Abstract:
A firing linkage mechanism for submachine gun includes a link biasable forwardly following a forward displacement of a firing pin and an air plug upon striking of a hammer against the firing pin and forcible to return the firing pin and the air plug after the striking action of the hammer, and a stop rod for engaging the link to hold the link, the firing pin and the air plug in position and to stop the link from returning the firing pin and the air plug after the striking action of the hammer and movable by a counterweight set to release the link for stopping a compressed gas from flowing out of a magazine into a bolt when the counterweight set is moved along oblique sliding rail portions of sliding rails in the submachine gun.

Description:
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT 
       [0001]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to any reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to toy submachine gun and more particularly, to a firing linkage mechanism for toy submachine gun, which simulates the operation of a real submachine gun to achieve intake of compressed gas upon striking of the hammer against the firing pin and stoppage of gas charge upon backward displacement of the bolt, reducing recoil and avoiding muzzle jump during firing. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Arts 
         [0005]    Regular toy guns are common designed to simulate real guns. Except the simulation of the physical outer appearance, a toy gun may also provide a recoil function to attract toy gun players. 
         [0006]    Further, a submachine gun has the advantages of fast shooting speed and strong firepower; however, it has the drawbacks of high recoil and poor shooting control. Therefore, gun manufacturers created real guns with reduced recoil and control characteristics (such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,201,094; 7,997,183). These reactions employs a technique to transfer the amount of recoil downwards, avoiding transfer of the recoil to the shooter&#39;s hand or shoulder. A real gun of this design reduces recoil, avoids muzzle jump during firing. Further, the number of component parts (including movable parts) of a real gun of this design is minimized. The weight of a real gun of this design can be reduced over 50% when compared to conventional real guns. A real gun of this design uses an improved recoil control device comprising a bolt head and an inertia block. The bolt head and inertial block are articulated so that the displacement of the bolt head results in a force component outside the firing axis of the barrel of the firearm. When incorporated into a submachine gun, the recoil control device produces recoil reduction and weight reduction advantages. 
         [0007]    By means of employing a technique to transfer the amount of recoil downwards, the aforesaid real gun design produces recoil reduction and weight reduction advantages. However, the aforesaid real gun design is gunpowder actuated. Unlike a real gun, a toy gun uses compressed gas or spring power to drive the firing pin. The structural design of the aforesaid improved recoil control device cannot be directly used in a toy gun or toy submachine gun. 
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a firing linkage mechanism for toy submachine gun, which simulates the operation of a real submachine gun to achieve intake of compressed gas upon striking of the hammer against the firing pin and stoppage of gas charge upon backward displacement of the bolt, reducing recoil and avoiding muzzle jump during firing. 
         [0009]    To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, a firing linkage mechanism is used in a toy submachine gun comprising a gun body, a magazine holder mounted in the gun body and holding a magazine, two sliding rails bilaterally mounted inside the gun body. Each sliding rail comprises a horizontal sliding rail portion and an oblique sliding rail portion obliquely and downwardly extended from the rear end of the horizontal sliding rail portion. The linkage mechanism comprises a hammer, an air plug, a bolt, and a counterweight set. The air plug is mounted in the top side inside the magazine holder, having the rear end thereof stopped against a firing pin. The bolt is mounted inside the gun body above the magazine holder, comprising a gas inlet at the bottom side thereof. The counterweight set is pivotally mounted at the rear side of the bolt. The hammer is adapted for striking the firing pin against the air plug to let a compressed gas flow out of the magazine into the gas inlet to move the bolt along the sliding rails for enabling the counterweight set to move downwardly along the oblique sliding rail portions of the sliding rails. The firing linkage mechanism further comprises a side frame bar, a link and a stop rod. The side frame bar is mounted at one side of the magazine holder. The link is pivotally coupled between the side frame bar and the firing pin, biasable forwardly following a forward displacement of the firing pin and the air plug upon striking of the hammer against the firing pin, and forcible to return the firing pin and the air plug after the striking action of the hammer. The stop rod is adapted for engaging the link to hold the link, the firing pin and the air plug in position and to stop the link from returning the firing pin and the air plug after the striking action of the hammer The stop rod is moved by the counterweight set to release the link when the counterweight is moved along the oblique sliding rail portions of the sliding rails, enabling the firing pin and the air plug to be returned to stop the compressed gas from flowing out of the magazine into the gas inlet. 
         [0010]    Further, the link comprises a notch. The stop rod comprises a retaining portion located on the top end thereof and adapted for engaging the notch of the link, a middle part pivotally connected to the side frame bar, and a butt disposed at the bottom end thereof forcible by the counterweight set to bias the stop rod in disengaging the retaining portion from the notch of the link during downward movement of the counterweight set along the oblique sliding rail portions of the sliding rails. 
