Repeater-type Self-projecting Elastic Band Gun

Abstract

A toy gun having barrel provided with a projectile-loading slot extending from end to end of the barrel in communication with the bore thereof. An enlargement on the muzzle end of the barrel has a chamber connecting with the bore. The breech has a plate provided with interconnected projectile storage and discharge slots. A trigger in the breech of the gun has an end member which traverses the discharge slot when said trigger is pivoted. The gun is adapted to shoot elastic projectiles which have a knob on each end thereof. One knob is lodged in the muzzle chamber and then stretched so that the other knob engages and is held by discharge slot in the breech plate, the storage slot projectiles subsequently being transferred to the discharge slot, by way of a connecting slot, for firing.

Description

My invention relates to toys and more particularly to a gun for shooting elastic projectiles.

Most toy guns which are designed for rapid firing necessarily are of rather complex construction and whenever attempts are made to simplify the construction, it is generally found that the toy is less than usual like a conventional rifle in both function and appearance and this detracts from the entertainment value of the toy as far as the average child is concerned.

I have solved this particular problem by providing a toy gun which is a reasonably close copy of a conventional rifle but which is extremely simple and economical to construct. The gun is provided with a supply of elastic projectiles which have far better flight characteristics than the elastic bands commonly used in guns of this general type. When the gun is loaded with the projectiles, and such loading can be done quickly and easily, the projectiles are enclosed within the bore of the barrel and are otherwise substantially hidden from view. When the gun is to be fired, a part of each projectile in turn is moved from a storage slot to a discharge slot and the firing is done by the simple operation of rudimentary trigger mechanism. The toy gun has a device related to the safety catch on a conventional rifle and the operation of this device enables the child to play at handling a rifle. As a further appeal to the mechanical instincts of a child, the butt of the gun is made adjustable as to length.

In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, part broken away and shown in section, of the toy gun in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of a projectile,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken on the line 3-- 3 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a similar section taken on the line 4-- 4 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is still another enlarged transverse section taken on the line 5-- 5 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 6-- 6 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 7-- 7 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 8 is a transverse section taken on the line 8-- 8 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the toy gun indicated generally at 10 comprises a barrel 12, a breech portion 14, and a butt 16. Gun 10 is made from a suitable lightweight and inexpensive material such as plastic to generally simulate a conventional rifle. The gun is modified to enable it to shoot elastic projectiles 18 which are shown in FIG. 2 to have a body 19 and reduced ends 20 and 21 fitted with knobs 22 and 23 all of which parts are cylindrical. Body 19 is formed of a tough rubber which can be stretched to a considerable length without fear of breaking. The ends 20 and 21 are flexible but preferably not elastic. Knobs 22 and 23 may be formed of the same material as the ends 20 and 21 and fairly rigid due to their short, cylindrical shape.

Barrel 12 has a bore 28 which is cylindrical at the muzzle end 28A thereof, see FIG. 3. From the muzzle end 28A, the bore 28 is progressively deepened to assume the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 and this tapering of said bore is increased further still at the enlarged breech end 28B of the bore, see FIG. 1. The barrel 12 has a loading slot 30 which extends the full length of said barrel and which connects with the upper part of the bore 28. This longitudinally extending loading slot 30 preferably is disposed on the right side of the barrel 12 alongside a front sight 32, see particularly FIG. 3, and a rear sight 33, see particularly FIGS. 4 and 5. Front sight 32 is formed in a cylindrical enlargement 35 made integrally with the barrel 12 at front end 36 thereof.

Gun 10 is provided with front holder means generally indicated at 40 for releasably securing ends of the elastic projectiles to the barrel 12. As shown in FIG 3, means 40 comprises a plurality of chambers 42 which are formed in the enlargement 35 to extend inwardly from the barrel end 36. The chambers 42, which may be three in number, are circumferentially spaced apart around the enlargement 35 as illustrated in FIG. 3 and each chamber has a relatively narrow passage 42A which connects it to the bore 28, this passage also being open to the barrel end 36.

Rear holder means, generally indicated at 45, is provided for releasably engaging a selected one of the reduced ends of the elastic projectiles 18 and, as shown best in FIG. 5, said means comprises a vertically curving plate 47 (FIG. 1) which serves as a front wall and partial end closure for the breech portion 28B of the bore. The breech plate 47 has a centrally disposed discharge slot 48 which extends vertically thereof to connect with an opening 49 communicating at its upper end with the bore 28. Slot 48 is bordered by a recess 50 formed in the rear face of the breech plate 47, see FIGS. 5, 6 and 8. Also, breech plate 47 is provided with branch or storage slots 52 and 53 (FIG. 5), which slots are parallel to the discharge slot 48. The lower ends 52A and 53A of the storage slots curve inwardly and upwardly to connect with the discharge slot 48, preferably a short distance above lower end 48A thereof.

