U.S. patent application number 15/384331 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-22 for toy gun.
This patent application is currently assigned to DURINDANA CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is DURINDANA CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to HYUNMIN KANG.
Application Number | 20170176132 15/384331 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59065060 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170176132 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KANG; HYUNMIN |
June 22, 2017 |
TOY GUN
Abstract
Provided is a toy gun with an exterior mimicking a real gun and
operating very similarly as a real gun, and the toy gun includes a
main body provided with a cartridge chamber into which a projectile
is loaded, a cylinder formed to reciprocate inside the main body
for being ready to fire, a piston which moves backward along with
the cylinder when the cylinder moves backward and enters the
cylinder to provide the cartridge chamber with compressed air when
the projectile is fired, a driving unit which moves the cylinder
backward in the main body, and a control unit which controls power
supplied to the driving unit depending on a position of the
cylinder.
Inventors: |
KANG; HYUNMIN; (Cheonan-si,
Chungcheongnamdo, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
DURINDANA CO., LTD. |
Cheonan-si Chungcheongnam-do |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
DURINDANA CO., LTD.
Cheonan-si Chungcheongnam-do
KR
|
Family ID: |
59065060 |
Appl. No.: |
15/384331 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41B 11/89 20130101;
F41A 19/12 20130101; F41B 11/55 20130101; F41B 11/646 20130101;
F41B 11/57 20130101; F41B 11/71 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F41B 11/646 20060101
F41B011/646; F41B 11/71 20060101 F41B011/71; F41B 11/55 20060101
F41B011/55; F41B 11/89 20060101 F41B011/89 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 21, 2015 |
KR |
10-2015-0183020 |
Claims
1. A toy gun comprising: a main body including a cartridge chamber
into which a projectile is loaded; a cylinder formed to reciprocate
inside the main body for being ready to fire; a piston which moves
backward along with the cylinder when the cylinder moves backward
and enters the cylinder to provide a cartridge chamber with
compressed air when the projectile is fired; a driving unit which
moves the cylinder backward in the main body; and a control unit
which controls power supplied to the driving unit depending on a
position of the cylinder.
2. The toy gun of claim 1, wherein the driving unit includes a cam
gear which moves the cylinder backward using power generated from a
motor.
3. The toy gun of claim 2, wherein the cam gear includes a gear
tooth formed at a portion of a circumference of the cam gear to
selectively engage with a rack gear tooth of a rack gear portion
formed under the cylinder.
4. The toy gun of claim 1, further comprising a first sensor which
senses a position of the cylinder.
5. The toy gun of claim 4, wherein the first sensor is positioned
on a moving path of a rack gear portion formed under the cylinder
and senses a position of the cylinder by being in contact with the
rack gear portion.
6. The toy gun of claim 5, wherein the rack gear portion includes a
contact surface in contact with the first sensor and a groove
formed not to be in contact with the first sensor.
7. The toy gun of claim 1, further comprising a second sensor which
senses motion of pulling a trigger and a third sensor which senses
the number of times cocking occurred.
8. The toy gun of claim 1, wherein the cylinder includes: a
cylinder body; a cylinder head inserted into front end of the
cylinder body; a spring positioned between the cylinder body and
the cylinder head to space the cylinder head from the cylinder
body; and a nozzle inserted into the cylinder head to pass through
the cylinder head.
9. The toy gun of claim 8, wherein the cylinder further includes a
stopper to prevent separation between the cylinder body and the
cylinder head.
10. The toy gun of claim 1, wherein right and left side surfaces of
the cylinder face right and left inside surfaces of the main
body.
11. The toy gun of claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a
position of the cylinder while the cylinder moves backward and
forward.
12. The toy gun of claim 11, wherein the control unit cuts power
supplied to the driving unit unless the cylinder returns back to an
initial position.
