Backpack externally chargeable bladder gun assembly

The present invention relates to a gun assembly for dispensing a fluid with a quick charge adapter. The gun assembly includes a plurality of expandable bladders located in housings which are connected to a supply manifold. The supply manifold is connected to a remotely located gun which is adapted to dispense fluid stored in the bladders upon activation of a trigger. The fluid may be dispensed through a selected one of multiple ejection nozzles located on the gun that can be selected by the user. A recharge nozzle located on the gun is adapted to be inserted into the quick charge adapter to quickly expand and fill the bladders from a pressurized supply.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention is directed to expandable bladder guns for dispensing
 fluid, and more specifically, to a toy gun having an expandable bladder
 which can be charged via an auxiliary connection to a pressurized fluid
 source.
 Guns for ejecting a fluid which include a bladder that is expanded upon
 having a fluid pumped into it and which use the elastic property of the
 bladder as the motive force for discharging the fluid are known. One such
 gun, described in Applicant's prior U.S. patent application Ser. No.
 08/672,941, filed on Jun. 28, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,827, which is
 incorporated by reference as if fully set forth, utilizes a bladder
 arrangement in the gun housing which is charged using a pump located on
 the gun to move liquid from a storage tank located on the gun into the
 bladder. This type of gun has proven to be extremely popular. However, a
 user is required to manually actuate the pump which takes additional time
 and may be difficult for younger users. In most instances, an external
 pressurized fluid source, such as public water, is generally available. It
 would be desirable to allow rapid charging of a gun without the need for
 using a manual pump. It would also be desirable to provide a gun having a
 large capacity to increase the time between refills without the
 disadvantage of having a reservoir on the gun making the gun heavier and
 more difficult to wield.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 Briefly stated, the present invention provides a gun assembly comprising a
 backpack assembly having a first restricter tube. The first restricter
 tube has first and second ends, with the first end having an opening. An
 expandable bladder having two ends is located within the first restricter
 tube. The first end of the bladder has an opening located at the opening
 of the first restricter tube and the second end of the bladder is closed.
 A supply manifold is located at the first end of the first restricter tube
 and is connected to the first end of the bladder. The supply manifold has
 a discharge end and is in fluid communication with the bladder. A remotely
 located gun is provided which has a gun manifold which is in fluid
 communication with the discharge end of the supply manifold.
 In another aspect, the present invention provides a combination of a gun
 assembly and a quick charge adapter for charging the gun assembly from an
 external source of pressurized fluid. The gun assembly includes a backpack
 assembly and a remotely located gun for discharging a fluid. The backpack
 assembly includes a first restricter tube. The first restricter tube has
 first and second ends, with the first end having an opening. An expandable
 bladder is located within the first restricter tube. The bladder has two
 ends, with the first end having an opening located at the opening of the
 first restricter tube. A supply manifold is located at the first end of
 the first restricter tube and connected to the first end of the bladder
 such that the supply manifold is in fluid communication with the bladder.
 The supply manifold has a discharge end. The remotely located gun includes
 a housing with a gun manifold located in the housing and in fluid
 communication with the supply manifold via a connection such that fluid
 can flow between the supply manifold and the gun manifold. An ejection
 nozzle is provided in fluid communication with the gun manifold. A trigger
 is located on the housing, and a release valve is connected to the
 trigger. The release valve is in fluid communication with the gun manifold
 whereby activation of the trigger activates the release valve to discharge
 fluid from the ejection nozzle. A recharge nozzle is provided in fluid
 communication with the gun manifold and is adapted to be inserted into a
 recharge adapter such that pressurized fluid flows from the recharge
 adapter into the recharge nozzle, through the gun manifold to the supply
 manifold and to the expandable bladder such that the bladder is expanded
 by the pressurized fluid. A recharge adapter is provided and is adapted to
 be connected to a pressurized fluid supply. The recharge adapter includes
 a receptacle which is adapted to receive the gun recharge nozzle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
 Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience
 only and is not limited. The word "right," "left," "lower" and "upper"
 designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words
 "inwardly" and "outwardly" refer to directions towards and away from,
 respectively, the geometric center of the backpack assembly and gun
 portions of the backpack hose-charged bladder gun in accordance with the
 present invention, and designated parts thereof. The terminology includes
 the words noted above as well as derivatives thereof and words of similar
 import.
 Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like elements
 throughout, there is shown in FIGS. 1-3 a backpack externally chargeable
 bladder gun 10 in accordance with the present invention. The backpack
 externally chargeable bladder gun 10 includes a backpack assembly 12,
 shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2, a connecting hose 14 and a gun assembly
 16, shown in FIG. 3. A quick charge adapter 18, also shown in FIG. 3, is
 provided for charging the gun assembly 16 as will be described in detail
 below. While the preferred embodiment of the bladder gun 10 is intended to
 be used with water as a recreational toy, it will be recognized by those
 skilled in the art from the present disclosure that the bladder gun 10 can
 be used with other fluids, if desired. For the purposes of the present
 description, the bladder gun 10 will be referred to in connection with its
 use as a water gun, although this is not intended to be limiting.
 Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the backpack assembly 12 includes a
 housing 20 having four restricter tubes 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d (generally
 referred to as 22) attached to the housing 20. Each restricter tube 22 has
 a first open end and a second closed end. A tubular expandable bladder 24
 having a closed end and an open end is located in each restricter tube 22,
 with the open end of each bladder 24 being located at the open end of each
 restricter tube 22. The open end of each bladder 24 is connected in a
 parallel arrangement to a supply manifold 36 located at the first end of
 each restricter tube 22. The first end of each bladder 24 is inserted over
 one of four branches 37 located on the supply manifold 36 in a parallel
 arrangement such that each bladder 24 is in fluid communication with the
 supply manifold 36. Each branch 37 has a plurality of circumferential lips
 39 to securely retain the first end of each bladder 24 on its respective
 branch 37. However, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art from
 the present disclosure that other methods of securing bladders to branches
 can be used.
 The second end of each bladder 24 is closed using a plug 26 which is
 attached to a carriage 25. Each carriage 25 is slidably located inside of
 each restricter tube 22, such that as each bladder 24 is filled, each
 carriage 25 slides upwardly along the inside wall of each respective
 restricter tube 22 from the position shown in FIG. 2 until each bladder 24
 reaches the filled position, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Each carriage 25
 contacts a stop rib 29 located in the closed end of each restricter tube
 22, preventing further expansion of each bladder 24. A window 27 is
 preferably located along each restricter tube 22a-22d, which allows the
 user to view a colored line or marker located on or formed as part of each
 carriage 25, providing a visual indication as to the charge state and the
 amount of fluid stored in the backpack assembly 12.
 Preferably, the bladder 24 is of the type described in Applicant's prior
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,800, which is incorporated herein by reference as if
 fully set forth. However, it will be recognized by those skilled in the
 art from the present disclosure that other types of bladders can be used,
 such as an elongate generally tapered bladder in which only the first end
 is open and the second end is closed. The arrangement of carriage 25
 within restricter tube 22 is also preferably similar to that disclosed in
 Applicant's prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/672,941, filed Jun.
 28, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,827, which is incorporated herein by
 reference as if fully set forth.
 As shown in detail in FIG. 1, the first end of each bladder 24 is connected
 to the supply manifold 36 via branch 37 such that each bladder 24 is in
 fluid communication with the supply manifold 36. A fitting 38 is connected
 to a discharge end of the supply manifold 36 for connection of the hose
 14. Preferably, the connection on the hose 14 is a hose connector 42,
 complementary to the fitting 38, which can be connected or disconnected
 from the fitting 38 on the backpack assembly 12.
 Still with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 20 is adapted to be worn
 by the user. A plurality of flattened areas 28 are provided on the housing
 20 of the backpack assembly 12. Preferably, a soft foam pad 30 is located
 on each flattened area 28 to rest the housing 20 against the user's body.
 Preferably, the housing 20 also includes loops 32 for the connection of
 shoulder straps (not shown) or other types of attachments, such as
 VELCRO.RTM. straps, for attaching the backpack to a bicycle or other
 objects. A handle 34 is also provided on the housing 20 to allow a user to
 easily grasp the backpack assembly 12.
 Referring now to FIG. 3, the hose 14 is connected to the gun assembly 16.
 The gun assembly 16 includes a gun housing 52. A gun manifold 74 is
 located in the gun housing 52, and a connection 54 is located on the gun
 manifold 74 for attaching the hose 14 to the gun manifold 74 whereby fluid
 can flow between the supply manifold 36 and the gun manifold 74. A turret
 disk 58 is attached to the gun housing 52 and includes a plurality of
 ejection nozzles 60 which are arranged in a generally circular pattern and
 are positionable to be in fluid communication with the gun manifold 74.
 The ejection nozzle 60 which is aligned with and in fluid communication
 with the gun manifold 74 is adapted to discharge pressurized fluid from
 the backpack assembly 20. The turret disk 58 is rotatably mounted about a
 central recharge nozzle 62. The recharge nozzle 62 is mounted on the gun
 housing 52 and is in fluid communication with the gun manifold 74. The
 turret disk 58 is releasably held in position via a detent device 63, such
 as a spring loaded ball which contacts a complementary depression in the
 turret disk 58. Preferably, each ejection nozzle 60 is different from each
 other ejection nozzle 60 to provide a selection of spray patterns as the
 turret disk 58 is turned to rotate a selected nozzle 60 into fluid
 communication with the gun manifold 74.
 As shown in FIG. 3, the gun manifold 74 is in fluid communication with a
 release valve 68 having an activating stem 70 which extends outside of the
 gun manifold 74. An O-ring seal 72 is provided to seal the selected
 ejection nozzle 60 on the turret disk 58 against the opening of the
 release valve 68 such that fluid released by the release valve 68 is
 discharged through the selected ejection nozzle 60.
