Abstract:
A toy gun projects matter from a plurality of discharge ports, such as barrels or nozzles, which are irregularly located on the gun. The gun may incorporate a figurine in its structure to simulate an object such as a creature or a vehicle. The discharge ports may simulate a plurality of weapons carried by or on the figurine, such as cannons, machine guns, lasers or the like and may be adapted to project matter in solid or liquid forms, such as darts or water. A pump mechanism pressurizes gas or liquid, typically air or water, to facilitate the discharge of such projected matter. A distribution mechanism conducts the pressurized gas or liquid to the discharge ports.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to toy guns and projectile launchers, and more particularly to such devices which incorporate a figurine into the structure of the device to simulate a vehicle, creature or other figure, and to such devices adapted to discharge water or other projectiles from multiple ports. 
     Dart guns are known in the art in which the body of the gun is in the form of an aircraft. In such guns a dart barrel is typically formed in the nose of the aircraft fuselage. A handle at the rear of the fuselage allows the user to draw back the plunger of an internally carried air pump. A pistol grip and trigger attached to the underside of the fuselage allow the user to hold and discharge the toy. The toy is identical in function and manner of operation to a typical single shot dart gun, except that its body is shaped like an aircraft rather than a gun. 
     Also known in the art are water guns concealed in, disguised as, or otherwise incorporating figurines. Examples are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,419 (Spector), U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,202 (D&#39;Andrade), U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,918 (D&#39;Andrade), U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,892 (Nadel), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,756 (Amici et al.). 
     A common characteristic of the above referenced dart guns and water guns is they are limited to discharging projectile matter from a single discharge port. 
     Also known in the art are air operated projectile launchers, such as dart guns, which are capable of launching projectiles sequentially from multiple discharge ports. Typically this involves the use of a multiple barrel magazine which can be rotated or otherwise moved on the frame of the gun to sequentially align the individual barrels with the air outlet of an air pump. For the purpose of such alignment with the barrels, the air pump outlet is fixed in position on the gun frame. Examples of this structure are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,237,678 (Lohr et al.). A variation on this structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,729 (Griffin et al.) wherein a magazine is held in a stationary position on the frame of a dart gun, and an air pump is rotated to sequentially align an air outlet with the barrels of the magazine. 
     A common characteristic of such multi-shot devices is the grouping of the barrels in a uniform pattern, immediately adjacent one another, in a magazine which is movably or releasably attached to the body. Commonly used magazine patterns include evenly spaced circular and linear arrays of barrels. Such arrangements are necessary in prior art devices to allow movable barrels to sequentially align with a stationary air outlet, or vice versa, through simple incremental motions. Another common characteristic of such devices is the proximity of the barrels to the air pump. Pumps and barrels in these and other multi-shot air guns are aligned and positioned adjacent to one another because it is efficient, both as to layout and construction of the gun and as to delivery of air from pump to barrel. Adherence to such conventions and the incorporation of such characteristics has limited prior art development of multiple barrel, air powered toy guns to generally conventional layouts, e.g., a magazine comprising a circular or linear array of barrels carried at the front end of a gun in direct contact with the cylinder of an air pump. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides novel constructions for toy guns wherein a pump or other pressurization mechanism is employed to project matter from a plurality of projectile discharge ports at locations generally remote from the pressurization mechanism, remote from one another, or otherwise irregularly positioned. The invention further provides novel constructions for toy guns wherein a plurality of projectile discharge ports, such as barrels or nozzles, simulate a plurality of weapons or the like being operated by or upon a figurine or model. For example, the invention can be employed to construct toys simulating such things as a multi-headed serpent that spits liquid from each head, a robot that fires a plurality of guns or other simulated weapons, and a vehicle (aircraft, water craft, army tank, spacecraft, etc.) that launches projectiles from a plurality of simulated cannons. 