13. The toy gun of claim 1, wherein the driving unit further
includes a locking member to fix the piston, and the locking member
includes a locking protrusion having right and left slopes to ease
coupling with and separating from the piston, a hole formed to pass
through rear end of the locking member, and a spring which pushes
the locking member forward from a rotating shaft inserted in the
hole.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of
Korean Patent Application No. 2015-0183020, filed on Dec. 21, 2015,
the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a toy gun and, more
particularly, to a toy gun with an exterior that mimics a real gun
and capable of operating similarly as a real gun.
[0004] 2. Discussion of Related Art
[0005] As societies develop, people have come to enjoy diverse
leisure activities for reasons such as health, hobbies, and the
like, and leisure activity population is also gradually increasing.
Among the diverse leisure activities, survival games are gradually
growing in developed countries in terms of participating population
as well as market size. In the case of such a survival game, a mock
allied force and a mock enemy force play a game of survival using a
toy gun in a shape similar to a real gun, thereby promoting health,
stress reduction, friendship, realistic military training, and the
like.
[0006] Specifically, in the case of a conventional toy gun for a
survival game, a projectile such as BB pellet supplied from a
magazine and positioned at front end of a cylinder is fired when a
piston moved back in the cylinder suddenly thrusts forward by force
of compressed air or a spring.
[0007] In the case of the conventional toy gun for a survival game
described above, with the cylinder fixed, only the piston
reciprocates forward and backward to fire the projectile. In
addition, a rack gear portion is formed outside of the piston, a
gear train connected to the rack gear portion by gear engagement is
driven by an electric motor, and thereby the piston is
automatically moved to a position (a moved back position) ready for
firing.
[0008] Meanwhile, in the case of the conventional toy gun for a
survival game described above, when damage occurs to a gear due to
repetitive use, impacts, malfunction, etc., there arises a problem
in which the whole piston assembly needs to be replaced because the
piston and the rack gear portion are integrally formed. In
addition, such a piston is formed of an expensive metal material,
resulting in much of financial burden put on a user.
[0009] In addition, the above-described conventional toy gun has
problems in which exterior as well as operation lack a sense of
reality because only the piston reciprocates, with the cylinder
fixed. That is, since a realistic toy gun having features very
similar to a real gun is desirable from the viewpoint of a user, a
need for satisfying such a desire of a user is increasing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention is directed to providing a toy gun
with an exterior mimicking a real gun and operating very similarly
as a real gun.
[0011] In addition, the present invention is directed to providing
a toy gun capable of enhancing durability by minimizing damage to
the toy gun caused by physical impacts of a cylinder and
malfunction.
[0012] The technical objectives of the present invention are not
limited to the above objects, and other objectives not described
herein may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
based on the following description.
[0013] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a toy gun, which includes a main body provided with a
cartridge chamber into which a projectile is loaded, a cylinder
formed to reciprocate inside the main body for being ready to fire,
a piston which moves backward along with the cylinder when the
cylinder moves backward and enters the cylinder to provide a
cartridge chamber with compressed air when the projectile is fired,
a driving unit which moves the cylinder backward in the main body,
and a control unit which controls power supplied to the driving
unit depending on a position of the cylinder.
[0014] The driving unit may include a cam gear which moves the
cylinder backward using power generated from a motor, and the cam
gear may include a gear tooth formed at a portion of a
circumference of the cam gear to selectively engage with a rack
gear tooth of a rack gear portion formed under the cylinder.
[0015] In addition, the toy gun according to the present invention
may further include a first sensor which senses a position of the
cylinder, a second sensor which senses motion of pulling a trigger
and a third sensor which senses the number of times cocking
occurred. The first sensor may be positioned on a moving path of a
rack gear portion formed under the cylinder and sense a position of
the cylinder by being in contact with the rack gear portion. For
this, the rack gear portion may include a contact surface which is
in contact with the first sensor and a groove formed not to be in
contact with the first sensor.
[0016] The cylinder may include a cylinder body, a cylinder head
inserted into a front end of the cylinder body, a spring positioned
between the cylinder body and the cylinder head to space the
cylinder head from the cylinder body, and a nozzle inserted into
the cylinder head to pass through the cylinder head. In addition,
right and left side surfaces of the cylinder may face right and
left inside surfaces of the main body.
