Abstract:
A water resistant audible toy, such as a toy water gun, includes a speaker having a water resistant speaker cone. The water resistant audible toy includes a switch to activate the speaker to generate sounds. The water resistant audible toy may further include a light to generate lighting effects and a motor to generate a vibration. A pressure equalizer may be further included in the water resistant audible toy. Seals may be provided as part of the water resistant audible toy. The toy water gun includes a trigger to actuate the switch. The speaker may be part of a water resistant sound effects module.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This United States (U.S.) non-provisional patent application filed by inventors David Small et al is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S. non provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/679,722, filed by inventors David Small et al on Oct. 4, 2000, entitled “WATER GUN WITH SOUND EFFECTS MODULE”, now pending, which is a U.S. non-provisional patent application of US provisional patent application Serial No. 60/157,879, filed by inventors David Small et al on Oct. 5, 1999, entitled “WATER GUN WITH SOUND EFFECTS MODULE”.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0002]    [0002]FIG. 1 is a view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0003]    [0003]FIGS. 2 a  through  2   g  are views of one embodiment of a sound effects module in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0004]    [0004]FIGS. 3 a  through  3   g  are views of another embodiment of a sound effects module in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0005]    [0005]FIGS. 4 a  through  4   g  are views of still another embodiment of a sound effects module in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIGS. 5 a  through  5   g  are views of still another embodiment of a sound effects module in accordance with the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0007]    Referring to FIG. 1, a water gun generally indicated by the numeral  20  is provided with a sound effects module, generally indicated by the numeral  22 , to provide sound effects in conjunction with the operation of the water gun. In a typical application, the water gun will be of the elastic bladder type, wherein water is forced into the bladder to expand the bladder, with water being expelled from the gun on pulling the trigger of the water gun as a result of the elasticity of the bladder. Water guns of this general type are well known in the art, with merely a sample of such devices being disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,591,071, 4,854,480, 5,219,096, 5,735,440 and 5,902,162.  
         [0008]    The sound effects module  22  in a typical application will be connected to a switch actuated by the trigger  21  of the water gun  20 , so that the sound effects will be coincidental with the discharge of water from the water gun  20 . Such sound effects may be fixed, such as simulating a machine gun or the like, or may be user selectable to simulate various real and/or imaginary weapons, such as machine guns, laser or other beam type weapons, other weapons of science fiction, etc. In that regard, any of various sound signal generating devices may be used, such as by way of example, single chip analog or digital storage and playback devices, such as, by way of example, the analog storage and playback devices manufactured by Information Storage Devices, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.  
         [0009]    It is important to note that implementing an air-tight compression chamber to achieve a waterproof environment is not advisable as pressure differentials between the front and rear of the speaker caused from air freight or heat variations would cause the speaker to deform or potentially become damaged. Pressure differentials across the speaker will cause the speaker to have significant distortion during operation.  
         [0010]    In the water gun environment, it is important that the sound effects module is capable of operation in a wet and humid environment and over some significant temperature range, as the water gun  20  may be exposed to relatively cool tap water or left in the sun on a summer day to warm up to 50-75° Fahrenheit above cool tap water temperatures. Accordingly, it is desired to have the sound effects module be water resistant. While absolute water resistance, which might be referred to as “waterproof,” would be ideal, the cost of achieving absolute water resistance may not be justified from an economic standpoint nor required from a functional standpoint.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 2 a - 2   g ,  3   a - 3   g ,  4   a - 4   g , and  5   a - 5   g , disclose four exemplary alternate approaches for achieving the desired water resistance of the sound effects module  22 . As is representative of the embodiments of FIGS. 2 a - 2   g ,  3   a - 3   g ,  4   a - 4   g , and  5   a - 5   g , FIGS. 2 a - 2   g  illustrate the general construction of the sound effects module. In particular, adjacent one end of the sound effects module housing  24  is a mylar speaker  26 , sealed around a periphery to the module housing  24  by the configuration of the speaker cover  28 . The mylar speaker  26  has an electromechanical actuator  50  and a speaker cone  52  made of mylar or other water impermeable material. The actuator  50  converts electrical signals to mechanical vibrations. The speaker cone  52  is glued to the actuator  50  so that vibrations of the actuator  50  propagate into the speaker cone  52 . The speaker cover  28  provides protection from mechanical damage for the mylar speaker  26  while also having openings to allow sound created by the mylar speaker  26  to propagate from the speaker cone  52 .  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 d  illustrates an exemplary configuration of the speaker cover  28 . FIGS. 2 a - 2   f  illustrate the mylar speaker  26 , the speaker cover  28 , the module housing  24 , a speaker seal  202 , a speaker cover seal  204 , a ring  206  of the speaker cover  28  and a land  208  of the module housing  24 . The mylar speaker  26  closes the end of the module housing  24  so that speaker cone  52  prevents water from entering the module housing. FIGS. 2 a ,  3   a ,  4   a , and  5   a  are magnified views of the seals that may be provided around the speaker cover  28 , the mylar speaker  26  and the module housing  24  in each embodiment. The seal between the end cover  29  and the module housing  24  may be similar to that of the seal provided between the speaker cover  28  and the module housing  24 . The seal between the removable battery door  32  and the end cover  29  may be similar to that of the seal provided between the speaker cover  28  and the module housing  24 . FIGS. 2 g ,  3   g ,  4   g , and  5   g  are magnified views of the seals that may be provided between the cover  36  and the module housing  24  in each embodiment. The seal between the cover  36  and the module housing  24  may be similar to that of the seal provided between the speaker cover  28  and the module housing  24 .  
