Abstract:
An automatic bubble/water gun employs an arrangement of gears and linkages to continuously produce bubbles. The components of the bubble/water gun are grouped by function and pre-assembled before installation into a bubble/water gun housing. An electric motor imparts motion to the gears and linkages so long as a trigger switch is closed. The bubble/water gun also includes a manually operated water gun. The water gun employs a manually operated water pump to produce a stream of water in addition to the automatic bubble-producing function.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates generally to toys and more particularly to a hand-held toy that dispenses soap bubbles and/or squirts a stream of water.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Bubble-producing toys in the form of a pistol or rifle are known. Such toys are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,498,191 and 5,613,890. The prior art bubble-producing toys described in the above patents are dedicated to a bubble-producing function and are not equipped to function as a squirt gun or other type of toy. The fluid transferring tubes inside the toys described in the &#39;191 and &#39;890 patents are simple overlapping connections without means for securing one plastic tube to another. This frequently results in internal leakage of the soap solution within the toy. Soap solution accumulates within the toy and eventually leaks from the toy. Soap solution leakage can result in damage to furniture, carpeting and clothing. Many of the internal components of the prior art bubble-producing toys are individually installed into a plastic housing. Assembly of individual components into the housing is time consuming, labor intensive and increases the cost of production.  
         [0003]     The &#39;191 and &#39;890 patents disclose a bubble-forming arrangement in which a sleeve is provided with a flow of air and a supply of soap solution. A wiper bar biased into contact with an outer end of the sleeve is moved across the sleeve opening to spread a film of soap solution. The film of soap solution spread by the wiper bar is inflated by the flow of air and forms bubbles. The &#39;191 and &#39;890 patents disclose that the wiper bar is manually activated by a trigger mechanism. Thus, the speed at which the wiper bar is passed across the sleeve opening to form a film of bubble solution is not controlled and is frequently too fast or too slow to form an acceptable film.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     A bubble/water gun according to aspects of the present invention includes a fluid reservoir in the form of a slender vertical cylinder, which acts as the handle of the pistol-shaped toy. The body of the bubble/water gun sits atop the reservoir and is configured to resemble a futuristic pistol. The bubble-related functions of the bubble/water gun are produced by a gear train driven by a battery powered electric motor.  
         [0005]     Functionally related components are grouped into subassemblies. For example, most electric components, such as the batteries, trigger switch and motor, etc., are included in an electric subassembly. Most bubble-related components, such as the reservoir, water pipes and soap solution pump, are included in a bubble-related subassembly. Water gun related components, such as the water container, water pump and associated tubing, are arranged in a water gun related subassembly. Each subassembly is pre-assembled and connected to other subassemblies to form a main assembly. The main assembly is then installed into the housing of the bubble/water gun. This method of assembly reduces the complexity and improves the efficiency for manufacturing the bubble/water gun.  
         [0006]     An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved, fully automatic bubble making toy gun.  
         [0007]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved toy bubble/water gun of improved function and manufacturing efficiency.  
         [0008]     A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved is bubble gun with an additional water gun function.  
         [0009]     A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bubble/water gun with superior fluid retention properties. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a side sectional view of an embodiment of the bubble/water gun according to aspects of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top sectional view of the bubble/water gun of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0012]      FIGS. 2B and 2D  are enlarged side and end sectional views, respectively, of a water gun plunger and pump on the right side of the bubble/water gun according to aspects of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIGS. 2C and 2E  are enlarged side and end sectional views, respectively, of the bubble gun trigger and switch on the left side of the bubble/water gun according to aspects of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged sectional view of a reinforced fluid connection according to aspects of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a top sectional view of the bubble/water gun of  FIG. 1  showing the key parts operating to form bubbles;  
         [0016]      FIGS. 5 and 5 A are side and top sectional views of the bubble/water gun of  FIG. 1  showing the key parts operating to form bubbles;  
         [0017]      FIGS. 6 and 6 A are side and top sectional views of the bubble/water gun of  FIG. 1  illustrating one phase of bubble production; and  
         [0018]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are top and side sectional views of the bubble/water gun of  FIG. 1  at a further stage of bubble production. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]     A preferred embodiment of the bubble/water gun  100  according to aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.  1 - 7 A. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the bubble/water gun  100  is configured in the shape of a futuristic pistol. A cylindrical reservoir  62  serves as a handle for the bubble/water gun  100  and also holds a soap solution for making bubbles. The main body of the bubble/water gun is comprised of upper and lower molded plastic parts  2 ,  3 . A water container  82  is arranged in the rear part of the housing. The water container is molded in upper and loser plastic parts  1 ,  4 . The cylindrical soap reservoir  62  has a threaded top configured to engage a receptacle  7  defined on the bottom surface of body part  3 .  
         [0020]     An aspect of the bubble/water gun relates to its modular design. Components related to a particular function are grouped into a module, or unit, and pre-assembled. For example, electric components, such as the battery compartment with its battery contacts  8 ,  9  and electric motor  10  are part of the electric module. Water gun related components, such as the water container  82 , tubing  65  and push knob  41 , are part of the water module. There are four subassemblies: bubble related, water gun related, electric and mechanical.  
