Patent Publication Number: US-2006009114-A1

Title: Liquid ejector and toy vehicle incorporating the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Water ejection toys in the form of a gun or pistol for example, are popular to children and youngsters, whether it be on the beach or in the garden. Players run around and after one another to shoot others.  
      The invention seeks to provide an improved liquid ejector for use on a toy vehicle that would increase the fun of play.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      According to the invention, there is provided a liquid ejector for use on a toy vehicle, comprising a reservoir for containing a liquid and having a nozzle associated therewith through which liquid in the reservoir can be ejected out. A pumping device is associated with the reservoir, which includes an operator for operating the pumping device to pressurize liquid in the reservoir for ejecting the same out through the nozzle. An actuator actuates the operator. The actuator is in driving engagement with a rotatable part of said vehicle, such that upon action of said vehicle the actuator simultaneously actuates the operator to operate the pumping device for ejecting liquid in the reservoir out through the nozzle.  
      Preferably, the actuator is connectable to said rotating part for simultaneous movement therewith.  
      More preferably, the actuator is mountable on said rotating part for simultaneous rotation therewith.  
      Further more preferably, the actuator and the operator are in engagement with each other through a cam for simultaneous motion through a cam action.  
      Yet further more preferably, the actuator includes a cam track, and the operator comprises a cam follower in sliding engagement with the cam track for simultaneous motion thereby.  
      Yet further more preferably, the cam track comprises a looped groove, and the cam follower is engaged slidably in the groove.  
      In a specific construction, the pumping device includes a cylinder and a piston in the cylinder, and the operator is slidable linearly in opposite directions to set the piston in reciprocation along the cylinder.  
      It is preferred that the reservoir is provided by a container which is connected to the pumping device by means of a tubular passage.  
      It is preferred that the nozzle is connected to the reservoir by means of a tubular passage.  
      It is further preferred that the nozzle is mountable on a front part of said vehicle.  
      The invention also provides a toy vehicle incorporating the aforesaid liquid ejector, including a rotatable part in driving engagement with the actuator.  
      Preferably, the toy vehicle includes a body, in that the reservoir is mounted on the body and the pumping device is mounted adjacent the actuator for operation thereby.  
      Preferably, the toy vehicle includes a body and a plurality of wheels attached to the body for running on a surface, in that the rotatable part comprises one of the wheels. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a liquid ejector used on a toy vehicle in accordance with the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the liquid ejector and a front wheel of the vehicle of  FIG. 1 ; and  
       FIG. 3  is a series of four views each similar to  FIG. 2 , illustrating the operation of the liquid ejector in sequence. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to the drawings, there is shown a toy vehicle in the form of a tricycle  10  incorporating a liquid ejector  100  embodying the invention. The tricycle  10  has a body frame  11  which supports a seat  12  thereon and to which a pair of rear wheels  13  is attached for running on a surface, and includes a front fork  14 . The fork  14  has a pair of left and right poles  15  which provides a pair of top steering handles  16  and mounts a front wheel  17  therebetween driven by a pair of pedals  18 . To sum up, the tricycle  10  has a typical construction.  
      Turning to the liquid ejector  100 , it comprises a bottle  110  acting as a reservoir for partially containing water (or any other liquid), a pump  120  for pressurizing the water in the bottle  110 , and an actuator  130  for driving the pump  120 .  
      The bottle  110  is mounted right below the tricycle body frame  11 . It has a capped uppermost mouth  111  through which there are extended first and second tubes  112  and  113 . The first tube  112  has an inner end that extends right down to near the bottom of the bottle  110  so that the end is always submerged in water. The second tube  113  has an inner end that extends just into the mouth  111  and stays above the water, being exposed to the air in the bottle  110 .  
      The bottle  110  is associated with a nozzle  115  which is connected thereto by the first tube  112  and is mounted at the top end of the fork  14  between the two handles  16 . The nozzle  115  together with the frontmost end of the tube  112  connected thereto is enclosed in a casing  116 , in which there is a pushbutton  117  having a lower part that provides a valve member  117  underneath the tube  112 . The pushbutton  117  is spring-loaded upwards to urge the valve member  118  against the tube  112  so as to press it flat to close the passage therethrough, whereby the nozzle  115  is normally shut. Depression of the pushbutton  117  will lower the valve member  118  to release the tube  112  and thus “open” the nozzle  115  to allow water to be ejected through it.  
      The pump  120  is mounted on one pole  15  of the fork  14 . It has a cylinder  121 , an internal piston  122  slidable therealong in reciprocation, and an operating rod  123  which extends out from the piston  122  and is slidable linearly in opposite directions to operate the pump  120 . The cylinder  121  is connected to the bottle  110  by means of the second tube  113 , such that both interiors are in communication with each other. An outer end  124  of the operating rod  123  is provided with a roller  125 .  
      The actuator  130  has a disc body  131  which has a diameter smaller than that of the front wheel  17  and is connected or mounted co-axially flat on one side of the wheel  17  for simultaneous rotation therewith. The disc body  131  is formed, on its outer side, a looped groove  132  which is situated at an off-center position relative to the axis of rotation of the wheel  17  or is otherwise non-circular.  
      The groove  132  and the pump  120  are located next to each other, with the end  124  and the roller  125  of the piston rod  123  slidably engaged in the groove  132 . The groove  132  acts as a cam track whilst the rod end  124  a cam follower such that, upon rotation of the front wheel  17 , the groove  132  turns to set the piston rod  123  into simultaneous linear reciprocation through a cam action to operate the pump  120 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 .  
      Via the second tube  113 , the pump  120  pressurizes the air and in turn the water in the bottle  110 . The pressure inside the bottle  110  will gradually build up as the tricycle  10  runs. A check valve may be installed for example at the bottle  110  to avoid over pressure. Upon depression of the pushbutton  117 , the nozzle  115  is “opened” to allow water to be transferred from the bottle  110  via the first tube  112  to the nozzle  115  and ejected therefrom, in a direction at which the nozzle  115  is pointed by the player.  
      The essence of the subject invention lies in the actuator  130  being in driving engagement with a rotating part, e.g. the front wheel  17 , of the tricycle  10 , whereby the action (motion) of the tricycle  10  is utilized to simultaneously drive the pump  120  and hence the ejector  100  to eject water for fun in a combatant game for example.  
      It is envisaged that any other rotating parts of the tricycle  10  can be used to operate the ejector  100 , such as one of the rear wheels  13  or the pedals  18 . The subject ejector  100  may be sold separately, and it may be used on any other types of toy vehicle, such as a four-wheel car.  
      The invention has been given by way of example only, and various other modification of and/or alterations to the described embodiment may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as specified in the appended claims.