         [0011]    Further, the counterweight set comprises two counterweights and a holder frame. The two counterweights are fixedly mounted at the holder frame at two sides. Each holder frame comprises a push portion adapted for pushing the butt of the stop rod to bias the stop rod in disengaging the retaining portion from the notch of the link when the counterweight set is forced to move downwardly along the oblique sliding rail portions of the sliding rails. 
         [0012]    The firing linkage mechanism further comprises a bottom block located on the bottom side of the gun body and spaced below the counterweight set, a first spring member set between the holder frame of the counterweight set and the bottom block and adapted for pushing the counterweight set upwardly to move the bolt forwardly along the sliding rails to the former position after downward displacement of the counterweight set, a second spring member stopped between the middle part of the link and the side frame bar, and a third spring member set between the stop rod and the side frame bar. Further, each counterweight comprises an oblique slot. Further, the bolt comprises a guide rod transversely located on the rear side thereof and coupled with two distal ends thereof to the oblique slots of the counterweights. 
         [0013]    Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fully understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference signs denote like components of structure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a toy submachine gun embodying the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the firing linkage mechanism of the toy submachine gun shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a schematic plain view illustrating the status of the firing linkage mechanism before a firing action. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  corresponds to  FIG. 3 , illustrating the status of the firing linkage mechanism during intake of compressed gas. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  corresponds to  FIG. 4 , illustrating the status of the firing linkage mechanism upon interruption of gas intake. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a schematic plain view of the present invention, illustrating the status of the firing linkage mechanism during a firing action. 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  corresponds to  FIG. 6  when viewed from the right side. 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged view of a part of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  corresponds to  FIG. 8  when viewed from the right side. 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a schematic plain view of the present invention, illustrating the displacement path of the bolt and counterweight set of the firing linkage mechanism. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a toy submachine gun is shown, wherein the toy submachine gun comprises a gun body A having a magazine holder A 1  for holding a magazine B and two sliding rails C being bilaterally and symmetrically arranged on the inside wall of the gun body A. In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , each of the sliding rails C is a sliding grooved rail formed on a respective plat member and affixed to the inside wall of the gun body A. Each sliding rail C comprises a horizontal sliding rail portion C 1  and an oblique sliding rail portion C 2  backwardly and downwardly extended from one end thereof, namely, the rear end of the horizontal sliding rail portion C 1 . The toy submachine gun further comprises a firing linkage mechanism F which comprises a hammer  1 , an air plug  2 , a bolt  3  and a counterweight set  4 . 
         [0025]    The hammer  1  comprises a base  11  pivotally mounted at the inside of the gun body A (see  FIG. 3 ), and a retaining groove  12  located on the base  11  for the engagement of one end of a trigger bar  13  to stop the hammer  1  from action. The trigger bar  13  has its other end pivotally connected to a trigger frame  14 , which comprises a trigger  141 . When biasing the trigger  141  (see  FIG. 4 ), the trigger bar  13  will be moved away from the retaining groove  12 , releasing the hammer  1  and enabling the hammer  1  to strike the firing pin  15 . 
         [0026]    The air plug  2  is mounted in a top side inside the magazine holder A 1  (see  FIG. 3 ), and stopped by the firing pin  15 . A side frame bar  21  is mounted at one side of the magazine holder A 1 . A link  22  is pivotally coupled between the side frame bar  21  and the firing pin  15 . A second spring member  24  is mounted at the side frame bar  21  and stopped against a middle part of the link  22 . When the hammer  1  strikes the firing pin  15 , the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  are moved forwards, and the link  22  is turned forwardly following the forward displacement of the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  (see  FIG. 4 ). After the striking action, the second spring member  24  immediately forces the link  22  to return the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  to their former positions (see  FIG. 5 ). Further, the link  22  has a notch  221  (see  FIG. 6 ). A stop rod  23  is coupled to the side frame bar  21 . The stop rod  23  has a middle part thereof pivotally connected to the side frame bar  21 , a top end terminating in a retaining portion  231 , and a bottom end connected to a third spring member  25  at the side frame bar  21 . When the link  22  is biased forwardly, the stop rod  23  is forced to engage the retaining portion  231  into the notch  221  of the link  22  (see  FIG. 7 ), holding the link  22 , the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  in position for letting in a compressed flow of gas. Further, the stop rod  23  has a butt  232  at the bottom end thereof. Applying a force to the butt  232  (see  FIG. 4 ) can bias the stop rod  23  to disengage the retaining portion  231  from the notch  221  of the link  22  (see  FIGS. 8 and 9 ), causing the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  to be moved backwards to interrupt gas charge. 
