Abstract:
An automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun with an ammunition powered operating system. The gun includes a mechanism for retaining, releasing and projecting a plurality of stretched rubber bands, with the release of the rubber bands occurring in such a manner as to allow the harnessing of a portion of the elastic potential energy present in the rubber bands to perform work upon the mechanism. Work performed upon the mechanism results in the mechanism moving relative to a static structure within the gun, and this relative movement affects a temporal sequencing of the release of the rubber bands. A trigger system provides for control of rubber band discharge by way of alternately inhibiting or allowing rubber band release. A structural frame supports the operating system and provides for the gun to be manually operated.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based on provisional application Ser. No. 61/455,647, filed on Oct. 25, 2010. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to the field of toy rubber band guns and more specifically to an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun with an ammunition-powered operating system. 
     The history of rubber band guns is documented at least as far back as the early twentieth century. The first rubber band guns may have followed from the recognition of the capacity of rubber bands to function both as a projectile object, as well as a repository of elastic potential energy which could be easily harnessed so as to affect projection. Over time, commonly available “household-type” rubber bands have most often been used as ammunition in rubber band guns. In its simplest form, a rubber band gun need only be a means for retaining a stretched rubber band such that it may be aimed and selectively released. Such a rubber band gun can be achieved by simply hooking the ends of a stretched rubber band over the ends of a stick, pointing one end of the stick in the direction of desired rubber band projection, and manually unhooking and releasing the rubber band from the other end of the stick, so as to affect projection. Because of the short range of a projected rubber band, and the limited amount of kinetic energy which can be delivered to a target, the majority of rubber band guns have been designed as toys rather than as actual weapons. Over time, there have been many innovative designs put forth for rubber band guns. Many of the innovations seen in rubber band guns are analogous to innovations that have taken place in the development of actual firearm weapons. Such innovations have included multi-shot rubber band guns, semi-automatically repeating rubber band guns, a differentiation between “pistol” rubber band guns for short range shooting, and “rifle” rubber band guns for longer range shooting, and rapid-firing rubber band guns which in many ways mimic the functioning of machine guns. 
     With regard to rapid-firing, machine gun-like rubber band guns, examples of prior technology which are generally indicative of the state of the art can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,425 issued Dec. 21, 1954 to McElveen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,219 issued Jun. 30, 1987 to Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,770 issued Dec. 15, 1992 to Vosloh, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,150 issued Oct. 24, 1995 to Joppe. Each of these patents pertain to rubber band gun designs which are able to produce a rapid, sequential discharge of multiple rubber bands by some means other than a semi-automatic mechanism (a mechanism which requires repeated pulling/releasing of a trigger means to produce rapidly repeating rubber band discharge.) 
     The chief deficiency seen in the prior technology is that rubber band guns of these designs perform in a repeating manner only so long as the operator continues to perform mechanical work upon the mechanism. The design by McElveen requires that mechanical work be continuously performed upon a combination grip/arrester means so as to affect a continuous, sequential discharge of rubber bands. The Vosloh design requires that mechanical work be continuously performed upon a trigger means so as to affect a continuous, sequential discharge of rubber bands, and the designs by Joppe and Miller both require that mechanical work be continuously performed upon a crank means so as to affect a continuous, sequential discharge of rubber bands. 