 A trigger 56 is pivotably connected to the gun housing 52 and operatively
 connected to the stem 70. The trigger 56 is used to actuate the release
 valve 68 via the stem 70. Release valve 68 is biased to a closed position
 by release valve spring 69. When the trigger 56 is pulled, the pivoting
 action of the trigger 56 compresses trigger spring 71 which is located on
 the stem 70. When sufficient energy is stored in the trigger spring 71,
 the spring force of the valve spring 69 and the force of the fluid
 pressure acting on the valve 68 is overcome, and the stem 70 rapidly pulls
 the release valve 68 from its normally closed position to allow fluid to
 be discharged from the ejection nozzle 60. When the trigger 56 is
 released, the release valve 68 returns to a closed position. The release
 valve 68 may be any suitable type of release valve. Preferably, the
 release valve is of the type described in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No.
 5,339,987, which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set
 forth.
 A pressure relief valve 76 is also provided in fluid communication with the
 gun manifold 74 to prevent over pressurization of the gun assembly 10.
 Preferably, the pressure relief valve 76 is located on the gun assembly
 16. However, those skilled in the art will understand from the present
 disclosure that the pressure relief valve could be provided at other
 locations in fluid communication with the gun manifold 74, such as the
 backpack assembly 12.
 A spring loaded check valve 64 is located in the recharge nozzle 62 and an
 O-ring seal 66 is located in a groove on the outside of the recharge
 nozzle 62 in order to provide a generally fluid tight connection to the
 quick charge adapter 18 when the recharge nozzle 62 is inserted into the
 quick charge adapter 18. A recharge nozzle spring 65 biases the check
 valve 64 to a closed position against the inside of the recharge nozzle 62
 to prevent pressurized fluid from escaping from the recharge nozzle 62.
 The recharge nozzle 62 is in fluid communication with the gun manifold 74,
 and the recharge nozzle 62 is adapted to receive pressurized fluid from an
 external source of pressurized fluid to charge the expandable bladders 24
 with fluid under pressure.
 As shown in FIG. 3, the release valve 68 and the check valve 64 are located
 within the same chamber and are in fluid communication with the manifold
 74 such that the same fluid path is used for both charging the backpack
 assembly 12 and also discharging fluid from the gun assembly 16.
 Still with reference to FIG. 3, the quick charge adapter 18 is shown in
 cross section. The quick charge adapter 18 includes a housing 82 having a
 receptacle 84 for receiving the recharge nozzle 62 of the gun assembly 16,
 shown in phantom lines as 62' and 16' in FIG. 3 in the charging position.
 A valve body 86 is located within the quick charge adapter housing 82. The
 valve body 86 has a channel 87 defined therethrough. The valve body 86 is
 biased to a closed position against the quick charge adapter housing 82
 via a spring 88 which causes an O-ring seal 90 located on the valve body
 86 to seal against an inside portion of the housing 82, preventing
 pressurized fluid from leaking from the quick charge adapter 18 when not
 in use. A hose connection 92 is provided for connecting a garden hose or
 other source of pressurized fluid to the quick charge adapter 18.
 In operation, the recharge nozzle 62 is pushed into the receptacle 84 of
 the quick charge adapter 18, pushing down the valve body 86 which allows
 pressurized fluid from the garden hose to enter the channel 87 in the
 valve body 86. The flow of pressurized fluid overcomes the force of
 recharge nozzle spring 65 and opens the check valve 64 located in the
 recharge nozzle 62, allowing pressurized fluid to flow through the gun
 manifold 74 and the hose 14 into the supply manifold 36 and the tubular
 expandable bladders 24. The tubular bladders 24 are charged with fluid and
 expand in size, guided by movement of the carriages 25 to fill the
 restricter tubes 22a-d. The bladders 24 grow until the carriages 25
 contact stop ribs 29 located in the backpack housing 20, preventing
 further expansion. At that time, the bladders 24 are completely restricted
 by the restricter tubes 22a-d. The pressure relief valve 76 is then
 actuated to prevent over-pressurization of the bladders and the entire
 system. The pressure relief valve 76 discharges fluid outside the gun
 housing 52. When the user notes fluid flowing from the pressure relief
 valve 76, the recharge nozzle 62 is removed from the receptacle 84 on the
 quick charge adapter 18. The user can rotate the turret disk 58 to select
 a desired ejection nozzle 60 with a particular spray or shooting pattern.
 It will be recognized by those skilled in the art from the present
 disclosure that the gun 16 may be provided with a single nozzle and that
 the turret disk 58 with multiple ejection nozzles 60 is not required.
 While the backpack assembly 12 in accordance with the preferred embodiment
 of the invention includes four tubular bladders 24, it will be recognized
 by those skilled in the art from the present disclosure that the number of
 bladders 24 may be varied and that bladders of other usable shapes may
 also be used, with or without a carriage 25 and/or a window 27, if
 desired.
 In the preferred embodiment, the gun assembly 16 and backpack assembly 12
 are molded from a polymeric material. However, it will be recognized by
 those skilled in the art that the gun assembly 16 and the backpack
 assembly 12 can be made from any desired type of material, and may be
 molded or machined. Preferably, the bladders 24 are made of natural
 rubber. However a synthetic bladder material may also be used, if desired.
 It will appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes can be made to
 the embodiment described above without departing from the broad inventive
 concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not
 limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, and is intended to cover
 modifications within the scope and spirit of the present invention as
 defined by the appended claims.