Abstract:
A toy fencing sword that is adapted to also fire its blade tip as a missile and to squirt water. The sword includes an internal piston activated by pulling and pushing the sword&#39;s handle to either fire the sword&#39;s tip as a missile or to inhale water and squirt it in a powerful stream. The sword is comprised of soft and buoyant materials which make it safe and painless during play and also make it ideally adapted for use in and around water, such as at a swimming pool.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of both co-pending U.S. Letters Patent applications Ser. No. 10/942,326 and U.S. Ser. No. 11/508,785, the specifications and drawings of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention is a fencing, shooting and squirting apparatus for use at play. More specifically, it is a soft foam-covered sword for use in play fencing and having a tubular air piston within the sword&#39;s blade for alternative use in firing the sword&#39;s soft foam tip as a projectile. Additionally, upon removal of the tip, the piston may be used to inhale and squirt water in a powerful blast. The materials and arrangement of the sword make it particularly well-adapted for use in and around water.  
       BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Toy swords and other fencing toys are well known in many forms in the prior art. Numerous varieties of toys swords and other bladed battering toys, having soft blades and/or soft blade tips for safety are made and have been made over the years for use predominantly by children while play fencing or pretend battling.  
         [0004]     Soft toy “swimming noodles” are also a very common and well-known prior art toy, used primarily in and around water, which are a simple homogenous tubular wand extruded of a resilient and buoyant closed-cell polymer foam, such as polyethylene foam, and which are often used by children for battering each other in pretend battling. The softness of these noodles eliminates the safety threat that they would otherwise pose. Said softness removes any hazard to those diving into the water, and the buoyancy of the foam makes the noodles float on water. The unique appearance of the foam material and the universal use of such noodles by children in and around water have created an instant recognition that promotes use of these noodles for play-battling without fear, as children have learned to instantly recognize that such noodles, and other toys made of the same material, are soft and not dangerous or painful. Children have also come to instantly, yet subconsciously, recognize that such noodles, and other things made of such materials are waterproof and buoyant, and so children have learned that they need not be overly cautious about using toys made of similar materials in and around water. So there is an inherent, yet non-obvious, benefit to leveraging the familiarity that these swimming noodles have developed by using such materials in other unrelated toys that might be used in and around water, to effectively promote their use in and around water.  
         [0005]     Co-pending U.S. Letters Patent application Ser. No. 10/942,326, of which the present application is a continuation-in-part, discloses a squirting toy which leverages the familiarity of the common swimming noodle by incorporating the same materials in a toy intended to be used in and around water.  
         [0006]     Additionally, the prior art is filled with missile-shooting toys, such as toy guns, which use compressed air or the movement of a piston to eject and propel a soft foam missile. The use of a soft foam material eliminates the pain and hazard of being struck by such a missile, while the density and formability of components made of such a foam as that used in a swimming noodle allows for the manufacture of missiles that have sufficient flight and trajectory characteristics for play without danger.  
         [0007]     It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved play-fencing sword that may also be used as a missile shooting toy; combining the benefits of play battering, missile-shooting, and water play into one toy in a non-obvious arrangement that not only disguises the intended next move of the combatants, but also subconsciously promotes the use of a shooting toy in and around water when such a type of toy has not previously been associated with water play, by leveraging the popularity and recognition of the swimming noodle.  
         [0008]     The shape and configuration of the toy sword of the present invention disguises its missile-shooting capability. The arrangement of the missile-shooting mechanism enables the user to shoot the missile without substantially repositioning his/her hands from the fencing position to catch opponents by surprise. The sword&#39;s blade and its separable tip are made of a soft foam material, and the tip serves as the missile which may be instantly fired from the sword.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved play-fencing sword that may also be used as a water-squirting toy; combining the benefits of play battering, water-squirting, and water play into one toy in a non-obvious arrangement that not only disguises the intended next move of the combatants, but also subconsciously promotes the use of a squirting toy in and around water when such a type of toy has not previously been associated with water play, by leveraging the popularity and recognition of the swimming noodle.  
         [0010]     The shape and configuration of the toy sword of the present invention disguises its squirting capability. The arrangement of the squirting mechanism enables the user to squirt water without substantially repositioning his/her hands from the fencing position to catch opponents by surprise. The sword&#39;s blade includes a hidden nozzle which enables water to be instantly ejected from the sword in a powerful and focused stream.  
         [0011]     It is a further object to provide such a toy that is both buoyant and soft for use in and around water, and that the soft and buoyant material used to make several of the components of the toy are readily associated with use in and around water, where play swords and missile-shooting toys are not commonly used due to the incompatibility of most prior art play swords and missile shooters with water, and the inherent dangers of such use in the past.  
         [0012]     The present invention subliminally, but non-obviously, simulates certain aspects of the appearance of a familiar “swimming noodle”, so that children will readily recognize that the sword blade and blade tip are soft and will not fear being hit by them, and which promotes its use in and around and its association with water, thereby creating a new marketplace for play swords and missile shooting toys, while providing the additional benefit of water-squirting.  