     The reason that the requirement of the operator to perform mechanical work while firing constitutes a deficiency is that such activity is likely to interfere with the operator&#39;s ability to accurately aim the rubber band gun, and to maintain aim throughout the sequence of rubber bands being discharged. Variations on prior technology designs may involve adding a motor to the mechanism so as to remove the need for the operator to perform work during the firing sequence. While such design variations might have a positive effect on the design in terms of the ability of the operator to accurately aim the rubber band gun, the addition of a motor would also increase the mechanical complexity and weight of the gun, which would negatively affect reliability and person-portability. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary object of the invention is to provide for an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun, the repeated firing of which is driven solely by mechanical potential energy derived from the stretched rubber band projectiles. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide for an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun, the repeated firing of which does not require a continuous input of mechanical energy, as through a crank or motor-driven shaft, linear actuation mechanism, or by repeated manual engaging/disengaging of a trigger system. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide for an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun, the repeated firing of which requires of the operator only that the trigger be maintained in its pulled position. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide for an automatically repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun of reduced mechanical complexity and enhanced reliability. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide for an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun which is easily person-portable and which is suitable for hand-held operation. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed an automatically-repeating, rapid-firing rubber band gun with an ammunition-powered operating system comprising: a barrel assembly for both retaining and releasing a plurality of stretched rubber bands, with the release of the rubber bands occurring in such a manner as to firstly affect the transformation of a portion of the elastic potential energy present in the rubber bands into mechanical work performed upon the mechanism, and secondly affect the directionally-controlled projection of the rubber bands; a deflection assembly, relative to which, the barrel assembly moves in such a manner as to affect temporal sequencing of the release of the rubber bands from the barrel assembly, the mechanical movement occurring as a result of the transformation of a portion of the elastic potential energy present in the rubber bands into mechanical work performed on the barrel assembly; a manually-engageable trigger assembly for alternately allowing or inhibiting the release of the rubber bands from the barrel assembly; and a frame assembly for operatively supporting the barrel assembly, the deflection assembly, and the trigger assembly such that gun may be hand-held and manually operated. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the gun. 
         FIG. 2  is an elevational view of the right side of the gun. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the gun. 
         FIG. 4  is an elevational view of the front of the gun. 
         FIG. 5  is an elevational view of the back of the gun. 
         FIG. 6  is a view of a single barrel sub-assembly and the corresponding support armatures, shown apart from the remainder of the barrel assembly for clarity. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the barrel assembly, shown apart from the remainder of the gun and with the stabilizing tethers omitted for clarity. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of the gun with the barrel assembly omitted in order to provide a clear view of other parts. 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of the deflection tube and select parts of the barrel assembly, depicted in such a way as to facilitate a graphic illustration of the angular advancement distance. 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of the deflection tube and select parts of the barrel assembly, depicted in such a way as to facilitate a graphic illustration of the rotational movement of a single lever-arm relative to the deflection channel, as well as the related movement of the whole of the barrel assembly relative to the remainder of the gun. 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the deflection assembly, trigger assembly, and a single barrel sub-assembly, showing particular aspects of the relative movement of parts of the mechanism during the firing cycle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner. 
     The present rubber band gun design consists of four major assemblies ( FIG. 1 ): a barrel assembly  20 , a deflection assembly  40 , a trigger assembly  60 , and a frame assembly  80 . 
     The barrel assembly  20  ( FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  7 ,  9  and  10 ) includes multiple identical barrel sub-assemblies  21  ( FIG. 6 ), arranged in a radially-symmetrical configuration about a central axis. The barrel sub-assemblies  21  are attached to a core body  27  which is positioned in the forward half of the core region of the barrel assembly  20 . A cylindrical hollow channel  28  runs the length the core body  27 , along the central axis of the barrel assembly  20 . 
     The central axis of the barrel assembly  20  is coincident with the central axes of several other radially-symmetrical or semi-radially-symmetrical parts of the gun. For the purpose of facilitating this description, these coincident central axes will each be introduced individually, but thereafter will be collectively referred to as the shared central axis  100 . 
     Each of the barrel sub-assemblies  21  constitutes a single barrel of the barrel assembly  20 , and each consists of a projection tab  22  at the front end of the barrel assembly  20 , a double-ended lever-arm sub-assembly  23  at the rear end of the barrel assembly  20 , and a stretched elastic stabilizing tether  26 , linking the projection tab  22  with one end of the double-ended lever-arm  24  assembly. 
     For the purpose of facilitating this description, the number of barrel sub-assemblies  21  shall be twelve, however the present design may be adjusted so as to accommodate more or fewer than twelve barrel sub-assemblies  21 . 
     The projection tabs  22  are small structures which are statically affixed to and extend from the core body  27  toward the front of the barrel assembly  20 . Each projection tab  22  is of such a shape that one end of a rubber band can be hooked over the tab and retained while the other end of the rubber band is stretched, drawn toward the rear of the barrel assembly  20 . With the release of the end of the rubber band drawn toward the rear, the projection tab  22  allows the rubber band to be projected toward the front of the gun and away from the barrel assembly  20 . 