To load gun 10 with the required number of projectiles 18, the following procedure preferably is followed; each projectile in turn is attached to the front holder means 40 by entering the knob 22 in a chamber 42, assuming said knob is selected for use as the outer knob. The opposite ends of the projectiles are identical, of course, and there is no need to select a particular end for attachment to the outer end of the toy gun barrel. Once the knob 22 is properly seated in a chamber 42, the end 20 is threaded through the passage 42A of that chamber so as to extend into the bore 28. End 21 is then passed through the loading slot 30 so that the knob 23 is disposed above the barrel 30 and a pull is exerted on knob 23 to tension the projectile until said knob is positioned over the breech 14. End 21 is fed downwardly through slot 48 and around curved end 52A into storage slot 52 for example. The remainder of the projectiles are loaded in the same manner and, in FIG. 5, the eventual positions of the now fully tensioned projectiles will be seen as viewed from the breech portion 14 of the toy gun. Only one projectile 18 is shown in each of the three slots for the sake of clarity but it will be appreciated said slots can be completely filled with projectiles, for example, as many as eighteen can be loaded into the gun at one time. Some of the inner knobs 23 at this time are seated in the recess 50 and are pressed hard against the plate 47 and the remainder of the projectiles extend through the storage slots 52 or 53 and the bore 28 with the knobs 22 being seated in the chambers 42.

The gun 10 is now fully loaded and it can be fired by means of a trigger which is generally indicated at 54. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the trigger 54 is mounted on a pivot pin 56 which extends between sidewalls 57 and 58 of the breech portion 14. Pin 56 has male and female parts 56A and 56B which are entered through openings 59 and 60 in the sidewalls 57 and 58, the pin parts being threadably connected together to support the trigger for limited rocking movement between said sidewalls and about the transverse axis of said pin. If desired, suitable wear members 61 can be provided between the trigger 54 and the walls 57 and 58 to eliminate side play and slack motion of said trigger. The trigger 54 is divided by the pin 56 into a rearwardly projecting lever member 54A and a forwardly projecting firing member 54B. Member 54B has a tip 54C (FIG. 6) which projects into the discharge slot 48. Below pivot pin 56, the sidewalls 57 and 58 are provided with pairs of openings 62 and 63, see FIGS. 1 and 5 to operate the trigger 54, and some of the user's fingers can be entered through either the opening 62 or the opening 63 so that the lever member 54A can be swung downwardly by use of the thumb. This downward movement of the lever portion 54A will swing the firing portion 54B upwardly to the dotted position shown in FIG. 1 during which time the tip 54C will traverse the discharge slot 48. Desirably, member 54B overbalances member 54A so that the trigger will fall by gravity to the solid line position shown in FIG. 1 when thumb pressure is released.

Assuming the gun 10 is being used for single-shot firing and that the slot 48 is empty of projectiles, the toy is prepared or cocked for firing by first moving one of the lowermost knobs 23 from a storage slot 52 and 53 into the discharge slot 48. The knob 23 thus moved is positioned at the top of the breech plate 47 as shown in FIG. 5, so that, when the gun is aimed and the trigger 54 is operated, the upwardly moving tip 54C will contact and push said knob above said breech plate and into alignment with the opening 49. Once the knob 23 has been dislodged from the plate 47, the elastic projectile 18 will snap through the opening 49 and the bore 28 and free itself from the front holder means 40 to travel over a fairly lengthy projectory to the target. Since the projectile 18 is of one-piece construction and has relatively heavy knobs 22 and 23 on the ends thereof, the flight of the projectile is reasonably steady and accurate.

Thus, the projectiles 18 can be fired one at a time but rapid firing is also possible with the present gun. To accomplish this, an appropriate number of projectiles 18 are loaded into the gun and initially are stored an equal number in each of the slots 48, 52 and 53. A few of the ends 21 may be transferred from each slot 52 and 53 to the slot 48 until a maximum number are held by the discharge slot. Trigger 54 is then operated once to release the projectiles from the plate 47 and fire them substantially as a continuous stream from the muzzle of the gun.

The toy gun 10 is provided with a safety plug 64 which is shown best in FIG. 6. Plug 64 has a tapered, cylindrical body 64A and a head 64B. Sidewalls 57 and 58 of the breech portion have openings 66 and 67 which are disposed a suitable distance above and slightly to the rear of the pivot pin 56. Thus, when the trigger 54 is in the normal position shown by solid line in FIG. 1 and the safety plug 64 is entered through the aligned openings 66 and 67, said plug extends below the lever member 54A so that the trigger cannot be operated to fire the gun. Preferably, the sidewalls 57 and 58 are provided with another pair of openings 69 (one only shown in FIG. 1) and the safety plug 64 is stored extending through this pair of openings when not required to block the operation of the trigger 54.

As an additional safety measure and to increase the entertainment value of the toy gun, another safety plug 68 is provided, see FIG. 8. Plug 68 normally is stored in an opening 69 formed in the plate 47 and the breech end of the barrel 12 above the opening 49. The plug 68 is adapted to be transferred from the opening 69 to the opening 49 so as to block off the latter opening. Thus, if the trigger 54 is actuated at a time when there is projectile end 21 in the slot 48, the plug 68 will prevent the knob 23 from entering the opening 49 so that the gun will not fire.

