Patent Publication Number: US-8991373-B2

Title: Toy crossbow projectile launcher with extendable body and safety release

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/455,281 filed May 19, 2013. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     In general, the present invention relates to toy crossbow systems that project toy arrows into flight. More particularly, the present invention relates to the structure of toy projectile launchers and the mechanisms for loading and releasing projectiles. 
     2. Prior Art Description 
     Crossbows that are designed for child&#39;s play have existed since the Middle Ages. In the modern era, toy crossbows typically have a plastic molded body and an elastic string. The string is drawn along a rail on the toy&#39;s body and is locked to a trigger. Arrows, sometimes referred to as “bolts”, are launched by placing the arrow on the rail in front of the drawn string. The trigger is released, therein causing the string to move forward and propel the arrow into flight. 
     Due to the nature of its design, any crossbow, including toy crossbows, are capable of launching most any object that is placed on the rail in front of the string. Although a toy crossbow may be sold with safety projectiles, a child can easily launch a stick or a metal-cast toy model with equal ease. It will therefore be understood that even toy crossbows can become dangerous if loaded with unsafe projectiles and used in an unwise fashion. 
     Another problem with toy crossbows is their tendency to misfire after being used for a period of time. Toy crossbows mostly have an all-plastic construction. In most crossbow designs, the string of the crossbow must be drawn and set into the trigger catch before the projectile is set in place. This produces a significant amount of wear against the plastic trigger catch. As the plastic trigger catch begins to wear, it diminishes in size. This tends to cause the string to slip from the trigger catch and fire before the projectile is set or before the projectile can be directed toward a safe target. Consequently, the toy crossbow can become an unsafe product. 
     A need therefore exists for a toy crossbow design that enables the toy crossbow to shoot only the safety projectiles that are packaged with the toy crossbow. Furthermore, a need exists for a crossbow design that improves the trigger mechanism in a manner that inhibits misfiring. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a toy projectile launcher assembly in the form of a crossbow. The crossbow launches safety projectiles. Only authorized safety projectiles that are packaged with the toy can be launched. The crossbow is incapable of firing ordinary objects, even arrows, that are unauthorized. 
     The toy crossbow has a launcher body of a predetermined length. The launcher body has a handle at a first end and diverging support arms at an opposite second end. An adjustment mechanism is contained within the launcher body for selectively adjusting the predetermined length of the launcher body. This selectively controls the draw length needed to load projectiles. 
     The crossbow has diverging support arms. Bow arms are attached to the support arms. The bow arms pivot from retracted positions to extended positions when a projectile is loaded into the toy crossbow. Furthermore, the toy crossbow has elastic loops in place of a drawstring. The elastic loops can only engage specialized safety projectiles that have side hooks for engaging the elastic loops. 
     The trigger mechanism provided with the toy crossbow also can only engage the safety projectiles provided with the toy. The safety projectiles have rear tabs with keyholes. The trigger mechanism provides a catch that fits into the keyhole and engages the projectile to hold it in a loaded position. Projectiles without the specific tab and keyhole cannot be loaded into the toy crossbow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a toy crossbow assembly and safety projectile in combination; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the combination of  FIG. 1  having the projectile loaded into the toy crossbow assembly; and 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the laucher body of the toy crossbow assembly showing the internal length adjustment mechanism and trigger mechanism. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Although the present invention toy crossbow can be embodied in many ways, only one exemplary embodiment of the present invention toy crossbow is illustrated. The exemplary embodiment has been selected in order to set forth the best mode contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiment, however, is merely exemplary and should not be considered a limitation when interpreting the scope of the appended claims. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  in conjunction with  FIG. 2 , a first exemplary embodiment of a toy crossbow assembly  10  is shown. The toy crossbow assembly  10  has a complex body  12  that enables the body  12  to be selectively configured into different shapes as the toy crossbow assembly  10  is loaded, cocked and fired. The body  12  includes a Y-shaped section  14 . The Y-shaped section  14  has a hollow base  16  that leads into two diverging support arms  18 . The hollow base  16  extends along a linear first axis  20 . The two support arms  18  curve upwardly above the first axis  20  as they diverge. 
     A pivot post  22  extends upwardly from each of the support arms  18 . The pivot posts  22  are parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the line of the first axis  20 . 
     The crossbow body  12  also contains a handle section  24 . The handle section  24  has a straight segment  26  that is sized to pass into the hollow base  16  of the Y-shaped section  14  in a telescoping manner. As will later be explained in more detail, the straight segment  26  can move reciprocally within the hollow base  16  of the Y-shaped section  14 . Furthermore, the straight segment  26  can be selectively locked into place within the hollow base  16  at different points. As such, the body  12  of the toy crossbow assembly  10  has an overall body length that can be selectively altered by advancing and retreating the straight segment  26  of the handle section  24  into, and out of, the hollow base  16  of the Y-shaped section  14 . 
     Two crossbow arms  30  are provided. Each of the crossbow arms  30 , has a first end  28 , a second end  29 , and a pivot hole  32  disposed near the first end  28 . The pivot hole  32  is sized to pass onto the pivot post  22  that extends vertically from the Y-shaped section  14  of the crossbow body  12 . Once the pivot holes  32  of a crossbow arms  30  are connected to the pivot posts  22 , the crossbow arms  30  are free to rotate about the pivot posts  22  through a limited range. The range of rotational movement is controlled by mechanical stops  34  that are formed into the Y-shaped section  14  of the body  12  and the crossbow arms  30 . The mechanical stops  34  enable a rotational range of motion of between seventy degrees and 110 degrees. This enables the crossbow arms  30  to pivot about the pivot posts  22  from a fully retracted position to a fully extended position. In the fully retracted position, such as is shown in  FIG. 1 , the crossbow arms  30  are generally aligned in parallel with the first axis  20  of the handle section  24  of the body  12 . Conversely, when the crossbow arms  30  are in the fully extended position, such as is shown in  FIG. 3 , the crossbow arms  30  rotate to an orientation that is near perpendicular to the first axis  20  of the handle section  24 . 
     A torsion spring  35  is provided around each of the pivot posts  22 . The torsion springs  35  provide a spring bias to the crossbow arms  30  that bias the crossbow arms  30  into the fully retracted position shown in  FIG. 1 . It will therefore be understood that when the crossbow arms  30  are moved to the fully extended position, such as is shown in  FIG. 3 , the torsion springs  35  are moved against their bias and store spring energy. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  in conjunction with both  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that elastic loops  36  extend from first ends  28  of the crossbow arms  30 . The elastic loops  36  are fabricated from an elastic material, such as rubber tubing, or an elastomeric material such as a TPR polymer. When the crossbow arms  30  are in the fully retracted position, the two elastic loops  36  extend near each other at the front of the toy crossbow assembly  10 . 
     The toy crossbow assembly  10  is part of an overall toy system that includes specially formed safety projectiles  40 . Each safety projectile  40  is a simulated arrow that has a head  42 , a shaft  44  and a tail  46 . The head  42  of each safety projectile  40  is preferably made of a foam rubber or similar low-density polymer formulation for safety. The head  42  of the safety projectile  40  can be blunt or can be formed as a suction cup. 
     Hooks  48  are formed on the head  42  of the safety projectile  40  near the rear of the head  42 . The hooks  48  extend from opposite sides of the head  42 . The shaft  44  extends from the head  42  to the rear of the overall projectile  40 . At the rear of the safety projectile  40 , the shaft terminates with a flattened tab  50 . On the flattened tab  50  is formed one or more key holes  52 . The key holes  52  preferably have a complex shape in the form of a complex polygon or an asymmetrical polygon. The complex shape of the key holes  52  helps ensure that only the safety projectile  40  is loadable into the toy crossbow assembly  10 , as is explained below. 
     From  FIG. 3 , it can be seen that in order to load the safety projectile  40  into the toy crossbow assembly  10 , the hooks  48  on the safety projectile  40  are engaged with the elastic loops  36 . The safety projectile  40  is then pulled in the direction of the first axis  20  until the tab  52  of the projectile  40  reaches a protruding catch  54 . The protruding catch  54  is straight, yet has a cross-sectional profile that matches the complex shape of the key hole  52  on the tab  50  of the safety projectile  40 . This enables the protruding catch  54  to pass into the key hole  52  and mechanically engage the tab  50  of the safety projectile  40 . If a projectile does not have a key hole or a key hole of the proper shape, then the protruding catch  54  would have no be able to engage the projectile. It will therefore be understood that the protruding catch  54  is specific to the safety projectile  40  provided and will not engage sticks, tinker toys, arrows from other toys, or any other unsafe projectile. 