[0017] The control unit may determine a position of the cylinder
while the cylinder moves backward and forward, and cut power
supplied to the driving unit unless the cylinder returns back to an
initial position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments
thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration view of a toy gun
according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a state in which a cylinder
and a piston of a toy gun are at initial positions according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIGS. 3 and 4 are detailed views illustrating a cylinder
assembly of a toy gun according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which a cylinder
and a piston of a toy gun are moved back according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a state in which a cylinder of
a toy gun is moved forward (a state ready to fire) according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 7 illustrates a process in which a piston of a toy gun
moves forward according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a driving control mechanism
of a toy gun according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0026] FIGS. 9A to 9D illustrates a piston, a locking member, and a
release lever according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0027] The objects, features, and advantages described above will
become more apparent from the following detailed description of the
embodiments of the present invention with reference to the
accompanying drawings, and thereby those skilled in the art may
easily implement the technical sprit of the present invention. In
the following description, detailed descriptions of well-known
technologies will be omitted where they may unnecessarily obscure
the subject matters of the present invention.
[0028] Hereinafter, a toy gun according to embodiments of the
present invention will be described in detail and with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, a toy gun 100 according to one
embodiment of the present invention includes a toy gun main body
110 having a cartridge chamber in which a projectile supplied from
a magazine 20 is individually loaded, a cylinder assembly 120, a
piston 130, and a driving control mechanism 200.
[0030] The toy gun main body 110 includes a barrel portion 111, a
handgrip 113 connected to a lower portion of the barrel portion
111, and a cartridge chamber 115 provided at a front end of the
barrel portion 111. The cylinder assembly 120 and the piston 130
are installed to reciprocate in the barrel portion 111.
[0031] A power supply unit 210 and a driving motor 220 of the
driving control mechanism 200 may be built in the handgrip 113.
[0032] A projectile 10 (may be a BB pellet or a combined BB pellet
and pellet-shell) is individually supplied and loaded into the
cartridge chamber 115. An outlet 116 through which a projectile 10
is supplied from the magazine is formed to be in communication with
the cartridge chamber 115, and a magazine coupling portion 117 to
which the magazine 20 is coupled is provided at a portion
corresponding to the outlet 116.
[0033] The projectile 10 may include a configuration of normal BB
pellet combined to front end of a pellet-shell and also include
only a normal BB pellet. The projectile 10 in the magazine 20 is
individually supplied to the cartridge chamber 115 via the outlet
116.
[0034] The cylinder assembly 120 is formed to reciprocate in the
barrel portion 111. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cylinder assembly
120 includes a cylinder 121, a rack gear portion 123 detachably
installed at the cylinder 121, and a guide portion 124.
[0035] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cylinder 121 includes a
cylinder body 121a in a cylindrical shape, a cylinder head 122
inserted into front end of the cylinder body 121a, a spring 121b
positioned between the cylinder body 121a and the cylinder head 122
to space the cylinder head 122 from the cylinder body 121a, a
nozzle 121c inserted into the cylinder head 122 to pass through the
cylinder head 122, and a stopper 121d for preventing separation
between the cylinder body 121a and the cylinder head 122.
[0036] The cylinder 121 is formed to reciprocate (moving backward
and moving forward) in the toy gun main body 110 to be ready for
firing, and no other structure (not even a side surface guider for
the cylinder) exists between left and right side surfaces of the
cylinder 121 and left and right inside surfaces of the toy gun main
body 110 so that the left and right side surfaces of the cylinder
121 face the left and right inside surfaces of the toy gun main
body 110 at the closest distance. In this case, a sense of reality
may be increased because a user may feel and visually check the
reciprocating actions of the cylinder 121 like a real gun. In
addition, capacity of the cylinder 121 may be maximized and thus an
amount of compressed air generated at the cylinder 121 may be
maximized because other structures, such as a side surface guider,
do not exist.
