. A plunger rod 28 is located
within the safety support 24. The plunger rod 28 has a middle
section 29 having a diameter equal to the inner diameter of the
sleeve 26, an upper section 30 having a diameter larger than the
inner diameter of the sleeve 26 and smaller than the inner diameter
of the through opening 25, and a lower section 31 having a diameter
smaller than the diameter of the central opening 18 of the top
cover 16. A top plate 32 is formed at the top end of the plunger
rod 28 and a sealing head 33 is formed at the lower end of the
plunger rod 28. The top plate 32 has a diameter larger than the
outer diameter equal to or slightly smaller than the through
opening 25 of the safety support 24. A sealing O-ring 34 is mounted
on the plunger rod 28 and located between the middle section 28 and
the upper section 30. A second sealing O-ring 35 is mounted at a
sealing head 33 at the lower end of the plunger rod 28. A
compression spring 36 surrounding the plunger rod 28 and extending
between the top plate 32 of the plunger rod 28 and the top panel 19
of the safety support 24. The compression spring 36 has a diameter
larger than the outer diameter of the upstanding tubular section 27
of the sleeve 26 and smaller than the inner diameter of the through
opening 25 so that the plunger rod 28 is operable to position
slidably in an up and down movement relative to the safety support
24 against the spring force of the compression spring 36.
[0021] A compressed air cylinder 37 is located within the lower
portion of the main casing 11. The air cylinder 37 has a top cover
38 mounted to the air cylinder 37 in an airtight manner with
mounting threads provided on both the inner top edge portion of the
air cylinder 37 and the outer edge portion of the top cover 38. An
air conducting tube 39 mounted to the top cover with a mounting nut
from the underside of the top cover and extends upwards from the
top cover 38. A sealing O-ring 40 is mounted around the top end of
the air conducting tube 39. An inlet air valve 41 is mounted at the
bottom of the air cylinder 37. The inlet air valve 41 is aligned
with the bottom opening 13 of the main casing 11 when the air
cylinder 37 is located inside the main casing 11.
[0022] A cylindrical powder container 42 is mountable over the
compressed air cylinder 37 within the main casing 11. The powder
container 42 consists of a cylindrical casing 43 and a top cover 44
threadingly engaged with one another in an airtight manner. A
coupling tube 45 extends downwards from the center of the bottom of
the casing 43. The inside diameter of the coupling tube 45 is equal
to the outer diameter of the O-ring 40. The air conducting tube 39
extends upwards inside the coupling tube 45 of the powder container
42 when the cylindrical powder container 42 and the compressed air
cylinder 37 are mounted together and located within the main casing
11. The O-ring 40 provides an air seal engagement between the
coupling tube 45 and the air conducting tube 39. An outlet opening
46 is formed in the top cover 44 of the powder container 42. The
outlet opening 46 has a diameter equal to the outer diameter of the
O-ring 34 on the sealing head 35 of the plunger rod 28. Two torsion
springs 47 and 48 are mounted on the top of the top cover 44 of the
powder container. The springs 47 and 48 has a spring arm portion 49
extending across opposite edge portions of the outlet opening 46.
When the powder container 42 and the compressed air cylinder 42 are
located within the main casing 11, the plunger rod 28 may be
pressed downwards to engage the lower end of the plunger rod 28
within the outlet opening 46 of the powder container top cover 44.
The O-ring 34 provides an air tight engagement of the plunger rod
28 with the outlet opening 46. The spring arm portion 49 of the
torsion springs 47 and 48 provides a temporary holding means for
clamping the plunger rod 28 in the depressed position against the
spring force of the compression spring 36 which urges the plunger
rod 28 to return to its upper normal position. The retaining force
of the torsion springs 47 and 48 and the biasing force of the
compression spring 36 may be designed such that the plunger rod 28
would be retained in the depressed position for a selected
predetermined period of time before the biasing spring force of the
compression spring 36 would push the plunger rod 28 back to the
normal upper position.
[0023] The plunger rod 28 is normally held in a depressed position
by a generally inverted L-shaped operating arm 50 which has a
holding plate portion 51 and a pivot arm 52 extending downward at
an angle to the holding plate portion 51. Two bifurcated hooks 53
and 54 are formed at the free edge of the holding plate portion 51.
The hooks 53 and 54 are slidably engageable with two mounting arms
55 and 56 extending sideways from the top portion of the safety
support 24 such that the operating arm 50 may be pivoted downwards
with the holding plate portion 51 pressing down on the top plate 32
of the plunger rod 28 to retain the latter in the depressed lower
position. The operating arm 50 is held in the downward position
with a safety pin 57 inserted through two openings 58 and 59 formed
in opposite side plates 60 and 61 formed at the side edge of the
upper end of the pivot arm 52. The openings 58 and 59 are aligned
with a horizontal through opening 62 so that the safety pin 57 may
be inserted through the openings 58, 59 and 62 to retain the
operating arm 50 in the downward pivoted position. A ring 63 is
provided with the safety pin 57 to facilitate its insertion and
removal.
[0024] In assembly, the powder container 42 is filled with a smoke
creating powder such as talcum powder which may be dyed with a
desirable color. The powder container 42 is mounted to the
compressed air cylinder 37 with the air conducting tube 39 engages
within the coupling tube 45 of the powder container 42. After
mounted together, they are located within the main casing 11 and
then covered with the top cover 16. The pivot arm 50 is mounted to
the safety support 24 with the mounting hooks 53 and 54 slidably
engaging with the mounting arms 55 and 56 and then pivoted
downwards with the holding plate portion 51 pressing the top plate
32 of the plunger rod 28 downwards against the spring force of the
compression spring 36. With the plunger rod 28 pressed downwards,
its lower sealing head 33 will force the spring arm portion 29 of
the torsion springs 47 and 48 apart to engage within the outlet
opening 46 of the powder container 42. The safety pin 57 is
inserted into the opening 62 to retained the pivot arm 50 in the
pivoted downward normal position. The compressed air cylinder 37 is
then filled with compressed air through the air valve 41.
[0025] In use, the safety pin 57 is pulled out for removing the
pivot arm 50 from the safety support 24 such that the plunger rod
28 will be pushed upwards to its upper position after a
predetermined period time, by the spring force of the compression
spring 36. Thus, the lower sealing head 33 of the plunger rod 28
will disengage from the outlet opening 18 of the powder container
42. The compressed air in the compressed air cylinder 37 will flow
through the air conducting tube 39 into the powder container 42 to
force the smoke powder to flow through the outlet opening 18 and
the ducts 20 and 21 to emit under the compressed air pressure from
the toy grenade through the powder emitting openings 22 and 23 to
provide the desired smoke simulation. No component parts would
become loss during use as in the destructive type of grenade.
[0026] After use, the grenade may be easily reassembled for further
use by simply removing the powder container 42 from the assembly
and refilling it with smoke powder and then reassembling it within
the main casing 11. The pivot arm 50 is again mounted back to the
safety support 24 with the safety pin 57, and the compressed air
cylinder 37 is then recharged with compressed air through the air
inlet valve 41.
[0027] While the present invention has been shown and described in
the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that various
modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit
or essential attributes thereof, and it is desired therefore that
only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the
appended claim.
* * * * *