         [0013]     Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon a review of the following description and drawings of the invention, including the preferred embodiment thereof.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     The present invention comprises a toy fencing sword that is adapted to also fire its blade tip as a missile and to squirt water in a powerful and focused steam. The sword is comprised of soft and buoyant materials which make it safe and painless during play and also make it ideally adapted for use in and around water, such as at a swimming pool. The blade of the sword, including its launchable tip, are made primarily of polyethylene (PE) closed cell foam. This closed cell material is non-absorbing and less dense than water, so that the blade tip and/or the whole sword will remain buoyant if they fall into the water, and the foam is soft, so that the sword and its tip will not cause harm or pain during use and so that swimmers accidentally diving into the water and landing on a sword or tip floating on the water surface will not be injured.  
         [0015]     In the preferred embodiment, the sword is comprised of a cylindrical housing and a piston hidden within the soft foam outer surfaces of the blade. The piston slides within the housing to pull air into the housing or to force it out via a hole near to the blade&#39;s tip end. The air enters through the sword&#39;s handle end during the expansion stroke of the piston by the user, who causes such expansion by simply retracting the swords handle from its blade. That air then exits in a blast though the opposite “tip” end during the opposite compression stroke of the piston, thereby pneumatically forcing the blade tip from the sword as a missile.  
         [0016]     Alternatively, with the blade tip removed, the forward end of the remaining portion of the blade may be placed into water and the piston can then be used to pull that water into the housing during that expansion stroke and to force it out via that same hole in a powerful stream during the compression stroke.  
         [0017]     The foam covering of the major components of preferred embodiment is similar in appearance and feel to a common “swimming noodle”, and is therefore more attractive to and well-recognized by a typical child who is familiar with such noodles and therefore immediately understands the toy to be soft, acceptable for battering, and water tolerant.  
         [0018]     The material and color matching of the blade to its tip serve to disguise the fact that the sword is also capable of squirting and missile-firing, and the shape and arrangement of the components provide the ability to actuate the firing of the missile or squirting quickly from the normal holding position used during fencing, which further enhances the surprise capability of the missile firing function.  
         [0019]     A more complete understanding of the invention will be realized upon review of the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and the appended drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DECRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a toy fencing sword according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view through the toy of  FIG. 1  in its compressed and normal fencing state.  
         [0022]      FIG. 3A  is a cross-sectional view through the toy of  FIG. 1  during expansion of its piston from its compressed fencing state to its expanded state, for missile-firing.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional view through the toy of  FIG. 3A  during compression of its piston from its expanded state back to its compressed fencing state. showing the expulsion of the sword&#39;s blade tip as a missile.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the firing of the sword&#39;s blade tip as a missile from the sword just after the completion of the compression stroke of  FIG. 3B .  
         [0025]      FIG. 5A  is a cross-sectional view through the toy of  FIG. 1  with its forward end submerged in water, and during expansion of its piston from its compressed fencing state to its expanded state, for water-squirting,  
         [0026]      FIG. 5B  is a cross-sectional view through the toy of  FIG. 5A  during compression of its piston from its expanded state back to its compressed fencing state, showing the squirting of water from the nozzle.  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the squirting of water from the sword just after the completion of the compression stroke of  FIG. 5B .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0028]     The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS.  1  though  6 , where there is depicted a toy  100  for fencing, water-squirting or missile-shooting.  
         [0029]     The toy comprises a rigid tubular housing  106  that encloses a hollow cylindrical chamber  110 . The forward end  112  of the tubular housing is closed except for a small hole  114 . Piston  116  slides longitudinally within chamber  110  and is sealed against the cylindrical inner surface  120  of the chamber by o-ring  122 , which is seated within groove  124  of the piston. The piston separates the chamber  110  into a forward portion  110 A and a rear portion  110 B.  
         [0030]     The piston  116  is rigidly connected to shaft  126  at the forward end thereof. Slide bushing  128  supports shaft  126  at the rear end  130  of the tubular housing  106 , while allowing longitudinal movement relative thereto. Handle portion  132  is rigidly connected to shaft  126  at the rearward end thereof.  
         [0031]     Use of the sword for missile firing is shown in  FIGS. 3A, 3B  and  4  and will now be described with reference thereto.  
         [0032]     Expansion of the handle portion  132  relative to the tubular housing  106 , as shown in  FIG. 3A , causes air to be inhaled into the expanding forward chamber portion  110 A, through holes  150  and  152  in handle portion  132 , through the hollow interior  154  of shaft  126 , and then through hole  156  of piston  116 . Less preferably, intake holes could be positioned elsewhere to allow air to enter the expanding forward chamber portion during the expansion stroke of piston  116 , such as through housing  106  or through slide bushing  128  and piston  116 .  
         [0033]     Subsequent rapid compression of the handle portion  132  relative to the tubular housing  106 , as shown in  FIG. 31B  causes that air to be exhaled through hole  114  in a powerful blast.  
         [0034]     Hollow missile mounting post  160  is disposed at and in pneumatic communication with hole  114 , such that air being so blasted from forward chamber portion  110 A is directed though the mounting post and exits through its exhaust hole  162 .  
