Patent Publication Number: US-2015059721-A1

Title: Rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a rotating-force adjusting device, and more particularly to a rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun that can be used to adjust a rotating force of a pellet that is mounted in the toy gun. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A conventional toy gun has a gun body and a mounting tube. The mounting tube is hollow, is mounted in the gun body and has an inlet end, an ejecting end, an internal surface and a pressing block. The pressing block is formed on and protrudes from the internal surface of the mounting tube and has a thickness, a first end and a second end. The first end of the pressing block is formed at the inlet end of the mounting tube, and the second end of the pressing block is formed at the ejecting end of the mounting tube. The thickness of the pressing block is gradually thickened from the first end to the second end of the pressing block. When a pellet mounted in the gun body is ejected out of the conventional toy gun, the thickness difference of the pressing block from the first end to the second end of the pressing block can provide a pressing pressure to the pellet, and this can provide a rotating force to the pellet to increase the ejection stroke of the pellet. 
     However, the pressing block of the mounting tube of the conventional toy gun can only provide a single pressing pressure to the pellet, and the pellet can only be ejected by the conventional toy gun with a specific rotating force and a specific stroke. Then, a user cannot adjust the rotating force and the range of the pellet of the conventional toy gun according to the user&#39;s need. 
     To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the present invention is to provide a rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun that can be used to adjust a rotating force of a pellet that is mounted in the toy gun. 
     The rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in accordance with the present invention has a gun body, a mounting tube, a driven element and a driving element. The gun body has an outer shell and an inner barrel. The mounting tube is mounted around the inner barrel and has a pressing block. The driven element is mounted in the outer shell, is pressed against the mounting tube and has an extending wing. The extending wing is formed on and protrudes curvedly from an upper end of the driven element and has a protruding post above the pressing block. The driving element is movably mounted in the outer shell, is pressed against the extending wing and has a main body, a turning tab and a guiding groove. 
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in accordance with the present invention, shown with a pellet mounted in the toy gun; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view in partial section of the rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front side view in partial section of the rotating-force adjusting device in  FIG. 3  along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an operational side view of the rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a front operational side view in partial section of the rotating-force adjusting device in  FIG. 6  along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a rotating-force adjusting device for a toy gun in accordance with the present invention comprises a gun body  40 , a mounting tube  10 , a driven element  20  and a driving element  30 . 
     The gun body  40  has an outer shell, an outer barrel  43  and an inner barrel  44 . 
     The outer shell is composed by two half-shells that are respectively a first half-shell  41  and a second half-shell  42 . With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the first half-shell  41  has a mounting segment, a barrel segment, an internal surface, a positioning recess  45  and a holding recess  46 . The positioning recess  45  is formed in the internal surface of the first half-shell  41  at the mounting segment of the first half-shell  41 . The holding recess  46  is formed in the internal surface of the first half-shell  41  at the mounting segment of the first half-shell  41  between the positioning recess  45  and the barrel segment of the first half-shell  41 . 
     The second half-shell  42  is detachably connected to the first half-shell  41  and has a barrel segment, a mounting segment, an internal surface, an external surface and an adjusting slot  47 . The barrel segment of the second half-shell  42  is connected to the barrel segment of the first half-shell  41 . The mounting segment of the second half-shell  42  is connected to the mounting segment of the first half-shell  41 . The adjusting slot  47  is elongated, is formed through the internal surface and the external surface of the second half-shell  42  at the mounting segment of the second half-shell  42 , and the adjusting slot  47  has an upper end, a lower end and multiple engaging teeth  471 . With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the engaging teeth  471  are formed on and protruding from the internal surface of the second half-shell  42  beside the adjusting slot  47 . 
     The outer barrel  43  is mounted around the barrel segments of the half-shells  41 ,  42  and abuts the mounting segments of the half-shells  41 ,  42 . 
     The inner barrel  44  is mounted in the outer barrel  43  and has an inner end extending to the mounting segments of the half-shells  41 ,  42 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the mounting tube  10  is hollow, is elastically deformable and is mounted around the inner end of the inner barrel  44  between the half-shells  41 ,  42 . The mounting tube  10  has an external surface, an internal surface, a top segment, a positioning protrusion  11  and a pressing block  12 . The positioning protrusion  11  is formed on and protrudes from the external surface of the mounting tube  10  and is mounted securely in the positioning recess  45  of the first half-shell  41  to hold the mounting tube  10  between the half-shells  41 ,  42 . The pressing block  12  is formed on and protrudes downwardly from the internal surface of the mounting tube  10  at the top segment of the mounting tube  10 . 
     The driven element  20  is mounted in the mounting segment of the first half-shell  41 , is pressed against the mounting tube  10  and has an inner side, an outer side, an upper end, a lower end, an extending wing  21  and a holding segment  23 . The inner side of the driven element  20  faces the external surface of the mounting tube  10 . The outer side of the driven element  20  faces the internal surface of the first half-shell  41 . 
     The extending wing  21  is elastic, is formed on and protrudes curvedly from the upper end of the driven element  20  and extends to the top segment of the mounting tube  10 . The extending wing  21  has a free end, a bottom side, a top side and a protruding post  22 . The free end of the extending wing  21  extends to the top segment of the mounting tube  10 . The protruding post  22  is formed on and protrudes downwardly from the bottom side of the extending wing  21  at the free end above the pressing block  12  of the mounting tube  10 . 
     The holding segment  23  is formed in the outer side of the driven element  20  at the lower end of the driven element  20  and is securely mounted in the holding recess  46  of the first half-shell  41 . 
     The driving element  30  is movably mounted in the second half-shell  42 , is pressed against the extending wing  21  of the driven element  20  and has a main body  31 , a turning tab  34  and a guiding groove  35 . The main body  31  is movably mounted in the second half-shell  42  and has an inner side, an outer side, a bottom end  32  and a top end  33 . The inner side of the main body  31  faces the external surface of the mounting tube  10 . The outer side of the main body  31  faces the internal surface of the second half-shell  42 . The top end  33  of the main body  31  extends above the top side of the extending wing  21  to enable the inner side of the main body  31  at the top end  33  to press against the top side of the extending wing  21 . 
     The turning tab  34  is formed on and protrudes from the outer side of the main body  31  near the bottom end  32  of the main body  31 , is movably connected to the second half-shell  42  and extends out of the external surface of the second half-shell  42  via the adjusting slot  47 . With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the turning tab  34  has an engaging protrusion  341 . The engaging protrusion  341  is formed on and protrudes from the outer side of the main body  31  adjacent to the turning tab  34  and selectively engages one of the engaging teeth  471  of the adjusting slot  47  to adjust the position of the main body  31  relative to the driven element  20 , the mounting tube  10  and the second half-shell  42 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the guiding groove  35  is formed in the inner side of the main body  31  from the top end  33  to the bottom end  32  of the main body  31  for mounting the main body  31  around the extending wing  21  of the driven element  20  and to enable the main body  31  to press against the internal surface of the first shell  41  and the extending wing  21 , and the guiding groove  35  has a depth gradually deepened from the bottom end  32  to the top end  33  of the main body  31 . In other words, the depth of the guiding groove  35  at the top end  33  of the main body  31  is deeper than the depth of the guiding groove  35  at the bottom end  32  of the main body  31 . 
     In use, with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , a pellet  50  is mounted between the mounting tube  10  and the inner end of the inner barrel  44 , and the pressing pressure of the pressing block  12  that is pressed against the pellet  50  is provided by the main body  31  pressing against the extending wing  21  to enable the protruding post  22  to press against the top segment of the mounting tube  10 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , when the turning tab  34  is held on the lower end of the adjusting slot  47  by the engaging protrusion  341  engaging one of the engaging teeth  471  at the lower end of the adjusting slot  47 , the main body  31  is pressed against the extending wing  21  near the top end  33  of the main body  31 . With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , when the turning tab  34  is pushed upwardly relative to the second half-shell  42  along the adjusting slot  47  and is held in the adjusting slot  47  near the upper end of the adjusting slot  47  by the engaging protrusion  341  engaging one of the engaging teeth  471  near the upper end of the adjusting slot  47 , the top end  33  of the main body  31  is moved on and across the protruding post  22  of the extending wing  21  and the main body  31  is pressed against the extending wing  21  between the top end  33  and the bottom end  32  of the main body  31  to enable the top segment of the mounting tube  10  to deform to press against the pellet  50 . 
     According to the above-mentioned operation of the turning tab  34 , because the depth of the guiding groove  35  at the top end  33  of the main body  31  is deeper than the depth of the guiding groove  35  at the bottom end  32  of the main body  31 , the pressing pressure of the pressing block  12  when the top end  33  of the main body  31  is moved on and across the protruding post  22  of the extending wing  21  is larger than the pressing pressure of pressing block  12  when the top end  33  of the main body  31  is moved above the protruding post  22  of the extending wing  21 . 
     With the gradual changes in depth of the guiding groove  35 , the main body  31  of the driving element  30  can provide different pressing pressures to the pellet  50  via the protruding post  22  of the extending wing  21  and the pressing block  12  of the mounting tube  10 . Furthermore, the pellet  50  can receive different pressing pressures from the pressing block  12  of the mounting tube  10 , when the toy gun is fired, the rotating force and the ejection stroke of the pellet  50  vary with the changes of the pressing pressure. In other words, when the pellet  50  receives a larger pressing pressure from the pressing block  12 , the toy gun can provide a larger rotating force and a longer ejection stroke to the pellet  50 . 
     Consequently, because the depth of the guiding groove  35  is different from the top end  33  to the bottom end  32  of the main body  31 , a user can adjust the rotating force and the ejection stroke of the pellet  50  between the mounting tube  10  and the inner barrel  44  by pushing the turning tab  34  relative to the second half-shell  42  along the adjusting slot  47  to provide different pressing pressures to the pellet  50  via the main body  31 , the protruding post  22  of the extending wing  21 , and the pressing block  12  of the mounting tube  10 . The pellet  50  can be ejected by the toy gun with different rotating forces and different ejection strokes according to the user&#39;s need. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.