         [0013]    The speaker cover  28  is fastened to the module housing  24  by fasteners, threads formed on the speaker cover  28  and the module housing  24  or other attachment devices well known in the art. The speaker cover  28  captures the mylar speaker  26  and presses the mylar speaker  26  against the speaker seal  202 . The speaker seal  202  in one embodiment is an “O” ring type of seal. Thus, the mylar speaker  26  and the module housing  24  compress the speaker seal  202  to seal the module housing  24  and mylar speaker  26 . The sound effects module  22  may also include a speaker cover seal  204 . Speaker cover  28  may have a tongue, projection or ring  206  which presses the speaker cover seal  204  against the groove, race or land  208  thereby sealing the ring  206  and land  208 . While both speaker seal  202  and speaker cover seal  204  have been shown, it is understood that only the speaker seal  202  is required to seal the mylar speaker  26  and module housing  24 .  
         [0014]    At the other end of the sound effects module  22  is an end cover  29  with a battery case  30 . A removable battery door  32  couples to the end cover  29  sealing the periphery of the battery case  30 . Batteries  31  may be installed in the battery case. The batteries  31  are electrically connected to circuitry such as a printed circuit board in a compartment  33 . The compartment  33  is sealed at the bottom with a first cover  34  and sealed at the top with a second cover  36 , having a silicon rubber keypad  48  thereon for, sound effects selection, etc., the exact configuration of which will depend upon the sounds effects module, the selections it provides, etc. Covers  34  and  36  typically enclose a printed circuit board with the sound effects device or devices and any supporting circuitry required thereon in a manner to seal the same from both the volume within the sound effects module and the exterior thereof.  
         [0015]    In general, the sealing of the various components making up the module will be by way of O-rings or other elastic seals. For those components which do not need to be disassembled for any reason, alternate assembly techniques, such as ultrasonic welding, solvent welding, or the like could be used. In any event, the output of the electronics generating the sound signal is coupled to the actuator  50  of the mylar speaker  26  through leads not shown, with leads  38  being connected to the trigger switch for turning on the sound effects module when the trigger of the water gun is pulled. The leads  38  extending through the housing  24  to the trigger switch may be sealed by a silicon seal  37  and provided with a strain relief  39 . These basic components, shown in exemplary embodiment form, are in one way or another common to all four exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 2 a - 2   g ,  3   a - 3   g ,  4   a - 4   g , and  5   a - 5   g.    
         [0016]    In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 a - 2   g , small holes  40  are provided through the lower wall of the module housing  24  to allow the interior volume of the sound effects module (other than the compartments sealed by covers  34  and  36 ) to breathe, allowing the internal pressure within the greater volume of the sound effects module  22  to equal atmospheric pressure. In that regard, it is important that that interior chamber be at or near the outside ambient pressure, as otherwise the speaker cone  52  of the mylar speaker  26  will have a pressure differential there across, providing a stress on the speaker cone and causing a high degree of distortion in the sound generated, in an extreme, perhaps even doing permanent damage to the speaker. At normal operating frequencies of the speaker, however, the holes  40  are too small to allow appreciable flow, so that the internal volume of the sound effects module will act much like a sealed chamber, enhancing the output of the speaker at and near the natural frequency of the speaker/sound effects module air volume.  