     Each double-ended lever-arm sub-assembly  23  consists of a double-ended lever-arm  24  and a transverse axle-rod  25  passing through and statically affixed to the lever-arm&#39;s  24  mid-point, with an equal length of transverse axle-rod  25  extending from opposite sides of each lever-arm  24 . 
     The ends of the transverse axle-rod  25  of each lever-arm sub-assembly  23  are seated in sockets  30  located in support armatures  29 , these support armatures  29  statically affixed to the rear end of the core body  27  of the barrel assembly  20 , and extending from the core body  27  toward the rear of the barrel assembly  20 . 
     The diameter of the sockets  30  in the support armatures  29  is slightly greater than the diameter of the transverse axle-rods  25 , so as to facilitate pivoting of the transverse axle-rods  25  within the sockets  30 . 
     The support armatures  29  function to maintain the positions of the transverse axle-rods  25  relative to the remainder of the barrel assembly  20 , and allow a void space to exist within the rear portion of the core region of the barrel assembly  20 , adjacent to the location of the lever-arm sub-assemblies  23 . 
     Each stabilizing tether  26  functions to maintain a lever-arm  24  in a position with its central axis parallel to the shared central axis  100 , allowing that the gun is in an unloaded condition. Tension in each of the stabilizing tethers  26  ensures that the end of the lever-arm  24  to which a tether is attached remains oriented toward the front of the barrel assembly  20 . This design feature helps to prevent undesired movement of unloaded lever-arms  24 , which could result in damage to the mechanism during operation of the gun. 
     The length of each end of each lever-arm  24  is greater than the radius of the barrel assembly  20 , but less than its diameter, such that were a lever-arm  24  to be positioned in its pivot so that its longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the shared central axis  100 , the end of the lever-arm  24  oriented toward the shared central axis  100  would cross the shared central axis  100  but would not extend so far as to come into contact with a support armature  29  or a parallel-positioned lever-arm  24  on the opposite side of the barrel assembly  20 . 
     The deflection assembly  40  ( FIG. 8 ) is a semi-radially-symmetrical structure positioned relative to the barrel assembly  20  within the void space at the rear of the core region of the barrel assembly  20 . The deflection assembly  40  is oriented such that its central axis is coincident with the shared central axis  100 . The deflection assembly  40  consists of a deflection tube  41 , a forward end-cap  42 , and a rear end-cap  43 . 
     The deflection tube  41  is a hollow, cylindrical tube with an external diameter slightly less than the diameter of the void space at the rear of the core region of the barrel assembly  20 . A portion of the wall of the deflection tube  41  is cut away so as to form the deflection channel  44 . 
     When viewed from above, the deflection channel  44  is seen to be a shape similar to an s-curve. The size and orientation of the deflection channel  44  is such that its forward end terminates near the forward end of the deflection tube  41 , and its rear end terminates near the rear end of the deflection tube  41 . The total length of the deflection channel  44  from front to rear is greater than then total length of one of the double-ended lever-arms  24 . The deflection channel  44  is positioned in the wall of the deflection tube  41  such that its forward end is centered along the center-line of the gun, in the upper-most side of the deflection tube  41 , while its rear end is offset to the right of the gun&#39;s center-line, in the upper, right side of the deflection tube  41 . The length-wise edges of the defection channel are designated the discharge deflection edge  45  and the cocking deflection edge  46 , with the left-most edge being the discharge deflection edge  45  and the right-most edge being the cocking deflection edge  46 . The length-wise edges form smooth, continuous curves from their forward to rear ends. At the forward and rear ends of the deflection channel  44 , the length-wise edges are parallel to the shared central axis  100 , while at the middle point in the channel&#39;s length, the orientation of the edges deviates by a maximum of forty-five degrees from what would be a parallel orientation to the shared central axis  100 . As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the width of the deflection channel  44  at its forward end corresponds to the angular advancement distance  101 , which is an angular distance about the shared central axis  100  which is greater than the angular distance between the central axes of any two adjacent lever-arms  24  only by an amount sufficient to allow for the forward ends of any two adjacent lever-arms  24  to be simultaneously positioned entirely over the forward end of the deflection channel  44 . The rear end of the deflection channel is of the same width as the forward end. 
     The angular displacement of one end of the deflection channel  44  from the other end also corresponds to the angular advancement distance  101 . 