[0037] The spring 121b provides elasticity that pushes the cylinder
head 122 from the cylinder body 121a, thereby mitigating a physical
impact occurring when the cylinder 121 moves forward and collides
with the toy gun main body 110. In addition, when the cylinder 121
moves backward due to recoiling after the collision, the spring
121b pushes the cylinder head 122 forward, and thereby the
cartridge chamber 115 may maintain sealing.
[0038] Since the nozzle 121c has a smaller diameter than the spring
121b, the nozzle 121c is inserted not only into the cylinder head
122 but also into the spring 121b. In addition, a portion of front
end of the nozzle 121c protrudes forward from the cylinder head 122
to discharge high pressure air, and rear end of the nozzle 121c is
inserted into front end of the cylinder body 121a.
[0039] The stopper 121d passes through a hole formed at one side
surface of the cylinder body 121a and is inserted into a groove
formed at a side surface of the cylinder head 122 corresponding to
the one side surface of the cylinder body 121a.
[0040] The rack gear portion 123 is formed under the cylinder 121
with a length corresponding to the length of the cylinder body
121a. Unlike the cylinder body 121a, the rack gear portion 123 may
be formed of a nonmetal material or may also be formed of a metal
material.
[0041] The rack gear portion 123 includes a rack gear tooth 123c
formed at a lower surface and in a length direction of the rack
gear portion 123. In addition, the rack gear portion 123 includes a
contact surface 123a in contact with a first sensor 281 of a
sensing unit 280 and a groove 123b formed in a length direction of
the rack gear portion 123 not to be in contact with the first
sensor 281. The contact surface 123a and the groove 123b are
positioned at a lower surface of the rack gear portion 123 and next
to the rack gear tooth 123c.
[0042] The rack gear portion 123 is separately provided by the
cylinder body 121a and is formed to be assembled and separated by a
bolt or the like so that the rack gear portion 123 may be replaced
with a new one in the case that the rack gear tooth 123c of the
rack gear portion 123 does not work normally due to damage or
breakage when used for a long time. That is, only the rack gear
portion 123 may be replaced unlike the conventional method in which
the whole expensive cylinder assembly 120 needs to be replaced and
thereby having an advantage of reducing cost. Specifically, since
the cylinder body 121a normally is made of expensive brass to
prevent deformation while maintaining certain solidity and to
reduce weight, the configuration provided with the separate rack
gear portion 123 to be coupled instead of integrally manufacturing
the rack gear and the expensive cylinder body 121a provides an
advantage of not only reducing a financial burden for a user but
also reducing waste of resources.
[0043] In addition, the rack gear portion 123 guides the
reciprocating action of the cylinder assembly 120 in the toy gun
main body 110 without contact between the surfaces of the cylinder
121 and the inside surfaces of the toy gun main body 110. Since the
rack gear portion 123 does not bring the surfaces of the cylinder
121 into contact with the inside surfaces of the toy gun main body
110, the rack gear portion 123 can reduce the frictional resistance
of the cylinder assembly 120.
[0044] The guide portion 124 is formed on the cylinder body 121a,
and stably guides the reciprocating action of the cylinder assembly
120 along with the rack gear portion 123. A return spring 125 is
connected to the guide portion 124 to return the cylinder assembly
120 to an initial position from a state in which the cylinder
assembly 120 is moved back. The guide portion 124 may be made of a
nonmetal material such as a plastic or the like or may also be made
of a metal material.
[0045] The piston 130 is installed to reciprocate in the cylinder
body 121a, moves backward along with the cylinder 121 when the
cylinder 121 moves backward as illustrated in FIG. 5, and is locked
by a locking member 250 of the driving control mechanism 200 to
maintain a state ready to fire. After this, only the cylinder
assembly 120 separately moves forward as illustrated in FIG. 6.