     In general, the invention includes distribution mechanisms for directing pressurized matter, typically air or water, from a central pressure source, such as a pump, to remote locations on a gun. The invention may be employed in air guns, wherein the pressurized matter, air, is used as a propellant to discharge solid projectiles such as darts. The invention may also be employed in water guns wherein the pressurized matter, water, is itself utilized as a projectile. In either example, the invention allows a single pump at one location on the gun to discharge projectile matter from a plurality of locations remote from each other and/or from the pump. A typical embodiment includes the incorporation of a figurine into the frame or body of the gun, wherein primary components of the pump and associated pressure distribution mechanisms are concealed within a relatively large central portion of the body, and a plurality of barrels, nozzles or other discharge ports are carried upon extremities characteristic of the particular figurine incorporated. Other embodiments may comprise a pump on one part of a gun, a plurality of barrels on a remote subassembly of the gun, and a plurality of flexible conduits connecting the individual barrels to a selective distribution mechanism for delivering pressurized air sequentially to one barrel at a time. 
     It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to enable the construction of pressure operated toy guns in a variety of novel configurations wherein extra play value is derived by the separation of multiple discharge ports from a common pressurization mechanism. 
     It is a further objective of the invention to enable the construction of novel toy guns wherein multiple projectiles appear to be discharged from or by a creature, vehicle or other object that can be simulated by a figurine incorporated into the toy. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood with reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view, partially in section, of a novel dart gun incorporating the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view, partially in section, of the dart gun of FIG. 1 wherein an operating handle is halfway through an operative cycle; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view, partially in section, of the dart gun of FIG. 2 wherein the operative cycle of the operating handle is complete and the gun is ready to be discharged; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of a subassembly, including wings and projectile launching barrels, of the dart gun of FIGS. 1,  2  &amp;  3 ; 
     FIG. 5 is a top view, partially exploded, of the dart gun subassembly of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view, partially exploded, of the dart gun subassembly of FIGS. 4 &amp; 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view, partially in section, of a novel water gun incorporating the invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a front view of the water gun of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a top view of pump and sequencing mechanisms of the water gun of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of components of the pump and sequencing mechanisms of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is an exploded side sectional view of a cylinder and valve assembly of the pump mechanism of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 12 is an end view of the cylinder of FIGS. 9 and 11; 
     FIG. 13 is a top view, partially exploded, of a subassembly, including wings and nozzles, of the water gun of FIGS. 7 and 8; 
     FIG. 14 is a front view of the water gun subassembly of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 15 is a side view in partial section of a novel water gun incorporating the invention; 
     FIG. 16 is an enlarged side view in partial section of mechanisms of the water gun of FIG.  15 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3  depict, by way of illustration but not of limitation, a dart gun employing the present invention. The dart gun, indicated in the general direction of arrow  10 , includes a body or frame  11  that simulates a flying vehicle having a fuselage portion  12  and four wings  13 . Carried within the fuselage  12  are a cylinder  14 , a plunger  15  and a latch  16 . The plunger comprises a piston  17 , and a hollow shaft  18  having a protruding shoulder  19 . A spring  20  is carried within the plunger shaft  18  such that one end of the spring rests against the end  18   a  of shaft  18  nearest the piston  17 , and the other end of the spring rests against a member  21  of the latch  16  which protrudes into the interior of the shaft  18  through a pair of slots  22 ,  23 . The plunger  15  is carried for forward and reverse travel within the fuselage  12  such that piston  17  either draws air into cylinder  14  or compresses air within the cylinder, depending on direction of travel. The cylinder  14  includes an outlet  24  for discharging air compressed by the piston  17 . The outlet  24  is offset from a central longitudinal axis  14   a  of cylinder  14 . The cylinder  14  is movably carried for rotation about the axis  14   a . Frame members  25 ,  26  and  27  support the cylinder  14 . 
     A “pistol grip” styled handle assembly  28  is carried for travel between a forward position and a rearward position on the frame  11 . To this end, rails  29  of the handle assembly  28  slide within guides  30  of the frame  11 . A finger  31  of the handle assembly  28  engages shoulder  19  of the plunger  15 , and a shaft  32  on the handle assembly  28  engages a set of grooves  33  on the cylinder  14 . As depicted in FIG. 1, the firing mechanism of the gun (which includes cylinder  14 , plunger  15 , latch  16  and spring  20 ) is in a discharged condition. If the handle assembly  28  is moved forward on the frame  11  (ref. FIG.  2 ), engagement of finger  31  with shoulder  19  causes the plunger  15  to be moved forward, compressing spring  20  between the end  18   a  of the plunger shaft and member  21  of the latch. The spring tension applied to member  21  urges latch  16  to pivot in the clockwise direction about its mounting shaft  16   a . At the same time, cam action between shaft  32  and grooves  33  forces cylinder  14  to rotate about its axis  14   a  in order to keep a groove  33  in alignment with shaft  32  as the shaft moves forward with the handle assembly  28 . 