     The forward end-cap  42  is statically affixed to and encloses the forward end of the deflection tube  41 . 
     The rear end-cap  43  is statically affixed to and encloses the rear end of the deflection tube  41 . 
     The frame assembly  80  ( FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 , and  8 ) includes a frame base  81 , a barrel support post  82 , a deflection support post  83 , a longitudinal axle-rod  84 , and a grip  85 . 
     The frame base  81  is a structure which extends longitudinally from the front of the gun to the rear of the gun, and which is positioned toward the underside of the gun relative to the other parts of the gun. 
     The barrel support post  82  is a structure which extends vertically from and is statically affixed to the frame base  81  near the front end of the frame base  81 . The upper-most extent of the barrel support post  82  lies slightly above the shared central axis  100 . 
     The deflection support post  83  is a structure which extends vertically from and is statically affixed to the frame base  81  in the area of the frame base  81  disposed beneath and to the immediate rear of the deflection assembly  40 . The upper most extent of the deflection support post  83  is approximately even with the upper most extent of the barrel assembly  20 , and the rear surface of the rear end-cap  43  of the deflection assembly  40  is statically affixed to the forward surface of the deflection support post  83 . 
     The longitudinal axle-rod  84  occupies the aforementioned hollow channel  28  in the core body  27  of the barrel assembly  20 . The central axis of the longitudinal axle-rod  84  is coincident with the shared central axis  100 , and the diameter of the longitudinal axle-rod  84  is slightly less than the diameter of the hollow channel  28  in the core body  27  of the barrel assembly  20 , so as to facilitate pivoting of the barrel assembly  20  about the longitudinal axle-rod  84 . The longitudinal axle-rod  84  is statically affixed to other parts of the gun at both of the longitudinal axle-rod&#39;s  84  ends, with one end terminating slightly forward of the forward-most extent of the barrel assembly  20 , and the other end terminating slightly to the rear of the rearward most extent of the core body  27  of the barrel assembly  20 . At its forward end, the longitudinal axle-rod  84  is statically affixed to the rear surface of the barrel support post  82 . At its rear end, the longitudinal axle-rod  84  is statically affixed to the forward surface of the forward end-cap  42  of the deflection assembly  40 . 
     The grip  85  is a structure which extends vertically from and is statically affixed to the frame base  81  near the rear end of the frame base  81 , to the rear of the deflection support post  83 . Sufficient space exists between the grip  85  and the deflection support post  83  to allow the grip  85  to be manually grasped. The upper most extent of the grip  85  is even with the upper most extent of the deflection support post  83   
     The trigger assembly  60  ( FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  8  and  11 ) includes the trigger guide  61  and the trigger slide  65 . 
     The trigger guide  61  consists of a guide plate  62  statically affixed across the tops of the grip  85  and the deflection support post  83 , and two guide posts  63  statically-affixed to and extending vertically from the upper surface of the guide plate  62 , one guide post positioned above the top of the grip  85  and the other positioned above the top of the deflection support post  83 . The guide plate  62  has a trigger channel  64 , which is a longitudinal channel cut through the guide plate  62  within the portion of its length traversing the space between the top of the grip  85  and the top of the deflection support post  83 . 
     The trigger slide  65  is positioned above the guide plate  62  and consists of a slide plate  66  and a trigger post  67 . The forward end of the slide plate  66  extends beyond the deflection support post  83 . The lower surface of the forward end of the slide plate  66  lies slightly above the rear ends of horizontally-positioned lever-arms  24  on the upper side of the barrel assembly  20 . The width of the slide plate  66  at its forward end is approximately twice the width of the forward end of the deflection channel  44 , and the width of the slide plate  66  at its rear end is approximately equal to the width of the guide plate  62 . The slide plate  66  has two guide channels  68  cut into it, which are longitudinal channels coincident with the locations of the guide posts  63 . The guide posts  63  extend through the guide channels  68  in the slide plate  66  and are capped above the slide plate  66  with retention caps  69 , these caps having a diameter greater than the width of the guide channels  68 , thereby retaining the trigger slide  65  in the vertical aspect of its position relative to the trigger guide  61 . 