         [0021]     Mechanical moving parts such as the gears  50 - 55 ,  28  and  29  are provided in a gear box having upper and lower molded parts  57 ,  56 . Mechanical linkages  17 ,  18 , and  19  together with the gear box and external gears  28 ,  29  form the mechanical subassembly. According to aspects of the present invention, each functional subassembly is pre-assembled before being combined with the other subassemblies into a main assembly without the housing  2 ,  3 . Finally, the main assembly is installed into the housing  2 ,  3 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  shows a sectional view through the gear box  90  of the mechanical subassembly. In the gear box  90  there are axles or pins  58 ,  59 ,  60 ,  61  about which the gears rotate. Also shown is a motor cover plate  6  which fixes the position of the motor  10  and an arm adapter  16  which supports the moving parts of the mechanism. On the bottom of the lower housing part  3  there are two battery contacts  8 ,  9  and a battery chamber door  5 . On the upper portion of the body housing  2  is a removable detail plate  15  used to see or gain access to the mechanism inside the housing.  
         [0023]     According to aspects of the present invention, the bubble-producing function of the bubble/water gun is automatically coordinated mechanically by gears  50 - 55 ,  28  and  29  which are driven by the motor  10 . An electric is switch  37  is closed, allowing electricity from the battery to flow to the motor  10  and produce rotation at gear  52 . Gear  52  in turn imparts rotation to gears  51  and  53 . Gear  51  drives gear  50  connected to the fan  49  to produce a flow of air for blowing bubbles. Gear  53  produces rotational motion of gears  54 ,  55 ,  28  and  29 . As best shown in  FIG. 7A , upper gear  29  includes a protrusion at its periphery engaged with a slot in reciprocating element  17 . Reciprocating element  17  is coupled to left and right arms  18 ,  19  arranged to translate the reciprocating movement of element  17  into up and down movement. Arms  18 ,  19  move the wiper bar up and down across the opening of the bubble nozzle  80 . The soap solution pump includes two revolving rollers  26  and  27  and gear  28 . When gear  28  rotates, it imparts rotation to rollers  26  and  27 . The elastic tubing  64  containing soap solution is thus intermittently compressed by the two revolving rollers  26  and  27 , forming a roller pump as is known in the art. The pump draws soap solution from the reservoir  62  and delivers it to the bubble nozzle  80 . The soap solution is spread into a film across the bubble nozzle  80  by a wiper bar as is known in the art.  
         [0024]     Closure of switch  37  initiates all functions for bubble production including pumping, blowing of air and wiper blade motion across the bubble-producing nozzle. A mechanically coordinated bubble-production system as disclosed herein is less expensive and more reliable than comparable electronically controlled toys. Parts  11  and  12  gather excess soap solution from the bubble nozzle  80  and return the excess solution to the reservoir  62  via tube  63 .  
         [0025]     An aspect of the present invention relates to a separate water gun function. A water container  82  molded in two parts  1 ,  4  is arranged in a rear part of the housing  2 ,  3 . A water tube (not numbered) extends from the water container  82  to a water pump  44  shown in  FIG. 2B . A water pump knob  41  actuates the water pump  44 . Pressure on the knob operates the water pump  44  in a manner similar to a conventional squirt gun. Hose  65  delivers water from the water pump to a squirt nozzle  14 . The water gun function is independent from the bubble gun function of the bubble/water gun  100 .  
         [0026]     An aspect of the present invention relates to improved fluid tube connections within the housing  2 ,  3 .  FIG. 3  shows an improved connection including a clamping ring  68  clamping one end of a flexible hose  64  over a plastic fitting (not numbered) in the receptacle  7  on the lower housing part  3 . The clamping ring  68  is a plastic ring configured to exert a radially inward pressure on the outside surface of tube  64 . This arrangement improves over the simple telescoping connections of prior art water toys. The risk of fluid leakage within the bubble/water gun is significantly reduced.  
         [0027]     With reference to  FIGS. 2C and 2E , the bubble functions are initiated by closure of contacts  39  and  40  by push knob  37 . A spring  38  biases the push knob carrying contact  40  away from contact  39 . In this embodiment, the push knob  37  is installed on a ring-shaped left handle  35 ,  36  which has a cap  34 .  
         [0028]     Water pump knob  41  has the same appearance as push knob  37 .  42  and  43  are push knob control plates,  44  is the pump for squirting water manually.  47  and  48  are the right handle top and bottom parts, respectively.  45  is a connection holder and  46  is the connection pin. Both water pump knob  41  and push knob  37  are shaped as a wrist watch on watch-band. The push knobs  37  and  41  are arranged on opposite sides of the main body housing  2 ,  3 . In practice, these knobs  37 ,  41  may be placed in any location convenient for use such as on the reservoir/handle  62 . As shown in  FIGS. 2, 4 ,  6 A and  7 A, the outer portions of  32 / 33  and  30 / 31  of the housing are pivotally arranged to swing outwardly as indicated by the arrow K to expose the bubble-producing nozzle  80 . This outward action is performed manually. Arms  20 ,  21  are attached to the moving parts of the body  32 / 33  and  30 / 31  to enable the inward and outward movements of the parts.  
         [0029]     is a contact plate top cover,  23  is the contact plate holder,  24  and  25  are two contact plates. When the outer portions of  32 / 33  and  30 / 31  are swing outwardly, the two contact plates (which ultimately connect the batteries) contact each other and a flow of electric current is caused. When the outer portions are swung inwardly, the two contact plates separate and no electric current is formed.  
         [0030]     While an exemplary embodiment of the foregoing invention has been set forth for purposes of illustration, the foregoing description should not be deemed a limitation of the invention herein. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations and alternatives may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention.