Abstract:
A bubble shooter toy constructed of a gun-shaped housing having a trigger disposed on a portion of the gun-shaped housing, a liquid receptacle, an air blast blower, a muzzle installed at one end of the gun-shaped housing and defined by at least one bore for discharging bubble, and a liquid extraction unit for passing a soapy solution from the liquid receptacle to the bore for discharging bubble. A displacement crank has been arranged to press on air bags within the housing such that when a trigger is in a pressed position, the hydraulic and air pressure are extended through the gas and liquid pipes within the toy, thereby producing bubbles. The resulting bubble-producing mechanism is useful for streamlining mechanical operation of the toy. The lack of liquid extraction motor in place allows for simplified integrity and lower production cost of the toy.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field of this invention relates to a toy, particularly a bubble shooter toy. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A bubble shooter toy is a toy shaped in the form of a trigger actuated design that is widely popular for children of young ages for its function to produce a colorful bubble-filled atmosphere. The bubbles can be normally produced with an electric motor (also known as micro electric machinery) by blowing air at the shooter toy&#39;s muzzle having a bubble outlet wherein a soap film is produced across the bubble outlet after the muzzle is dipped and then removed from a soapy solution. Traditional bubble shooter toys as disclosed in previous references have been known to use a motor as a means for pumping out a soapy solution from a container as part of the bubble extraction operation. However, critical reviews have mostly criticized this use of said motor-mediated technology as numerous problems have been found including complex assembly structure, high production cost, high performance failure rate, and short product life. Other shortcomings include inefficient energy consumption during loading of soapy solution, and high usage cost. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    It is therefore the object of this invention to propose a bubble shooter toy of the kind that solves problems prevalent in the prior art and has objectives and advantages including, but not limited to, simple assembly structure, low production cost, and longer product life. 
         [0004]    According to the present invention, the bubble shooter toy comprises a gun-shaped housing, a trigger disposed on a portion of the gun-shaped housing, a liquid receptacle, an air blast blower, a muzzle installed at one end of the gun-shaped housing and defined by at least one bore for discharging bubble, a liquid extraction unit for passing a soapy solution from the liquid receptacle to the bore for discharging bubble. The liquid extraction unit aforementioned is an assembly characterized by a plurality of gas bags, a micro liquid pump enclosed within the liquid receptacle, a gas tube for connecting the plurality of gas bags to the micro liquid pump, a liquid pipe for connecting the micro liquid pump to the bore at the muzzle, a displacement crank that is actuated to press relatively on the plurality of gas bags in association with the movement of the trigger, a replacement spring for restoring the displacement crank to the displacement crank&#39;s original position when the displacement is relocated. In addition to the important structural characteristic of such liquid extraction unit, the displacer is arranged to press on the gas bags so as to discharge the gas therefrom when the trigger is pulled, and the soapy solution is drawn out of the liquid receptacle through the liquid pipe to reach the bore at the muzzle, wherein such movement is an after-effect resulting from a negative pressure formed when the trigger is released. 
         [0005]    In one aspect related to simplifying the assembly structure and tuning down the volume of the liquid extraction unit, the liquid extraction unit includes a pump casing, a liquid flow inlet, an air suction passage, and a liquid flow outlet. The liquid flow inlet is located on a first end within the pump casing, wherein the liquid flow inlet has a unidirectional liquid inflow valve. The air suction passage is located on a second end within the pump casing that is directly opposite to the first end, wherein the air suction passage is connected to the gas tube. The liquid flow outlet is positioned at the middle portion of the pump casing and attached substantially oblique to the pump casing, wherein the liquid flow outlet is connected to the liquid pipe and has a unidirectional liquid outflow valve. 
         [0006]    In another aspect related to simplifying the present invention&#39;s assembly structure and enhancing its reliability, the displacement crank includes a drive lever that is rotatably secured by a shaft mechanism onto the drive lever&#39;s middle portion to the gun-shaped housing, and wherein the drive lever has a first tip point resting on the gas bags and a second tip point resting on the trigger such that the first tip point advances while the second tip point retreats to press on the gas bags when the trigger is pulled. 