     As the hooks  48  from the safety projectile  40  engage the elastic loops  36 , the safety projectile  40  applies tension to the elastic loops  36  and begins to stretch the elastic loops  36 . As tension is applied to the elastic loops  36 , the elastic loops  36  cause the crossbow arms  30  to pivot about the pivot posts  22  and rotate from the fully retracted position toward the fully extended position. The safety projectile  40  eventually is connected to the protruding catch  54 . Once the safety projectile  40  is engaged with the protruding catch  54 , the toy crossbow assembly  10  is loaded, cocked, and ready for firing. 
     The velocity at which the safety projectile  40  is launched is directly proportional to the tension experienced by the elastic loops  36 . The greater the tension, the more energy is stored by the elastic loops  36  and the greater the release velocity. To selectively control the tension in the elastic loops  36 , the handle section  24  of the body  12  can be extended. As has been previously mentioned, the handle section  24  of the crossbow body  12  is reciprocally extendable from the Y-shaped section  14 . By extending the handle section  24 , the protruding catch  54  can be moved farther away from the elastic loops  36 . Consequently, the elastic loops  36  are forced to stretch longer as the handle section  24  is extended on the toy crossbow assembly  10 . 
     By providing a handle section  24  that can be selectively extended, the launching power of the toy crossbow assembly  10  can be controlled by the user. The toy crossbow assembly  10  can therefore be adjusted for both safe indoor play and outdoor play. Likewise, the launching power can be adjusted for use with safety projectiles  40  of different weights. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  in conjunction with  FIG. 2 , an exemplary trigger mechanism  60  and exemplary length adjustment mechanism  70  for the toy crossbow assembly  10  are shown. The length adjustment mechanism  70  is a simple pivot latch. A button  72  is provided on the exterior of the Y-shaped section  14 . The button  72  depresses a spring loaded latch  74  when depressed. The latch  74  engages ridges  76  on the straight segment  26  of the handle section  24 . The latch  74  is disengaged when the button  72  is pressed. This enables the straight segment  26  to freely move back and forth within the Y-shaped section  14 . Once adjusted to the proper overall length, the button  72  is released. 
     The trigger mechanism  60  includes a trigger pull  62 . The protruding catch  54  is set in a slot and is biased into its protruding condition by a spring  64 . When the trigger pull  62  is manually depressed, the trigger pull  62  moves a cam finger  66 . The cam finger  66  engages the protruding catch  54  and moves the protruding catch  54  against the bias of the spring  64 . This causes the top of the protruding catch  54  to retract into the handle section  24  and disengage any safety projectile  40  it may have been retaining. 
     It is preferred that the trigger mechanism  60  also contains a safety lock  68  that prevents the trigger mechanism  60  from being inadvertently activated. The preferred safety lock  68  has a secondary finger pull  69 . In order to pull the main trigger pull  62 , the secondary finger pull  69  must first be manually pulled. If not pulled, the safety lock  68  prevents the primary trigger pull  62  from moving when pulled. 
     Referring to all figures, it will be understood that in order to utilize the crossbow assembly  10 , a person takes the crossbow assembly  10  and maneuvers the safety projectile  40  until the hooks  48  on the safety projectile  40  engage the elastic loops  36 . Only a projectile with properly spaced hooks will work to engage the elastic loops  36 . This interconnects the safety projectile  40  with the elastomeric loops  36  of the toy crossbow assembly  10 . The safety projectile  40  is then manually grasped and pulled rearwardly along the first axis  20 . This causes the elastic loops  36  to stretch and store energy. It also causes the crossbow arms  30  to rotate against the spring bias of the torsion springs  35  and store further energy. The tab  50  of the safety projectile  40  is then engaged with the protruding catch  54  of the trigger mechanism  60 . Again, only a projectile with the properly configured tab will be able to engage the protruding catch  54 . 
     The tension in the elastic loops  36  can be increased by extending the handle section  24  of the crossbow body  12 . This increases the overall length L 1  of the body  12  and makes the elastic loops  36  stretch farther. Once a desired degree of stretch is applied to the elastic loops  36 , the trigger mechanism  60  is primed by pressing the secondary finger pull  69  of the safety lock  68 . The toy crossbow assembly  10  is then aimed and the primary trigger pull  62  is engaged. This retracts the protruding catch  54  and releases the safety projectile  40  into flight. 
     It will be understood that the embodiment of the present invention that is illustrated and described is merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to that embodiment. For instance, the bow structure can have many different ornamental shapes. Likewise, the arrow projectiles can be configured as airplanes, rocket ships or any other flying projectile. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.