[0046] A locking portion 131 coupled to and locked by the locking
member 250 of the driving control mechanism 200 is formed at an
outer side of the piston 130. The locking portion 131 may be
variously implemented in a shape of a hooked jaw, a hole, or the
like. Therefore, with the piston 130 completely moved back to be in
a state ready to fire, the locking portion 131 is hooked by a
locking protrusion 251 of the locking member 250 to maintain the
state ready to fire. In addition, when the locking is released by
the locking member 250, the piston 130 enters the cylinder 121 by
an elastic force of a main spring 140 installed at a rear of the
piston 130, and thereby compressed air at high pressure is provided
to the nozzle 121c to fire the projectile 10. Here, the main spring
140 is installed at the rear of the piston 130 in the barrel
portion 111, is compressed by the piston 130 moving backward,
launches the piston 130 into the cylinder body 121a by the elastic
force when a lock by the locking member 250 is released, and
thereby the projectile 10 may be fired using the air at high
pressure.
[0047] The cylinder assembly 120 with the configuration described
above moves forward by spring restoring force of the return spring
125 when the rack gear tooth 123c is separated from a cam gear 230
with the cylinder assembly 120 moved back along with the piston
130. In addition, the projectile 10 supplied to the cartridge
chamber 115 may be positioned in front of the cylinder head 122
when the cylinder assembly 120 is moved backward.
[0048] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8, the driving control
mechanism 200 includes a driving unit 201, the power supply unit
210, the driving motor 220, the sensing unit 280, and a control
unit 286.
[0049] The driving unit 201 includes the cam gear 230, a gear train
240, the locking member 250, a release lever 260, a trigger 270,
etc. The cam gear 230 includes a gear tooth 231a formed at a
portion of an outer circumference of the cam gear 230 to
selectively engage with the rack gear tooth 123c of the rack gear
portion 123 to move the cylinder 121 backward using power generated
by the driving motor 220.
[0050] In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the cam gear 230
includes a cam gear body 231, a cam portion 232 eccentrically
installed at the rotating center of the cam gear body 231, and a
driven gear 233 which receives power from the gear train 240. The
cam gear 230 with the configuration described above rotates by
receiving the power of the driving motor 220 via the gear train
240. In the state of FIG. 2, the gear tooth 231a is connected and
interlocked with the rack gear tooth 123c when the cam gear 230
makes one rotation, and thereby the cylinder assembly 120 moves
backward along with the piston 130. Here, it is preferable that the
number of the gear tooth 231a be the same as the number of the rack
gear tooth 123c so that the backward movement of the cylinder 121
is completed by the one rotation of the cam gear 230.
[0051] When the cylinder assembly 120 and the piston 130 are
completely moved back, the piston 130 is hooked by the locking
member 250 to maintain being moved back (a state ready to fire),
and the cylinder assembly 120 moves forward by an elastic restoring
force of the return spring 125 when the gear tooth 231a of the cam
gear 230 and the rack gear tooth 123c become separated.
[0052] The gear train 240 is for decelerating power of a driving
gear 221 installed at the shaft of the driving motor 220 and
transferring the power to the driven gear 233 of the cam gear 230,
and, since diverse examples are available and the present invention
is not limited by technical configurations of the gear train,
detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0053] One end of the locking member 250 is rotatably installed in
the toy gun main body 110, and the other end is connected to the
release lever 260 to be interlocked. The locking member 250
described above includes the locking protrusion 251 coupled and
locked to the locking portion 131 of the piston 130 moved back, as
illustrated in FIG. 5.
[0054] As an example, the release lever 260 is rotatably installed
in the toy gun main body 110 and includes an interlocking bar 261
which extends in one direction from the center of rotation and is
connected to the other end of the locking member 250 and an
interference bar 262 which extends in a direction opposite the
interlocking bar 261 from the center of rotation. The interference
bar 262 is a portion interfered by the cam portion 232 when the cam
gear 230 rotates, and when the cam portion 232 moves from the state
of FIG. 6 to the state of FIG. 7, the interference bar 262 rotates
by the cam portion 232 to be the state of FIG. 7. Then, the release
lever 260 rotates, the locking member 250 connected to the release
lever 260 also rotates in conjunction therewith, the locking
protrusion 251 is separated from the piston 130, and thereby the
piston 130 may be launched. Although not shown in the drawings, the
interference bar 262 may be formed in a shape extending toward an
upper portion of the sensing unit 280, the interference bar 262
moves toward the upper portion of the sensing unit 280 when cocking
the toy gun, and the movement of the interference bar 262 may be
detectable by the sensing unit 280. Here, the term "cocking" refers
to a movement of the piston 130 into the cylinder 121 to fire the
projectile 10.