         [0007]    In another aspect related to simplifying the present invention&#39;s assembly structure and facilitating its operation, the air blast blower includes an air blower box, a fan installed inside the air blower box, and a gear transmission set placed on an exterior of the air blower box for motorizing the fan, wherein the trigger is secured by a shaft mechanism onto the air blower box, and the trigger contains on its interior a face gear component for coupling with and motorizing the gear transmission set. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is an isometric perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the bubble shooter toy according to the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an isometric component view of the bubble shooter toy taken from a first side of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is an isometric component view of the bubble shooter toy taken from a second side of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an orthographic view of the component configuration of a pocket-size liquid pump of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1-4 , shown therein are views of a preferred embodiment of the bubble shooter toy. The bubble shooter toy comprises a gun-shaped housing  1 , a trigger  2  disposed on a portion of the gun-shaped housing  1 , a liquid receptacle  3 , an air blast blower  4 , a muzzle installed at one end of the gun-shaped housing and defined by at least one bore  10  for discharging bubble, a liquid extraction unit  5  for passing a soapy solution from the liquid receptacle to the bore for discharging bubble. In one desirable configuration for the purpose of facilitating operation and simplifying the assembly structure of the present invention, the liquid extraction unit  5  aforementioned is an assembly characterized by a plurality of gas bags  51 , a micro liquid pump  52  enclosed within the liquid receptacle  3 , a gas tube  53  for connecting the plurality of gas bags  51  to the micro liquid pump  52 , a liquid pipe  54  for connecting the micro liquid pump  52  to the bore  10  at the muzzle, a displacement crank  55  that is actuated to press relatively on the plurality of gas bags  51  in association with the movement of the trigger  2 , a replacement spring  8  for restoring the displacement crank  55  to the displacement crank&#39;s  55  original position when the displacement crank  55  is relocated. During practice of the present invention, this design enables the displacement crank  55  to press on the gas bags  51  so as to discharge the gas therefrom when the trigger  2  is pulled, and the soapy solution is drawn out of the liquid receptacle  3  through the liquid pipe  54  to reach the bore  10  at the muzzle, wherein such movement is an after-effect resulting from a negative pressure formed when the trigger  2  is released, and thereby achieving the objective of liquid extraction. Noteworthy results from implementing such means of liquid extraction include easier user operation, simpler product manufacture, reduced production cost, and longer product life due to utilizing a mechanical system including components such as the trigger, displacement crank, and gas bags to replace the need for a motor-driven mechanism as disclosed in prior arts. 
         [0013]    In one aspect of the preferred embodiment, the design and arrangement of the bore  10  at the muzzle can be adjusted according to the user&#39;s requirement. For instance, the gas bags  51  can be structured to be circular and also of other desirable forms. 
         [0014]    In another aspect for effectively downsizing the volume of the present invention, the gas bags  51  are disposed adjacent to the air blast blower  4 , and have extendible mechanical structure, as shown in the drawings. 
         [0015]    Turning now to  FIG. 4 , showing another aspect of the micro liquid pump  52  for simplifying assembly structure, downsized volume, and lower production cost, the micro liquid pump  52  includes a pump casing  521 , a liquid flow inlet  522 , an air suction passage  523 , and a liquid flow outlet  524 . The liquid flow inlet  522  is located on a first end within the pump casing  521 , wherein the liquid flow inlet  522  has a unidirectional liquid inflow valve  525 . The air suction passage  523  is located on a second end within the pump casing  521  that is directly opposite to the first end, wherein the air suction passage  523  is connected to the gas tube  53 . The liquid flow outlet  524  is positioned at the middle portion of the pump casing  521  and attached substantially oblique to the pump casing  521 , wherein the liquid flow outlet  524  is connected to the liquid pipe  54  and has a unidirectional liquid outflow valve  526 . 
         [0016]    As a feasible measure to further reduce production cost, a bumper strip  527  can be installed within the pump casing  521  for blocking a movement of the unidirectional liquid inflow valve  525 , wherein the unidirectional liquid inflow valve  525  is arranged to traverse upwardly and rearwardly within the liquid flow inlet  525 . The unidirectional liquid outflow valve  526  is arranged to traverse horizontally within the liquid flow outlet  526 . 