         [0035]     Tubular sword blade  138 , preferably made of closed-cell polyethylene foam, surrounds tubular housing  106 , to serve as the blade of the sword during fencing, and to also provide both a soft harmless surface and buoyancy. Other materials may be substituted for polyethylene foam, such as ethylene vinyl acetate closed-cell foam, closed cell neoprene, or numerous similarly soft and buoyant materials.  
         [0036]     Soft blade tip  164  is disposed at the forward end  112  of blade  138  during fencing use, such as shown in  FIG. 1 . Tip  164  includes missile-shaped body  170  and hollow shaft  172 . Hollow shaft  172  is shaped and arranged to fit snuggly but removably within the forward end of blade  138  and to fit over mounting post  160 . Tip  164  is sufficiently snuggly mounted within the forward end of the blade so that it does not inadvertently slip from the blade during fencing.  
         [0037]     Tip  164  is preferably made of the same material as blade  138 . Its color is preferably the same as that of blade  138  so that at casual glance, the tip is disguised to be an integral part of the blade and sword.  
         [0038]     It should be readily appreciated that the afore-described blast of air which is expelled from exhaust hole  162  during the rapid compression of handle portion  132  will cause the rapid expulsion of tip  164  from blade  138  in missile-like fashion, as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0039]     It should also be appreciated that some of the air in forward chamber portion  110 A may escape the chamber during the compression stroke by way of holes  156 ,  152  and  150 , thereby reducing the ejection force of the air existing through hole  162 . Although may appear to be a flaw in the design at first glance, but is actually a significant benefit to the design.  
         [0040]     Because hole  150  is positioned on handle portion  132  at the position where a user would normal place his/her thumb when grasping the sword, it is simple for the user to instantly select between a lower or a higher ejection speed during missile firing, By simply blocking hole  150  with the thumb during the compression stroke, the exhaustion of air through hole  150  is denied and all exhausted air is forced through hole  162 , and the user can thereby create more high-speed ejection, shooting the missile further and faster than when the hole is not blocked. This convenient and instantly selectable “two speed” missile firing capability is a unique and significant aspect of the invention. Even when a target player becomes aware that the sword holder is about to fire a missile, it is virtually impossible to recognized whether the missile will be shot at high or low speed, thereby furthering the surprise effect of the missile.  
         [0041]     Because body  170  of tip  164  is missile-shaped and because, through the much greater mass of body  174  than shaft  172 , the center-of-mass of tip  164  is substantially the same as the center-of-mass of body  170 , tip  164  is especially well-adapted for missile-like flight, with hollow shaft  172  serving basically as a stabilizing tail during flight. During propulsion of tip  164  through the air, this arrangement causes the tip to maintain a stabile and straight course, without tumbling or erratic movement.  
         [0042]     One can also readily appreciate that by use of the sword&#39;s handle portion  132  to actuate the propulsion of tip  164 , and the disguising of the tip as an integral part of the blade  138 , it allows the user to surprise opponents who may not be aware of the missile-firing function of sword  100 . In fact, one using the sword in its typical fencing mode and thereby grasping it by handle portion  132  needs only to quickly grasp blade  138  with his/her other hand, and quickly draw back and forth on handle portion  132  with the hand already grasping it, while aiming the sword at the opponent, to fire an unexpected missile. Coupling this with the two-speed missile firing capability that is nearly impossible to pre-detect, the invention allows the user a plurality of surprising options while battling against his/her foes.  
         [0043]     Additionally, because tip  164  is preferably made of soft and buoyant closed-cell foam, it will float retrievably on the water surface and will not pose a safety hazard to others diving into the water if it should inadvertently alight on the surface of the water after firing. And the foam material used in the blade and blade tip are preferably identical to those used in swimming noodles, so that children are generally familiar to the fact that this toy is suited for use in and around water just by its general appearance. These factors, and other, make the missile-firing sword particularly well adapted for use in and around water.  
         [0044]     Use of the sword for water squirting is shown in  FIGS. 5A, 5B  and  6 , and will now be described with reference thereto, with tip  164  having been removed either manually or by missile-firing.  
         [0045]     Forward end  112  is submerged into water  200 , such as in a swimming pool, with exhaust hole  162  below the water&#39;s surface. Hole  150  is blocked by the user&#39;s thumb during use of the toy for water squirting. Handle portion  132  is retracted in an identical motion as described above for missile-firing, except that in this case, water is inhaled into the forward chamber portion  110 A, as shown in  FIG. 5A . Because hole  150  is blocked, no air is inhaled into the chamber.  
         [0046]     With the toy next aimed at an opponent, handle portion  132  is pushed rapidly forwardly in a motion identical to that described above for missile-firing and, because hole  150  remains blocked, all of the water in chamber portion  110 A is forced in a rapid burst through hole  114 , post  160 , and is ejected from the toy in a powerful and focused stream  202  through exhaust hole  162 .  
         [0047]     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the applicable arts that the foregoing is merely one of many possible embodiments of the invention, and that the invention should therefore only be limited according to the following claims.