Abstract:
A squirting toy is comprised of a cylindrical housing and a piston that slides within to force water into or out of the housing via a hole therein. The housing is encased within a shell creating a water impervious volume sufficient for the toy to float in water. The shell is soft, so that the gun is not a safety hazard when left floating in a swimming pool. Handles associated with one or both actuating portions of the squirting toy are provided for gripping and operating the squirting toy more effectively.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/018,691, filed Jan. 23, 2008, pending, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/860,617 filed on Sep. 25, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,571,837, issued Aug. 11, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, which application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/942,326, filed Sep. 16, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,281,642, issued Oct. 16, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a water squirting apparatus for use at play. More specifically, it is a soft floating tubular piston type squirt gun for use such as in a swimming pool or swimming area by participants in or adjacent to the water. 
     BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Squirt guns are well known in many forms in the prior art. Numerous squirt guns and squirting toys are made and have been made over the years for use by persons while swimming in or standing adjacent to a swimming pool, which are adapted to quickly take in water from the swimming pool for squirting. One such toy is called Water Stix™ and is sold by Hearthsong Inc. This toy, representative of many such squirting toys, is basically comprised of a housing having a nozzle at its squirting end. A piston, which includes a graspable handle, is adapted to slide within the housing so that, when the nozzle end of the housing is submerged in the pool and the piston is pulled backwards, water is drawn into the housing through the nozzle. And when the piston is subsequently forced forwardly, that water is forced from the housing, through the nozzle, towards a target, in a powerful stream. 
     Additionally, many squirt guns of the prior art are constructed in a manner that entraps air and thereby inadvertently enables those guns to partially float in water. The degree of such buoyancy is relative to the amount of water that has been taken into the gun and the longevity of such buoyancy is relative to the to the amount of air leakage from the housing. 
     There are also floating toy “swimming noodles” in the prior art, which are made of resilient floating closed-cell polymer foam. These toys are used to provide buoyancy to the user while swimming. Because these toys are often left floating in the pool when not in use, their softness eliminates the safety threat that they would otherwise pose. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved squirting toy that floats fully atop the surface of the water, whether filled with or empty of water. 
     It is a further object to provide a soft squirting toy that is safer that squirting toys of the prior art. 
     It is a further object to provide a squirting toy that is both buoyant and soft. 
     It is a further object to provide such a squirting toy that has a similar appearance to a “swimming noodle”. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the floating, squirting toy comprises a housing having a chamber, the chamber having a variable volume defined by a first chamber end, a second chamber end and a interior surface, a hole through the housing adjacent the first chamber end allows communication between the chamber and the outside environment; a piston disposed adjacent the second chamber end, the piston being sealingly engaged with the chamber interior surface and adapted for longitudinal movement within the housing to vary the volume of the chamber; a shaft attached to the piston and having a portion extending out of the housing, the shaft portion extending out of the housing having a first handle attached thereto; an outer shell disposed over the housing, the shell creating a water impervious volume imparting a buoyancy sufficient to keep the toy afloat in water; and a second handle attached to one of either the shell or the housing. The toy is adapted to inhale water through the hole while the hole is submerged during the expansion of the chamber using the handles, and the toy being adapted to exhale the water through the hole during the contraction of the chamber using the handles. The outer shell may be chosen from one of a transparent, translucent material or a polymeric foam. The cross-sectional shape over a substantial portion of the outer shell may be chosen from at least one of round, polygonal, elliptical, oval, fanciful animal-like and some combination of shapes including generally polygonal with rounded sides. 
     Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon a review of the following description and drawings of the invention, including the preferred embodiment thereof. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises a squirting toy that is housed within a polyethylene (PE) closed cell foam shell. The closed cell shell is non-absorbing, so that the foam remains buoyant and keeps the gun afloat indefinitely. The foam is soft, so that the toy is not a safety hazard when left floating in a swimming pool. In the preferred embodiment, the squirting toy is comprised of a cylindrical housing and a piston that slides within to force water into or out of the housing via a hole therein. The foam shell of the preferred embodiment is similar in size and shape to a “swimming noodle”, and is therefore more attractive to a child who is familiar with such. The present invention also encompasses a shell of a shapes dissimilar to traditional “swimming noodles”. What is important is that there is sufficient material in the shell to provide buoyancy, i.e. the toy to floats when it is filled with water, and that the shell is soft, i.e. does not present a safety hazard when floating in the water. 
     A more complete understanding of the invention will be realized upon review of the following description and drawings of preferred embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an action view of a squirting toy showing water being expelled there-from; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view through the toy of  FIG. 1  in its retracted/empty state; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged partial section of the toy of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an action cross-sectional view showing the intake of water into the toy of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an action cross-sectional view showing the expulsion of water from the toy of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a side perspective view of an embodiment of the squirting toy of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a side perspective view of an embodiment of the squirting toy of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a side perspective view of an embodiment of the squirting toy of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a side elevation view of the squirting toy embodiment of  FIG. 8  showing a section view of tubular housing containing piston  116  and handle portion  132  separated a distance from shell  138 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , where there is depicted a toy  100  for squirting a water stream  102 , and which is adapted to float on the water surface  104 . 
