Pressurizable liquid squirting toy

A liquid squirting toy includes a tubular member having a front end and a rear end and including an interior chamber for holding a liquid. A cap is selectively securable to the tubular member front end. A squeeze bulb has a first end, which is secured to the tubular member rear end, and a second end. A first intake valve is located at the squeeze bulb first end and a second intake valve is located at the squeeze bulb second end.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a water squirt toy. More specifically, 
this invention discloses the use of a squeeze bulb secured to one end of a 
tubular member. 
While the invention is particularly applicable to a water squirt toy 
utilizing a squeeze bulb to pressurize water held in a tubular 
water-retaining chamber of the toy. However, it will be appreciated by 
those skilled in the art that the invention can readily be adapted for use 
in other toy environments. 
Water pistols are well known in the toy art. Also known are various other 
types of water squirting toys which may operate on the syringe principle. 
Some of these toys utilize a plunger to both pull water into the toy and 
to push water back out of the toy. It is also known to utilize a squeeze 
bulb to both suck water into a toy and to push the water back out of the 
toy. However, none of these types of toys has been found to be 
particularly advantageous in terms of quickly allowing the intake of water 
or another liquid into a water retaining chamber of the toy. In other 
words, the filling of the toy with water takes quite some time due to the 
small opening through which the water needs to flow. In addition, the 
known toys do not allow one to pressurize a liquid held in the toy by way 
of pneumatic pressure before expelling the liquid from the toy. While it 
is known to mechanically pressurize a liquid, such as by a plunger, the 
use of pneumatic pressure for this purpose is not known. 
The present invention contemplates a new and improved liquid squirting toy 
which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others and provides a 
liquid squirting toy which is simple in design, economical to manufacture 
and simple to use. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved liquid 
squirting toy is provided. 
More particularly in accordance with this aspect of the invention, the 
liquid squirting toy comprises a tubular member having a front end and a 
rear end and including an interior chamber for holding a liquid. A cap is 
selectively securable to the tubular member front end. A squeeze bulb is 
secured, at a first end, to a rear end of the tubular member. The squeeze 
bulb also has a second end. A first intake valve is located at the squeeze 
bulb first end and a second intake valve is located at the squeeze bulb 
second end. 
According to another aspect of the present invention, a toy is provided. 
According to this aspect of the invention, the toy comprises a tubular 
member having a front end, a rear end and a hollow interior. An intake and 
exhaust means is located at the tubular member front end for admitting and 
exhausting a fluid from the hollow interior. A pressurizing means is 
secured to the tubular member rear end for pressurizing the fluid held in 
the tubular member hollow interior. A first check valve is interposed 
between the pressurizing means and the tubular member rear end. 
According to still another aspect of the invention, a liquid squirting toy 
is provided. 
According to this aspect of the invention, a liquid squirting toy comprises 
a tubular member having a front end and a rear end and an interior 
chamber. An intake and exhaust means is located at the tubular member 
front end for admitting and exhausting a liquid from the hollow interior. 
A squeeze bulb having a first end, a hollow interior and a second end is 
secured to the tubular member rear end. An intake means is secured to the 
squeeze bulb for selectively admitting a gas into the squeeze bulb hollow 
interior. The squeeze bulb is used for pressurizing the liquid held in the 
tubular member interior chamber. 
One advantage of the present invention is the provision of a new and 
improved liquid squirting toy. 
Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a liquid 
squirting toy which employs a tubular member having a cap selectively 
securable thereon. When the cap is detached from the tubular member, the 
tubular member can be readily filled with a liquid through the large 
filling opening which is provided. 
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a 
liquid squirting toy which employs a means for pressurizing, secured to 
one end of the toy, to pressurize the liquid contents held in the toy. 
Yet another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a liquid 
squirting toy which uses a squeeze bulb to selectively admit air into the 
toy to pneumatically pressurize the liquid contents held in the toy. 