         [0017]    In another aspect of the preferred embodiment for rendering the present invention easier to use and more reliable, the displacement crank  55  includes a drive lever  551  that is rotatably secured by a shaft mechanism onto the drive lever&#39;s  551  middle portion to the gun-shaped housing  1 , and wherein the drive lever  551  has a first tip point resting on the gas bags  51  and a second tip point resting on the trigger  2  such that the first tip point advances while the second tip point retreats to press on the gas bags  51  when the trigger  2  is pulled. Furthermore, the displacement crank  55  further includes a film drawing lever  552  which extends to reach the bore  10  at the muzzle and is arranged to traverse upwardly and rearwardly in dependence on the movement of the drive lever  551 . The drawing lever  552  moves upwardly when the drive lever  551  recedes, moves rearwardly so as to make the soapy solution form a layer of film at the bore  10  at the muzzle when the drive lever  551  restores to its original position after receding in response to the upward motion of the drawing lever  552 . The air blast blower  4  includes an air blower box  41 , a fan  42  installed inside the air blower box  41 , and a gear transmission set  43  placed on an exterior of the air blower box  41  for motorizing the fan  42 , wherein the trigger  2  is secured by a shaft mechanism onto the air blow box  41 . Furthermore, the trigger  2  contains on its interior a face gear  21  component for coupling with and motorizing the gear transmission set  43  so as to simplify the coupling mechanism between the trigger  2  and the gear transmission set  43 , and to facilitate operation of such device. 
         [0018]    The working principle supporting the operation of the preferred embodiment is hereby presented. As suggested in  FIG. 2  the drive lever  551  is positioned in front of the gas bags  51  when the trigger  2  is not pulled. The drive lever  551  does not press on the gas bags  51  while the trigger  2  is in its non-pulled state. The face gear  21 , which can be eclipse-shaped, interlocks with a gear component within the gear transmission set  43 . As suggested in  FIG. 3 , during the time when the trigger  2  is pulled, this interlock is therefore capable of setting the other gear components within the gear transmission  43  and the fan  42  in motion, wherein the fan  42  can consequently send air flow through the bore  10  at the muzzle to blow bubbles. Also benefiting from the same interlock between the trigger  2  and the gear transmission set  43  is that the face gear  21  contained in the trigger  2  can send one end of the driver lever  551  to advance forward, while also send an opposite end of the driver lever  551  to press on the gas bags  51 , resulting the gas bags  51  to release the gas therein to discharge through the gas tube  53 . During the time when the trigger  2  is released after being pulled, the trigger  2  returns to its original position before the strained state, and the drive lever  551  also returns to its original position before the strained state due to a replacement spring  8 , thereby removing the imposed pressure on the gas bags  51 . In the meantime, a negative pressure is created within the now-restored gas bags  51 , such pressure difference created therefrom draws the gas upward through the gas tube and the air suction passage  523 ; the unidirectional liquid inflow valve  525  within the liquid flow inlet  522  is moved upward under the siphoning effect within the air suction passage  523 . The soapy solution contained within the liquid receptacle  3  would then enter through the liquid flow inlet  522  into the pump casing  521 , and exits through the liquid flow outlet  524  to reach the bore  10  at the muzzle via the liquid pipe  54 . Bubbles are finally created at the bore  10  at the muzzle where bubbles are blown from the soapy solution by forces including the air flow from the fan  42  and the up-down movement of the drawing lever  552  that moderates the forming of the bubbles. In an attempt to avoid undesirable externalities, such as spilled soapy solution near the muzzle&#39;s bore  10  area, from affecting the normal operation of the present invention, a splash receiver  11  can be disposed below the bore  10 , the splash receiver  11  can be connected by a recycling spout  8  to the liquid receptacle  3 . 
         [0019]    In an aspect of the preferred embodiment, a decorative accessory  9  can be installed onto gun-shaped housing for aesthetic purposes. The accessory herein may include toy figures in the forms including animal pets, and other desirable subjects. 
         [0020]    It is understood that this preferred embodiment of the present invention offers consumer-satisfactory advantages including assembly structure simplicity, product endurance, easy-to-use operation, long product life, low production and utility cost. 
         [0021]    The preferred embodiment described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following claims.