[0055] FIGS. 9A to 9D illustrate a piston 430, a locking member
450, and a release lever 460 according to another embodiment of the
present invention, FIG. 9A illustrates a case in which the piston
430 is at an initial position, FIG. 9B illustrates a case in which
the piston 430 moves backward, FIG. 9C illustrates a state in which
the piston 430 is fixed by the locking member 450, and FIG. 9D
illustrates a case in which the piston 430 moves forward when
cocking the toy gun.
[0056] The piston 430 includes a locking portion 431 at rear end
thereof in order to be coupled with and separated from the locking
member 450. The locking portion 431 has a shape of a hooked jaw,
and the hooked jaw has a slope inclined at a certain angle (for
example, 45.degree.).
[0057] The locking member 450 includes a locking protrusion 451, a
stopper 452, a hole 453, a rotating shaft 454, and a spring 455.
The locking protrusion 451 has right and left slopes for easier
coupling and separation between the locking member 450 and the
piston 430, and particularly it is preferable that the right slope
have the same inclination angle (for example, 45.degree.) as the
inclination angle at the slope of the locking portion 431. The
stopper 452 is for stopping a backward movement of the piston 430
and is positioned to be spaced a certain distance behind the
locking protrusion 451. The hole 453 is formed to pass through a
rear end portion of the locking member 450, and the width of the
hole 453 in a lateral direction is greater than the width thereof
in a vertical direction to allow the locking member 450 to move
backward and forward. The rotating shaft 454 is fixed to the toy
gun main body 110 and is inserted into the hole 453. The rotating
shaft 454 allows the locking member 450 to rotate. The spring 455
provides the locking member 450 with elasticity and pushes the
locking member 450 forward from the rotating shaft 454.
[0058] As illustrated in FIG. 9B, rear end of the piston 430 comes
in contact with a left slope of the locking protrusion 451 when the
piston 430 moves backward, and at this point, the locking member
450 moves backward and rotates downward about the rotating shaft
454 due to the pressure by the piston 430. After this, rear end of
the piston 430 passes the locking protrusion 451 and comes in
contact with the stopper 452, and at this point, the locking member
450 moves upward as the piston 430 presses the stopper 452. In
addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, the piston 430 is fixed by the
locking member 450 to be in a state ready to fire.
[0059] As illustrated in FIG. 9D, when the toy gun is cocked, the
locking member 450 moves downward due to pressure of the piston 430
as an interlocking bar 461 of the release lever 460 moves forward.
Accordingly, released from a binding of the locking member 450, the
piston 430 moves forward.
[0060] In conventional cases, abrasion easily occurred at the
piston and the locking protrusion due to collision and friction
therebetween. However, the abrasion caused from the collision and
friction may be minimized as the locking member 450 moves forward
and backward and rotates using the slopes of the locking portion
431 and the locking protrusion 451, the hole 453, the spring 455,
etc. in the embodiment of the present invention.
[0061] The release lever 460 includes the interlocking bar 461 and
an interference bar 462. The interlocking bar 461 is formed to move
forward and backward, and the interference bar 462 rotates by the
pressure of the cam portion 232 when the cam gear 230 rotates. For
example, when the cam portion 232 rotates as illustrated in FIG.
9D, the interference bar 462 rotates by the cam portion 232, and
the interlocking bar 461 interlocked with the interference bar 462
moves forward. As the interlocking bar 461 moves forward, the
locking member 450 rotates downward, and thereby the piston 430 may
be launched.