     When the handle assembly reaches the position shown in FIG. 2, an opening  34  in one side of plunger shaft  18  becomes aligned with a hook  35  on latch  16 . Rotation of the latch (by tension of spring  20 ) forces the hook into the opening, thereby latching the plunger  15  in this position. The cam mechanism of shaft  32  and grooves  33  is designed such that travel of the handle assembly  28  to this position causes cylinder  14  to rotate by approximately one eighth of a revolution. As the handle assembly is returned to its rearward position (ref. FIG.  3 ), the plunger  15  remains in the latched position and the cylinder  14  is rotated another one eighth revolution. Since the cylinder outlet  24  is offset from the axis of rotation, it is swept through a ninety degree arc by the forward and reverse cycle of travel described above for handle assembly  28 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 4,  5  and  6 , the wings  13  are attached to a subassembly  36  of frame  11 . Subassembly  36  includes a central portion  37  having four holes  38  opening into four passages  39 . The passages  39  are formed in the rear side of the structure and are therefore represented in dashed lines. Each of the passages  39  extends toward a different corner of the central portion  37  of subassembly  36 , each corner corresponding to the general location of one of the four wings  13 . Each passage  39  joins a similar passage  40  which traverses the rear edge of a wing. At the tip of each wing is a projectile discharge port in the form of a hollow, tubular dart barrel  41 , open at its front and in communication with a passage  40  at its rear. The four holes  38  are spaced at ninety degree intervals about axis  14   a , offset from the axis by the same distance as cylinder outlet  24 , and are oriented such that the outlet  24  will be aligned with a selected one of the four holes whenever handle assembly  28  is in the rearward position as in FIGS. 1 and 3. Thus, as the handle assembly is repeatedly cycled the outlet will sequentially step through alignment with each of the holes  38 . A gasket  24   a  is affixed to the cylinder  14  about outlet  24  to prevent pressurized air from escaping at the union of outlet  24  and a hole  38 . A shaft  42  on the cylinder  14  extends rearward to the exterior of the body  11  via a hole  43  in frame subassembly  36 . The hole  43  is in alignment with axis  14   a  about which the cylinder  14  rotates. A dial  44  is attached to the shaft  42  in alignment with the air outlet  24 , and rotates with cylinder  14  to indicate which barrel  41  is ready to be discharged. With reference to FIG. 5 it may be observed that the frame subassembly  36  comprises a main section  36   a  which includes the wings  13  and barrels  41 , and a rear cover section  36   b . The air passages  39 ,  40  are formed from channels  39   a  and  40   a  which are molded into the main section  36   a , and channels  39   b  and  40   b  which are molded into the rear cover section  36   b.    
     With the plunger  15  latched in its forward position and the handle assembly  28  in its rearward position (ref. FIG.  3 ), the dart gun  10  is cocked and ready to fire. To discharge a dart  41   a  from a barrel  41 , an operator presses a trigger  45  carried on handle assembly  28 . The trigger pivots about a shaft  45   a  such that members  46  of the trigger  45  engage flanges  47  on the latch  16  to force hook  35  upward and out of opening  34  to release the plunger  15 . Spring  20  drives the plunger  15  rapidly into cylinder  14  to compress air therein. Pressurized air is forced from the cylinder through outlet  24 , into an aligned hole  38 , through an associated passage  39 ,  40  and into the rear of a barrel  41  to eject a dart  41   a  therefrom. A user can recycle the handle  28  and trigger  45  repeatedly to discharge all barrels  41  in automatic sequence. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 depict a water gun constructed in accordance with the present invention. The water gun, generally indicated by numeral  110  includes a a body or frame  111  that simulates a flying vehicle having a fuselage portion  112  and four wings  113 . Carried within the fuselage  112  are a cylinder  114 , a plunger  115  and a motor assembly  116 . With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the plunger comprises a piston  117 , a shaft  118  attached to a slotted member  119 , and a cylinder advancement arm  120  also attached to the slotted member  119 . The advancement arm carries a cam finger  121 . A flexible water supply tube  122  is connected to the input side of a unidirectional check valve  123  carried on shaft  118 . The output side of valve  123  feeds through the piston  117  via a tube  124 . A fill tube  122   a  provides for filling of a reservoir  144 . 