         [0027]    The bolt  3  is mounted inside the gun body A on the barrel axis of the gun barrel (see  FIG. 3 ; the gun barrel is not shown) above the magazine A 1 , having a gas inlet  31  at the bottom side thereof. When the hammer  1  strikes the firing pin  15  against the air plug  2 , the internal compressed gas of the magazine B goes into the gas inlet  31  (see  FIG. 4 ), moving the bolt  3  backwardly along the sliding rails C (see  FIG. 5 ). When the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  are moved backwards, the internal compressed gas of the magazine B is prohibited from entering the gas inlet  31  of the bolt  3 , and therefore gas charge is stopped. Further, the bolt  3  has a guide rod  32  transversely located on the rear side thereof (see  FIG. 5 ). The two opposite ends  321  of the guide rod  32  are respectively coupled to the sliding rails C such that the bolt  3  can be moved along the sliding rails C. Further, after firing, the bolt  3  is moved backwardly along the sliding rails C to move the hammer  1  backwardly and upwardly to its former position. 
         [0028]    The counterweight set  4  comprises two counterweights  41  and a holder frame  42 . The two counterweights  41  are fixedly mounted at the holder frame  42  at two sides (see  FIG. 2 ). Each of the counterweights  41  has an oblique slot  411 . The two opposite ends  321  of the guide rod  32  of the bolt  3  are respectively inserted through the oblique slots  411  of the counterweights  41  and then coupled to the sliding rails C (see  FIG. 3 ), i.e., the counterweights  41  are respectively coupled to the two opposite ends  321  of the guide rod  32  of the bolt  3  by the respective oblique slots  411 . Thus, when the bolt  3  is forced to move along the sliding rails C, the counterweight set  4  will be forced to move downwardly along the oblique sliding rail portions C 2  of the sliding rails C. Further, the holder frame  42  of the counterweight set  4  comprises a push portion  421 . When the counterweight set  4  is forced to move downwardly along the oblique sliding rail portions C 2  of the sliding rails C, the push portion  421  will push the butt  232  of the stop rod  23  (see  FIG. 5 ) to bias the stop rod  23 , causing the stop rod  23  to disengage its retaining portion  231  from the notch  221  of the link  22 . After disengagement of the retaining portion  231  of the stop rod  23  from the notch  221  of the link  22 , the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  will be moved backwards to interrupt gas charge (see  FIGS. 8 and 9 ). The gun body A further comprises a bottom block A 2  spaced below the counterweight set  4 . Further, a first spring member  422  is set between the holder frame  42  of the counterweight set  4  and the bottom block A 2 . Thus, after downward displacement of the counterweight set  4 , the first spring member  422  pushes the counterweight set  4  upwardly to move the bolt  3  forwardly along the sliding rails C to its former position (see  FIG. 10 ). 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates a status of the firing linkage mechanism before a firing action. When firing, the hammer  1  is biased forwardly and downwardly to strike the firing pin  15  (see  FIG. 4 ) against the air plug  2 . At this time, the link  22  is biased forwardly and, the stop rod  23  is forced by the third spring member  25  to engage its retaining portion  231  into the notch  221  of the link  22  (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ), holding the link  22 , the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  in position for letting a compressed flow of gas to flow from the magazine B through the gas inlet  31  into the bolt  3  to drive out an air-soft bullet (plastic BB bullet). At the same time, the bolt  3  is moved backwardly along the sliding rails C (see  FIG. 5 ), the hammer  1  is returned to its former position, and the counterweight set  4  is moved backwardly and downwardly along the oblique sliding rail portions C 2  of the sliding rails C. 
         [0030]    When the push portion  421  of the holder frame  42  of the counterweight set  4  touches the butt  232  of the stop rod  23  during downward movement of the counterweight set  4  along the oblique sliding rail portions C 2  of the sliding rails C, the push portion  421  will push the butt  232  of the stop rod  23  to bias the stop rod  23 , causing the stop rod  23  to disengage its retaining portion  231  from the notch  221  of the link  22  (see  FIGS. 8 and 9 ). After disengagement of the retaining portion  231  of the stop rod  23  from the notch  221  of the link  22 , the second spring member  24  forces the link  22  to bias backwardly, and therefore the firing pin  15  and the air plug  2  are moved backwards to interrupt gas charge. When the counterweight set  4  reaches the lower limit position during its downward movement (see  FIG. 10 ), the first spring member  422  immediately returns the counterweight set  4 , causing the bolt  3  to be moved forwardly along the sliding rails C to its former position (see  FIG. 3 ) for a next firing cycle. 
         [0031]    As stated above, the structural design of the firing linkage mechanism of the above-described toy submachine gun achieves the designed targets in gas intake and interruption of gas intake. Similar to a real submachine gun, the toy submachine gun embodying the present invention adopts a delayed recoil operation design to reduce recoil, avoiding muzzle jump during firing. Thus, the toy submachine gun provides a high level of quality and effectively simulates a real submachine gun. 
         [0032]    Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.