[0062] The trigger 270 is installed so that a portion thereof is
exposed outward from the toy gun main body 110 and is rotatably
installed. By pulling the trigger 270, the sensing unit 280 senses
the signal and the projectile 10 is fired.
[0063] The power supply unit 210 includes a battery installed
inside the toy gun main body 110, and either a rechargeable battery
or a normal battery may be used for the battery.
[0064] The driving motor 220 may be installed inside the handgrip
113 of the toy gun main body 110 and operates by receiving power
from the power supply unit 210.
[0065] The sensing unit 280 includes the first sensor 281 for
sensing a position of the cylinder 121, a second sensor 282 for
sensing motion of pulling the trigger, and a third sensor 283 for
sensing the number of times firing occurred.
[0066] The first sensor 281 is positioned on a moving path of the
rack gear portion 123 and senses the position of the cylinder 121
by being in contact with the rack gear portion 123. When the first
sensor 281 comes in contact with the contact surface 123a
positioned behind the groove 123b, the control unit 286 determines
that the cylinder 121 starts to move backward and the cartridge
chamber 115 is open. After this, since the first sensor 281 is
inserted into the groove 123b during the backward movement of the
cylinder 121, the first sensor 281 is not in contact with the rack
gear portion 123 and thereby the control unit 286 determines that
the cylinder 121 is in a process of moving backward. In addition,
when the first sensor 281 does not come in contact with the rack
gear portion 123 after the first sensor 281 comes in contact with
the contact surface 123a positioned in front of the groove 123b,
the control unit 286 determines that the cylinder 121 completed the
backward movement. That is, the control unit 286 may determine the
position of the cylinder 121 and whether or not the backward
movement of the cylinder 121 is completed depending on whether or
not the first sensor 281 is in contact with the rack gear portion
123. In the same manner, the control unit 286 may determine the
position of the cylinder 121 and whether or not a forward movement
of the cylinder 121 is completed by using the first sensor 281 when
the cylinder 121 moves forward.
[0067] In addition, the control unit 286 controls power supplied to
the driving unit 201 depending on the position and the completion
state of the backward and forward movement of the cylinder 121,
that is, depending on whether the cylinder 121 has returned back to
the initial position. For example, when the cylinder 121 stops
during the movement before completing the backward and forward
movement, the control unit 286 controls the power supply unit 210
to cut the power supplied to the driving unit 201. When the cam
gear 230 rotates again in a state in which the cylinder 121 has not
returned back to the initial position, the cylinder 121 collides
with rear end of the toy gun main body 110, the cam gear 230 and
the rack gear portion 123 continue to engage and run even though
the cylinder 121 cannot move backward any more, and thereby the
cylinder 121, the cam gear 230, the rack gear portion 123, and the
like may be damaged. For the reason described above, the control
unit 286 controls the power supply unit 210 to cut the power
supplied to the driving unit 201.
[0068] The second sensor 282 is for sensing motion of pulling the
trigger 270 by being in contact with the trigger 270. It is
preferable that the second sensor 282 be installed on a control
board inside the toy gun main body 110, and be a switching sensor
which generates on/off switching signal.
[0069] The third sensor 283 may sense a release motion of the
locking member 250 or 450 and occurrence of the cocking by being in
contact with the interference bar 262 or the interlocking bar 461,
and the control unit 286 may count the number of the cocking
occurred using the third sensor 283 and store the number of the
cocking occurred in a memory (not shown). The third sensor 283 is
used for sensing the number of times cocking actually occurred (the
number of forward movements of the cylinder).
[0070] In addition, although not illustrated in the drawings, a
fourth sensor for sensing loading and unloading of the magazine 20
may be further included.
[0071] The control unit 286 not only controls an operation of the
driving motor 220 according to each sensed signal from first to
third sensors 281, 282, 283 and the fourth sensor but also controls
the power supply unit 210 to selectively cut or allow a power
supply to the driving motor 220.