A further advantage of the present invention is the provision of a liquid 
squirting toy which employs a pair of intake valves, together with a 
squeeze bulb, to selectively admit air into the toy and to prevent the 
backflow of both air and a liquid held in the toy from out of the toy 
through the squeeze bulb. 
A still further advantage of the present invention is the provision of a 
liquid squirting toy with a means for selectively blocking a port or 
nozzle opening of the toy. The means can be a slidable gate, a stopper or 
even a finger of the child using the toy. 
A yet further advantage of the present invention is the provision of a 
liquid squirting toy having a relatively large inlet aperture for 
admitting a liquid into the toy and a relatively small outlet port for 
exhausting liquid from the toy. 
Still other benefits and advantages of the subject new liquid squirting toy 
will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and 
understanding of this specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of 
illustrating the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention only 
and not for purposes of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows a liquid squirting toy 
employing a tube 10 having a front end 12 and a rear end 14. As shown in 
FIG. 3, the tube defines an interior cavity 16 surrounded by an inner wall 
18. Preferably, the tube is made from a conventional flexible material 
such as a suitable thermoplastic or any other type of suitable resilient 
material. An outer wall 20 of the tube 10 is defined by ribs 22 which are 
separated by grooves 24. 
With reference now also to FIG. 2, the front end 12 of the tube includes a 
tapered wall 30 and extending therefrom a reduced diameter section 32. 
Defined on the reduced diameter section 32 is a threaded outer periphery 
34. An intake means comprising a sizeable aperture or filling opening 36 
at the front end of the reduced diameter section 32 allows water or a 
similar liquid to flow in and out of the tube cavity 16. 
An exhaust means preferably in the form of a cap 40 selectively closes the 
tube front end 12. The cap includes a tubular body having an outwardly 
flared first end 41 and a closed second end 42. A threaded inner periphery 
43 of the tubular body is adapted to cooperate with the outer periphery 34 
of the tube 10 so that the cap can be selectively secured in place on the 
tube. Of course it should be appreciated that other ways of securing the 
cap 40 to the tube 10 could also be employed. Forming the closed second 
end 42 of the tubular body is an end wall 44. Extending through the end 
wall 44 is a substantially centrally located port or nozzle opening or 
bore 46. 
With reference now again to FIG. 3, the rear end 14 of the tube includes a 
tapered wall 60 which leads to a reduced diameter section 62. A 
pressurizing means preferably in the form of a squeeze bulb 70 is secured 
to the rear end 14 of the tube 10. For this purpose, the squeeze bulb has 
a first end 72 including a reduced diameter section 74 which is so sized 
as to fit within the reduced diameter section 62 of the tube 10. A band 76 
encircles the tube rear end reduced diameter section 62 to hold the tube 
and squeeze bulb together. 
Provided within the squeeze bulb reduced diameter section 74 is a first 
check valve or intake valve 80. The check valve 80 is of a conventional 
design and includes e.g. a ball 82 which is confined in a housing 84. 
Provided on one end of the housing 84 is an aperture 86. Provided on the 
other end of the housing is a cage 88 defined by a bore 90 and a plurality 
of ribs 92 located adjacent one end of the bore and extending inwardly 
from the interior periphery of the bore toward the center thereof. The 
ribs 92 prevent the ball from being pushed out of the cage 88 when the 
ball is no longer seated on its seat 94 adjacent the aperture 86. 
The squeeze bulb 70 also has a second end 100 which includes a reduced 
diameter section 102. Held within the reduced diameter section is a second 
check valve or intake valve 104 which may be identical to the first check 
valve 80. A band 106 encircles the reduced diameter section 102 and holds 
the check valve 104 in place. As with the first check valve 80, the second 
check valve includes an inlet aperture 108 and a ball 109. Located within 
the squeeze bulb 70 is a storage chamber 110. When manual pressure is 
exerted on the squeeze bulb 70, the air held within the squeeze bulb is 
pushed out through its first end 72 through the aperture 86, of the first 
check valve 80, around the ball 82 and into the cavity 16 of the tubular 
member 10. 
Any reverse flow of air out of the squeeze bulb storage chamber 110 is 
prevented by the seating of the ball 109 of the second check valve 104. 