     The trigger post  67  is statically-affixed to the lower surface of the slide plate  66 , and extends from the lower surface of the slide plate  66 , through the trigger channel  64  in the guide plate  62 , and into the upper portion of the space between the deflection support post  83  and the grip  85 , such that the trigger post  67  may be manually engaged with the index finger of a hand which grasps the grip  85 . 
     The width of the guide channels  68  is slightly greater than the width of the guide posts  63 , the width of the trigger channel  64  is slightly greater than the width of the trigger post  67 , and the distance between the upper surface of the guide plate  62  and the lower surfaces of the retention caps  69  is slightly greater than the thickness of the slide plate  66 , so as to allow the trigger slide  65  to move with relatively little friction in a forward-to-rear or rear-to-forward direction relative to the trigger guide  61 . The length of the guide channels  68  limits the total movement of the trigger slide  65  relative to the trigger guide  61 . 
     When the trigger slide  65  is in its forward-most position, or its interference position, the forward end of the slide plate  66  interferes with the potential pivotal arc-of-travel of the rear end of a lever-arm  24  whose forward end is positioned above the forward end of the deflection channel  44 , thereby preventing that lever-arm  24  from being able to pivot such that its forward end passes into the forward end of the deflection channel  44 . 
     When the trigger slide  65  is in its rear position, it does not interfere with the arc of travel of any lever-arm  24 . 
     The forward edge of the forward end of the slide plate  66  is angled, such that the left-forward corner  70  is further forward than the right-forward corner  71 . With the forward edge of the slide plate  66  so angled, when there are two lever-arms  24  positioned with their forward ends entirely over the forward end of the deflection channel  44 , and the trigger slide  65  is slid rearward, the forward edge of the slide plate  66  will come out of its interference position with the rear end of the right-most of the two lever-arms  24  before it comes out of its interference position with the rear end of the left-most of the two lever-arms  24 . 
     A trigger-return rubber band  72  is hooked around the upper portion of the trigger post  67 , below the guide plate  62 , and looped forward, on one side of the gun, around the upper portion of the deflection support post  83  and back on the other side of the gun to the trigger post  67 . Under tension, the trigger-return rubber band  72  maintains the trigger slide  65  in its interference position by default, but allows the trigger post  67  to be manually pulled to the rear, so as to bring the trigger slide  65  out of its interference position. 
     With regard to construction of a rubber band gun of the present design, unless otherwise specified in the preceding text, a high-strength plastic or high-quality hard-wood may be used to form most of the parts. Parts which may be subject to particularly high levels of stress, such as the longitudinal axle-rod  84  of the frame assembly  80 , or the transverse axle-rods  25  of the double-ended lever-arm sub-assemblies  23 , may be fabricated from a high-strength metal alloy, such as stainless steel. Parts which are specified as being statically affixed shall be welded, glued, or mechanically fastened in a manner consistent with being able to withstand the stresses placed on them by the operation of the mechanism. 
     To operate a rubber band gun of the present design, a number of stretched rubber bands  90  must first be loaded onto the gun&#39;s mechanism. To accomplish this, one must first cock each lever-arm sub-assembly  23  by turning it a half turn or one-hundred-and-eighty degrees about the central axis of its transverse axle-rod  25 . This is accomplished by approaching the gun from it&#39;s right side and using one&#39;s left hand to manually apply pressure to the rear end of a lever-arm  24  that is positioned above the rear end of the deflection channel  44 , so as to cause the rear end of the lever-arm  24  to pivot into the rear end of the deflection channel  44  and the front end of the lever-arm  24  to pivot upward, away from the deflection channel  44 . The front end of the lever-arm  24  being cocked is now manually grasped with one&#39;s right hand and the rear end is release from one&#39;s left hand. Pressure is maintained on the lever-arm  24  so as to continue to pivot it until its forward and rear ends have reversed and what is now the rear end comes into the area of the forward end of the trigger slide  65 . At this point, one&#39;s left hand is used to manually push the trigger slide  65  to the rear, out of its interference position, as one&#39;s right hand continues to apply pressure to the lever-arm  24  until it completes its one-hundred-and-eighty degree pivot. The trigger slide  65  is then allowed to return to its forward, interference position, whereby the lever-arm  24  that has just been cocked is retained in its cocked position by the forward end of the trigger slide  65 . 