[0072] Hereinafter, an operation of the toy gun with the
configuration described above according to the embodiment of the
present invention will be described in detail.
[0073] To prepare for firing, the control unit 286 controls the
power supply unit 210, the driving motor 220, the driving unit 201,
etc. to reciprocate the cylinder 121 (moving backward and moving
forward) in the toy gun main body 110. First, the rack gear portion
123 and the cam gear 230 engage to move the cylinder 121 backward
while the cam gear 230 makes one rotation. Here, the piston 130 or
430 moves backward along with the cylinder 121.
[0074] After this, when the cylinder assembly 120 and the piston
130 or 430 have completely moved back as illustrated in FIG. 5, the
piston 130 or 430 is fixed by the locking member 250 or 450 in a
state of being moved back, and the cylinder 121 moves forward by
the return spring 125 as the rack gear portion 123 and the cam gear
230 are separated, as illustrated in FIG. 6.
[0075] The control unit 286 determines the position of the cylinder
121 and whether or not the backward and forward movement of the
cylinder 121 is completed using the first sensor 281 while the
cylinder 121 moves backward and forward. When the backward and
forward movement of the cylinder 121 is not completed, the control
unit 286 cuts power supplied to the driving unit 201 to prevent the
cam gear 230 from rotating again.
[0076] In addition, even when a user pulls the trigger 270 before
the cylinder 121 is not completely returned back to the initial
position, the control unit 286 controls the locking member 250 or
450 to prevent the piston 130 or 430 from moving forward.
[0077] Conversely, when the cylinder 121 returns normally back to
the initial position, the control unit 286 supplies power again to
maintain a state ready to fire, and when a user pulls the trigger
270 in this state, the control unit 286 drives the driving motor
220 based on a switching signal of the second sensor 282. Next, the
cam gear 230 further rotates to make the cam portion 232 rotate the
interference bar 262 or 462, and the piston 130 or 430 hooked by
the locking member 250 or 450 interlocked with the interference bar
262 or 462 rotating as illustrated in FIG. 7 is strongly launched
by elastic force of the main spring 140. In addition, the
projectile 10 loaded into the cartridge chamber at front end of the
cylinder assembly 120 is fired by high pressure of air generated
when the piston 130 or 430 rapidly returns back to the inside of
the cylinder body 121a.
[0078] As described above, the cam gear 230 is controlled to make
one rotation, and an operation of firing one shot of the projectile
10 is performed by the one rotation of the cam gear 230.
[0079] According to the toy gun of the embodiment of the present
invention described above, since the cylinder assembly 120 is
formed to perform the operation of moving backward and returning
back along with the piston 130 or 430, the projectile 10 is
supplied to a space of the cartridge chamber 115 generated by the
backward movement of the cylinder assembly 120, and the projectile
10 is loaded by the cylinder assembly 120 returning back.
[0080] In addition, a recoil force as is generated when a real gun
is fired may be implemented through the operation of the cylinder
assembly 120 that repeatedly moves backward and forward, that is,
by the recoil generated when the cylinder assembly 120 returns
back, and thereby providing a user with a sense of reality when
firing.
[0081] The toy gun according to the present invention provides an
effect of providing an exterior mimicking a real gun and operating
very similarly as a real gun since the cylinder is formed to
reciprocate backward and forward inside the toy gun for readying
cocking of the toy gun.
[0082] In addition, the toy gun according to the present invention
provides an effect of enhancing durability of the toy gun since the
toy gun is formed to minimize damage to the toy gun due to a
physical impact generated from the reciprocating movement of the
cylinder.
[0083] In addition, the toy gun according to the present invention
provides an effect of reducing damage to the toy gun by sensing the
position of the cylinder and providing power for driving the
cylinder depending on the position of the cylinder sensed.
[0084] Although exemplary embodiments to describe the principle of
the present invention are illustrated and described as above, the
present invention is not limited to the configurations and
operations as illustrated and described herein. Rather, it should
be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and
modifications may be made without departing from the scope and the
technical spirit of the invention.
* * * * *