     The toy  100  comprises a rigid tubular housing  106  that encloses a hollow cylindrical chamber  110 . The forward end  112  of the tubular housing is closed except for a small hole  114 . Piston  116  slides longitudinally within chamber  110  and is sealed against the cylindrical inner surface  120  of the chamber by O-ring  122 , which is seated within groove  125  of the piston. The piston separates the chamber  110  into a forward portion  110 A and a rear portion  110 B. The piston  116  is rigidly connected to shaft  124  at the forward end  126  thereof. Slide bushing  128  supports shaft  124  at the rear end  130  of the tubular housing  106 , while allowing longitudinal movement relative thereto. Handle portion  132  is rigidly connected to shaft  124  at the rearward end  134  thereof. Expansion of the handle portion  132  relative to the tubular housing  106 , while hole  114  is below the water surface  104 , as depicted in  FIG. 4 , causes water to be inhaled into the expanding forward chamber portion  110 A, through hole  114 . Subsequent retraction of the handle portion  132  relative to the tubular housing  106  causes that water to be exhaled through hole  114  in a powerful stream  102 . 
     Tubular shell  138 , preferably made of closed-cell polyethylene foam, surrounds tubular housing  106 , to provide both a soft protective surface and buoyancy. Other materials may be substituted for polyethylene foam, such as ethylene vinyl acetate closed-cell foam. 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  show an alternative embodiment of the squirting toy invention. The encapsulating shell  138  of  FIG. 9  is a thin material, e.g. a polymer, that defines a toroidal space between an inside surface of the encapsulating shell  138  and the outside surface of housing  106 . Encapsulating shell  138  prevents water from entering toroidal space  152  and provides buoyancy when toy  100  is in a pool or other body or water even when housing  106  is filled with liquid. 
     In a most preferred embodiment, encapsulating shell  138  is formed from a material and of wall thickness to provide flexibility and ‘softness’ to the encapsulating shell. Examples of such materials include polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE). Materials and wall thickness parameters similar to those of standard carbonated beverage bottles will provide sufficient ‘softness’ to form a safe squirting toy, i.e. the toy  100  having encapsulating shell  138  of the most preferred embodiment will not injure a person hit with the toy at typical velocities. Encapsulating shell  138  may be supported at one or more points along its length by a shell support  150 . Alternatively, a much thinner wall thickness may be chosen and the toroidal space slightly pressurized. Proper choice of pressure will result in encapsulating shell  138  maintaining a selected 3-dimensional shape while remaining soft enough to offer safety benefits. 
     In another preferred embodiment of the squirting toy, encapsulating shell  138  may be transparent, semi-transparent or translucent. Such a preferred embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     Handle portion  132  may include handle shell  140 , which is preferable made of the same foam, and is rigidly connected shaft  124  by means of support bushings  144  and  146 . Alternatively, other materials having sufficient buoyancy, softness, and water impermeability, such as polyurethane foam, may be used for both the tubular and handle shells. The shells may also be blow molded or rotationally molded air-filled cylindrical bladders or similar materials, as illustrated by encapsulating shell  32  in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . The handle shell  140  may also be made of solid material as long as sufficient buoyancy is provided by the tubular shell. 
     A most preferred embodiment of the present invention has the squirting toy emulating a “swimming noodle”, well known in the context of recreational water activities. When the handle portion is retracted, as in  FIG. 2 , the shell  138  and handle shell  140  may form a cylinder of round, elliptical, square, polygon, oval or irregular cross-section. In a most preferred embodiment, shell  138  and handle shell  140  are of identical outside shape and are formed from closed-cell polymer foam, thus creating a similar appearance and feel to those of a common “swimming noodle”. This emulated swimming noodle may be of any cross-sectional shape, e.g. round, polygonal, elliptical, oval, or some combination of shapes including generally polygonal with rounded sides. 
       FIG. 6  shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention. Toy  100  comprises a housing  106  enclosing a chamber  110 , the forward end  112  of the housing having a small hole  114 . Piston  116  slides within and is sealed against the cylindrical inner surface  120  of the chamber  110 . A shaft retainer  142  is connected to shaft  124  at the rearward end  134  thereof. Shaft retainer  142  further comprises a handle  132 A. Handle  132 A, in a preferred embodiment, is shaped such that it has a palm surface  135  and a finger surface  136 , i.e. surfaces molded to receive respective portions of a hand. Gripping handle  132 A allows a user to operate shaft  124  and piston  116  as described above. 
     In a more preferred embodiment, one of either the housing  106  or the shell  138  has a handle  132 B extending therefrom. Handle  132 B may also have a palm surface  135  and a finger surface  136 . Grasping both handle  132 A and  132 B and forcing them away from one another while hole  114  is below the water surface  104  causes water to be inhaled into the expanding forward chamber portion  110 A through hole  114 . Subsequent forcing of handles  132 A and  132 B toward one another causes water in chamber portion  110 A to be exhaled through hole  114  in a powerful stream  102 . 
     In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle portion of squirting toy  100  may take a fanciful form. An example is shown schematically in  FIG. 7 . Examples of the shape of the handle  148  include: an animal head; a cartoon character head; a person&#39;s head; 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the applicable arts that the foregoing is merely one of many possible embodiments of the invention, and that the invention should therefore only be limited according to the following claims.