     Through the course of the one-hundred-and-eighty degree cocking pivot of a lever-arm  24 , the rear end of the lever-arm  24  pivots into the deflection channel  44 , contacts and slides along the cocking deflection edge  45 , and deflects laterally to the left, causing the entire barrel assembly  20  to rotate relative to the frame assembly  80 . This rotation is in a counterclockwise direction, when viewed from the rear of the gun. Upon the completion of a one-hundred-and-eighty degree cocking pivot of a lever-arm  24 , the barrel assembly  20  has rotated relative to the frame assembly  80  by a number of degrees equal to the angular advancement distance  101 , and the next lever-arm  24  to be cocked has come into position above the rear end of the deflection channel  44 . The procedure for cocking a lever-arm  24  is repeated until each lever-arm  24  has been cocked one time. 
     After each lever-arm  24  has been cocked, one stretched rubber band  90  is loaded onto each barrel sub-assembly  21  of the barrel assembly  20  by hooking one end of the rubber band  90  over the rear end of a lever-arm  24 , and hooking the other end of the rubber band  90  over the corresponding projection tab  22  at the forward end of the barrel assembly  20 . After one rubber band  90  has been loaded on to each barrel sub-assembly  21 , all of the lever-arms  24  must be cocked again prior to loading additional rubber bands  90 . The process of cocking the lever-arms  24  and loading rubber bands  90  is repeated until multiple rubber bands  90  have been loaded onto each barrel sub-assembly  21 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , when multiple rubber bands  90  are loaded onto a barrel sub-assembly  21 , the rear ends of the loaded stretched rubber bands  90 , along with the rear ends of the stabilizing tethers  26 , will be wound around the transverse axle-rod  25  of each lever-arm sub-assembly  23 . Stretched and wound as such, the rubber bands  90  loaded onto the gun&#39;s mechanism apply torque to the lever-arm sub-assemblies  23 , causing them to pivot such that the forward ends of most of the lever-arms  24  come into contact with the outer surface of the deflection tube  41 . In the case of the lever-arms  24  positioned above the forward end of the deflection channel  44 , when those lever-arms  24  pivot, their rear ends come into contact with the lower surface of the forward end of the slide plate  66  of the trigger slide  65 , allowing that the trigger slide  65  is in its interference position. As described previously, this interference of the trigger slide  65  prevents these lever-arms  24  from pivoting so far that their forward ends pass into the forward end of the deflection channel  44 . 
     To fire the rubber band gun, the grip  85  is manually grasped and the trigger post  67  is manually pulled to the rear. When the trigger post  67  is pulled to the rear, the trigger slide  65  comes out of its interference position with the rear end of a lever-arm  24  whose forward end is positioned over the forward end of the deflection channel  44  (FIG.  11 .) Owing to the torque being applied to the lever-arm  24  by the loaded rubber bands  90 , the forward end of the lever-arm  24  pivots into the deflection channel  44 , contacts and slides along the discharge deflection edge  45 , and deflects laterally to the right, causing the entire barrel assembly  20  to rotate relative to the deflection tube  41  ( FIG. 10 ). This rotation of the barrel assembly  20  is in a clockwise direction, when viewed from the rear of the gun. As the lever-arm  24  completes its one-hundred-and-eighty degree pivot through the deflection channel  44 , its action has caused the barrel assembly  20  to rotate about the shared central axis  100  by a number of degrees equivalent to the angular advancement distance  101 . Upon completion of its one-hundred-and-eighty degree pivot, a single rubber band  90 , the last of those loaded onto that lever-arm  24 , is release and projected, and the lever-arm  24  comes to rest with its ends reversed and its new front end in contact with the surface of the deflection tube  41  just to the right of the forward end of the cocking deflection edge  46  of the deflection channel  44 . 
     As the first lever-arm  24  completes its passage through the deflection channel  44 , the next lever-arm  24  in line, which is the lever-arm  24  adjacent and to the left of the first, comes into position over the forward end of the deflection channel  44 . Allowing that the trigger slide  65  is maintained in its rearward position, the next lever-arm  24  begins to pivot into the channel in the same manner as did the first. This cycle continues to repeat, with successive lever-arms  24  pivoting through the deflection channel  44  and releasing rubber bands  90 , until either all rubber bands loaded onto the mechanism have been discharged or until the trigger slide  65  is allowed to return to its interference position.