     The cylinder  114  is movably carried for rotation about a central longitudinal axis  114   a . The cam finger  121  engages surfaces in a set of indexing grooves  125  on the cylinder  114 . These are similar to grooves  33  on cylinder  14  in the dart gun  10  of FIG. 1, except that on cylinder  114  of water gun  110  the grooves  125  are configured to rotate the cylinder by ninety degrees on an intake stroke of the plunger  115  and to cause no rotation on a discharge stroke. In this way the cylinder outlet  126  (ref. FIGS. 11 and 12) rotates incrementally as the pump  114 ,  115  is filled with water and remains stationary as the pump is discharged. 
     The cylinder  114  incorporates an check valve  127  to prevent reverse flow of water from outlet  126  into the cylinder&#39;s interior chamber  128 . The check valve  127  includes an orifice  129  in communication with chamber  128 , a disk  130 , and a disk retaining structure  131 . The retainer  131  allows some movement of the disk  130  from side to side in FIG. 11, so that pressurized water is able to flow from orifice  129  to outlet  126 . Suction created on an intake stroke of plunger  115  pulls disk  130  against the orifice  129  to prevent reverse flow. A gasket  132  is provided to ensure a good seal between outlet  126  and a water distribution mechanism which will be described further herein. 
     The motor assembly  116  provides drive force for operation of the pump mechanism, which includes cylinder  114  and piston  117 , and for the sequencing mechanism, which includes arm  120  and grooves  125 . Referring to FIG. 7, the motor assembly  116  includes a motor  133 , a speed reducing gearbox  134 , and a cam wheel  135 . Electrical power is supplied to motor  133  from batteries  136  through contacts  137 ,  138 . For simplicity, electrical wiring is not shown in the figure. A trigger  139  is carried for pivoting motion about a shaft  139   a . When the trigger  139  is operatively pivoted a member  140  of the trigger forces the contacts  137 ,  138  together to complete the circuit and energize motor  133 . Gearbox  134  receives the output of motor  133  via a shaft  141  and, via an internal gear train, adjusts speed and torque as appropriate for application to cam wheel  135  via a shaft  142 . The cam wheel  135  includes a lobe  143  (ref. FIGS. 9 and 10) which engages slotted member  119  to reciprocatively drive the plunger  115  along axis  114   a . Lateral motion of the lobe  143  is lost in slot  119   a . As the plunger  115  travels right to left in FIGS. 7,  9  and  10 , water is drawn into chamber  128  from reservoir  144  through flexible tube  122 , intake valve  123 , and piston  117 . At the same time, cam finger  121  engages surfaces of grooves  125  and forces the cylinder  114  to incrementally rotate ninety degrees about axis  114   a . As the plunger  115  travels from left to right in the figures, the cylinder remains motionless and water is forced from chamber  128  through outlet valve  127  and outlet  126  (ref. FIG.  11 ). 
     With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 it may be seen that the wings  113  are attached to a subassembly  145  of the frame  111 . This subassembly is similar to frame subassembly  36  of the dart gun  10  (ref. FIGS. 4,  5  and  6 ) except that nozzles  146  are incorporated into simulated weaponry  147  to adapt the gun  110  for discharging streams of liquid  146   a . The subassembly  145  includes four holes  148  and passages  149  connecting the holes to nozzles  146  via additional passages  150  in the simulated weapons  147 . The passages  149  are formed from mating channels  149   a  and  149   b  in two parts  145   a  and  145   b  of subassembly  145 . The passages  149 ,  150  serve as conduits in a mechanism adapted for selectively and sequentially distributing pressurized water from the pump  114 ,  117  to the four wing-tip nozzles  146 . The holes  148  are positioned such that when subassembly  145  is joined to the fuselage  112  the cylinder outlet  126  will become aligned with a different one of the holes, in sequence, each time the cylinder  114  is incrementally rotated by the sequencing mechanism of cam finger  121  and indexing grooves  125  in preparation for discharge of water from the chamber  128 . Gasket  132  generally prevents leakage around the connection between outlet  126  and a selected hole  148 , and additionally covers the nonselected holes  148  to prevent water from draining out of the conduit passages  149 ,  150 . 
     FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate the invention as embodied in a water gun  210  having a frame  211 , a pump mechanism  212  adapted for pressurizing water and air in a sealed reservoir  213 , a valve  214  for releasing pressurized water from the reservoir, a trigger assembly  215  for operating the valve, a distribution mechanism  216  for conducting water from the valve  214  to a selected one of four selectable conduits  217 , a plurality of nozzles  218  connected to the conduits to receive pressurized water therefrom for discharge from the gun  210 , and a sequencing mechanism  219  causing water to be discharged from different nozzles, in a preset sequence, for each actuation of the trigger assembly  215 . 
     The pump mechanism  212  includes a plunger  220 , a cylinder  221 , and a unidirectional check valve  222 . The plunger includes a shaft  223  having a piston  224  at one end and a user operable handle  220   a  at the opposite end. The piston is carried for bi-directional travel within the cylinder to draw outside air into the cylinder when moved in one direction and to pressurize and force air from the cylinder through check valve  222  to the interior chamber of reservoir  213  via a tube  225  when moved in the other direction. Water is added to the reservoir (when not pressurized) through an air tight, removable cap  226 . Air pressure urges water from the reservoir  213  into a tube  227  in communication with the water release valve  214 . The trigger assembly  215  includes a finger operated trigger  228 , a tubular sleeve  229  which slides in forward and reverse directions about cylinder  221 , a valve actuating member  230 , and a discharge sequencing member  231  which co-acts with other elements of the sequencing mechanism  219 . The sequencing mechanism also includes a cylinder  232 , movably carried for rotation about a central longitudinal axis of the cylinder. Indexing grooves  233  engage sequencing member  231  in a cam relationship whereby operative travel of the trigger assembly  215  induces rotation of the cylinder  232  in increments of ninety degrees per full cycle of the trigger. One end of the cylinder is carried coaxially about a tube  234  which conducts water released from valve  214 . The opposite end of the cylinder  232  is supported upon a manifold  235  of the distribution mechanism  216 . The manifold  235  is adapted to position an end of each of the conduits  217  for sequential alignment with an outlet  236  of the cylinder  232  as the cylinder is stepwise rotated through successive ninety degree increments by the sequencing mechanism  219 . The remaining end of each conduit is connected to a nozzle  218 . The manifold  235  includes four receptacles  237 , to which the four conduits  217  are individually mated, and four orifices  238 , one per receptacle, to allow communication between the cylinder outlet  236  and a selected conduit  217 . A feed through gasket  239  is affixed to the outlet end of cylinder  232  to prevent leakage about the union of outlet  236  and a selected orifice  238 , and to prevent drainage of water from nonselected conduits  217  and orifices  238 . The manifold  235  is held in a fixed position by engagement of flanges  240  in receptacles  241  of the frame  211 . 
     To prepare the water gun  210  for discharge a user seals water in reservoir  213  and then reciprocates plunger  223  several times to build air pressure within the reservoir. When the trigger assembly  215  is subsequently moved in the direction of pistol grip handle  242  (by a user depressing trigger  228 ), the valve actuating member  230  begins to compress a spring  243  against a flange  244  at the end of a valve control rod  245 . As the spring compresses, sequencing member  231  engages grooves  233  to rotate cylinder  232  by one increment of ninety degrees, thus stepping outlet  236  from alignment with one orifice  238  and into alignment with the next orifice in sequence. As the trigger assembly  215  approaches its rearmost position, spring  243  reaches full compression and the force of member  230  pulls control rod  245  rearward to open valve  214 . Water flows through the valve, through tube  234 , and into cylinder  232 . An o-ring  246  seals the connection between tube  234  and cylinder  232 , so the pressurized water must flow through outlet  236 , through the currently selected orifice  238  of manifold  235 , and through an associated conduit  217 . Water in the conduit is applied to an associated nozzle  218 , from which it is discharged in a high velocity stream.