The butt 16 of the toy gun is made up of a suitable number of parts whereby the overall length of this butt may be adjusted to suit the requirements of a particular individual. Butt 16 comprises a front section 16A and removable sections 16B, 16C, and 16D. Referring now particularly to FIG. 7, section 16D has a spigot 70 which is received in a socket 71 formed in the adjoining end of section 16C A two-part connector pin 74 extends through openings 75 and 76 formed in the spigot 70 and the socketed end of the section 16C to lock the two sections together in end to end relation. Other connector pins 78 and 79 (FIG. 1) connect the spigot and socket joined ends of the other sections of the butt to one another also in end to end relation. Thus, a child can shorten or lengthen the butt according to his wishes or size and this adds something to the entertainment value of the toy which can also be used by adults.

From the foregoing, it will be seen I have provided a toy gun which is reasonably accurate and relatively harmless. A large number of the elastic projectiles can be loaded into the gun and these can be fired individually or in rapid succession. Children can obtain additional amusement from the toy by installing the safety plugs and by adjusting the length of the butt. The projectiles are housed within the barrel and are supported in such a way that if one should break while under tension there is very little danger of the user being struck. If any one of the two safety plugs are in use, it is almost impossible to fire the gun accidentally.

The toy gun has other features and advantages which make it particularly useful as a plaything for a child who is inclined to give any toy a great deal of rough use which soon renders it unserviceable. The several parts which make up the present toy gun can readily be dismantled if necessary and can be replaced if a breakage occurs. For example, to replace the trigger 54, the two-part pin 56 is removed whereupon it is a simple matter to remove the broken part and substitute a new one through the open top of the breech portion 14.

In FIG. 1, it will be noted there are openings 80 (one only shown) formed in the sidewalls 57 and 58 of the breech portion. A small child might not be able to spread his fingers between the opening 62 and 63 and the lever member 54A of the trigger. If such is the case, the child inserts a finger into an opening 80 and his thumb over the lever member 54A to operate the trigger 54 part way and then uses the openings 62 and 63 to depress the trigger further as required.

Claims

I claim:

1. A toy gun for firing elastic projectiles comprising elastic projectile with knobs on each end thereof, a barrel having a bore and a longitudinally extending projectile-loading slot through which said elastic projectiles, when tensioned, are enterable laterally into said bore, front holder means for releasably securing knobbed ends of the tensioned elastic members to the barrel, a breech having a plate adjacent the rear end of the barrel, said breech plate having both a projectile discharge slot substantially in register with the bore and a projectile storage slot receiving the knobs on the opposite ends of stretched projectiles, said storage slot being spaced to one side of said bore, said projectile storage slot forming a continuation of the discharge slot to permit a plurality of knobs fitted on the opposite ends of the tensioned elastic projectiles to be moved manually one at a time from the projectile storage slot to the discharge slot, a trigger mounted in the breech for rocking movement about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, said trigger having a firing member which engages the knotted ends of said elastic projectiles and removes them from the discharge slot and thereby fires the elastic projectiles through the bore of the barrel.

2. A toy gun as claimed in claim 1, in which said front holder means comprises a muzzle enlargement on the barrel, said muzzle enlargement having a chamber enterable from the front end of the barrel and extending into the bore, said chamber being adapted to receive a plurality of the knobbed ends of the tensioned elastic projectiles.

3. A toy gun as claimed in claim 1, and including a safety plug insertable into the breech to lock the trigger in an inoperative position.

4. A toy gun as claimed in claim 1, and including a butt for the toy gun, said butt comprising a plurality of sections disposed in end-to-end relation, and means for releasably securing each section to an adjoining section.

5. A toy gun comprising a barrel having a bore and a longitudinally extending loading slot along said barrel connecting with said bore, a muzzle enlargement on the barrel, said muzzle enlargement having a chamber enterable from the front end of the barrel and forming an extension of the bore, a breech having a plate adjacent the rear end of the barrel, said breech plate having a projectile discharge slot substantially perpendicular the longitudinal axis of the bore and a projectile storage slot in said plate spaced to one side of the axis of the bore, a plurality of elastic projectiles stretched through the bore of the barrel and received by the slot, each elastic projectile having opposite end knobs, one of said opposite end knobs being received in the chamber and the other of said opposite end knobs received by and supported by the breech plate, said storage slot communicating with the discharge slot to allow the elastic projectiles to be transferred therebetween, a trigger mounted in the breech for rocking movement about an transverse axis-- transverse to the longitudinal, axis of the bore--said trigger having a firing member adapted when the trigger is actuated to dislodge knobs of the projectiles from the discharge slot and thereby fire the elastic projectiles through the bore.

6. A toy gun as claimed in claim 5, in which said breech plate has an opening registering with the bore of the barrel, and a safety plug adapted to be inserted into the breech plate opening to block admission of the knob on the opposite end of one of said projectiles into the bore.