         [0017]    In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 a - 3   g , specifically as shown in FIG. 3 e , a pair of one-way valves  300  is provided which prevents the buildup of pressure within the sound effects module housing, though prevents water from entering the housing. A hole  302  in the housing  24  allows pressure within the sound effects module to be equalized through the pair of one-way valves  300 . Various types of one way valves  300  could be used, such as, by way of example, duck bill rubber valves or ball check valves. Such an embodiment would block water flow into the interior of the module, but tend to allow air flow into and out of the interior region. The one way valves are arranged so that one valve allows air to flow into the chamber and the other valve allows air to flow out of the chamber. These valves operate in concert to maintain the pressure of the internal compression chamber at equilibrium with atmospheric pressure.  
         [0018]    In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 a - 4   g , as specifically shown in FIG. 4 e , a hole  400  is provided through the case with a semipermeable filter member  402  mounted therein to allow the passage of air, but not the passage of water, into and out of the interior volume of the sound effects module. The air flow through such a semipermeable filter of the various types as are well known is fairly restricted, so as to have no significant effect on the acoustic properties of the system at the desired frequencies of the sound effects generated by the speaker.  
         [0019]    In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 a - 5   g , specifically FIGS. 5 b  and  5   e , expansion and contraction of the air within the sound effects module is compensated for by the flexibility of the module housing  24  itself, specifically by the imposition of an accordion type flexible member  42 , sealed with respect to the module housing  24  and end member  44 . A restriction plate  46  in this embodiment closes off most of the end of module housing  24  to define the internal volume of air behind the speaker for acoustic purposes, with a small hole  54  in member  46  allowing very low frequency breathing between the volume behind the speaker cone  52  and the volume enclosed by the flexible member  42  to equalize pressures there between. Thus this embodiment, like the others, maintains the acoustic characteristics of the mylar speaker/air chamber there behind, while at the same time, provides even better water resistance for the sound effects module.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIGS. 5 a - 5   f  illustrate the flexible member  42 , the restriction plate  46 , the end member  44 , a seal plate  510  and a cover  512 . To assemble the flexible member  42  to the module housing  24 , the flexible member  42  is presented at the end of the module housing  24 . A skirt  506  of the flexible member  42  is fitted over the lip  508  of the module housing  24 . The skirt  506  may be made from an elastomeric material. A restriction plate  46  is slid into the other end of the module housing  24 . The restriction plate  46  is then screwed into the end of the module housing  24  thereby capturing and compressing the skirt  506 . Thus the skirt  506  seals the flexible member  42  and the module housing  24 . The end member  44  is presented to the flexible member  42 . A seal similar to the module housing  24  and flexible member  42  may be formed between the end member  44  and flexible member  42  using the seal plate  510 . A cover  512  with battery case  30  and removable battery door  32  is sealed to the end member  44 .  
         [0021]    In another embodiment, the restriction plate may have a tongue  502  and the module housing  24  may have a groove  504 . Restriction plate  46  is pushed toward the accordion end of the module housing so that tongue  502  engages groove  504 . Thus the tongue  502  and groove  504  capture and compress the skirt  506  to seal the flexible member  42  and the module housing  24 . In another embodiment, the flexible member  42  is coupled to module housing  24  by ultrasonic welding, solvent welding or the like.  
         [0022]    In the embodiments described herein, the basic sound effects generation has been described with respect to some form of electronic sound effects generator. Other types of sound effects generation and effects of other types may also be generated by the water resistant module of the present invention. By way of example, the sound effects module might have mounted therein a motor with an eccentric weight to introduce a vibration instead of, or in addition to, the sound effects, the eccentric weight simulating the recoil of a machine gun type device. As a further alternative, the eccentric weight might be comprised of one or more washer type rings on an eccentric pin, positioned to intercept a rigid wall or end of the sound effects chamber, so as to create a firing noise every time the washer or washers strike the end wall on each rotation of the eccentric, thus generating both the desired noise and vibration from the same device. Other alternatives may include lights, pumps or other devices protected within the water resistant module. These and other alternate embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, while the present invention has been disclosed and described with respect to certain specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.