Similarly, any flow of liquid from the storage cavity 16 of the tube 10 
into the squeeze bulb 70 is prevented by a seating of the ball 82 of the 
first check valve on its valve seat 94. When the squeeze bulb 70 is let 
go, the natural resilience of the material from which the squeeze bulb 70 
is made (such material being a conventional resilient material such as 
rubber or the like) will expand the size of the storage chamber 110. This 
creates a drop in pressure in the chamber 110 in relation to the 
atmosphere thereby unseating the ball 109 of the second check valve 104 
and allowing the entrance of air through the inlet aperture 108 into the 
storage chamber 110. Thereafter, when manual pressure is again reapplied 
to the squeeze bulb 70, an above atmospheric pressure is created in 
chamber 110. When this occurs the second check valve ball 109 seats and 
the first check valve ball 82 unseats to allow the outflow of such 
pressurized air into the cavity 16 of the tube 10 thereby pressurizing the 
liquid contents held in the cavity 16. 
In order to fill the tube 10, the cap 40 is detached therefrom as shown in 
FIG. 2. This allows a free flow of liquid through the fairly sizeable 
aperture or filling opening 36 to quickly fill up the cavity 16 of the 
tube 10. After the cavity 16 is filled, the cap 40 can be threaded onto 
the tube 10 and the pneumatic pressurization of the liquid contents of the 
tube 10 can take place by use of the squeeze bulb 70. In order to prevent 
any outflow of liquid at this point, a means 114 for blocking the port or 
bore 46 of the cap 40 can be provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the means for 
blocking 114 can be a finger of the child using the toy. 
In this way, any liquid which may be held in the cavity 16 is pressurized 
pneumatically. This can perhaps best be seen in FIG. 4. This Figure 
illustrates that in an unpressurized condition, the tube 10 includes a 
plurality of spaced ribs 122 and 124. When the tube 10 is pressurized, as 
illustrated at 10', the ribs 122' and 124' are located further apart than 
were the ribs 122 and 124 in the unpressurized condition of the tube. When 
the means for blocking 114 is removed then the now pressurized liquid is 
squirted out of the tube 10 through the aperture 46 by the pneumatic 
pressure on the water and by natural resilience of the material from which 
the tube 10 is made. 
It should also be appreciated, however, that other means for blocking the 
port 46 can also be employed. With reference now to FIG. 5, an alternative 
means of blocking the port is there illustrated. For ease of comprehension 
of this alternative, like components are identified by like numerals with 
a double primed suffix (") and new components are identified by new 
numerals. 
In this embodiment, a cap 40" is provided with an end face 44" on which is 
located a port 46". Selectively sealing the port is a gate 140 which is 
slidably mounted in a pair of suitably configured rails 142 and 144 
secured on the cap 40". The gate 140 can be easily manuevered manually by 
the fingers of one hand to selectively block the port. 
Alternatively, as is illustrated in FIG. 6, a stopper 150 can be provided 
to selectively seal the port. If desired, the stopper can be secured to 
the cap by a tether 152. 
It is evident that by pneumatically pressurizing the liquid contents held 
in the tube 10, when the port 46 is blocked, the contents will be under 
some force. When the port is unblocked, the liquid contents will spray out 
with a relatively great force until pressures are equalized. Thereafter, 
the squeeze bulb 70 can again be employed to pressurize the remaining 
contents of the cavity 16 before such contents are ejected through the 
port 46. In this way, all of the contents of the cavity can be forcibly 
ejected. Once that is done, the tube 10 can again be quickly filled with 
liquid contents by simply removing the cap 40. 
It should be appreciated that there is a considerable difference in size 
between the aperture 36 and the port 46. Thus, water will quickly fill the 
toy but the spray of water out of the toy will take some time, thus adding 
to the enjoyment of the toy. 
The invention has now been described with reference to the preferred and 
alternate embodiments. Obviously, alterations and modifications will occur 
to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification. It is 
intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they 
come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.