Patent ID: 7703448

Claim:
In combination, a projectile and a launching toy therefore, said launching toy comprising: a hollow tubular barrel having a release actuator; and a load and release mechanism fixable into and removable from said barrel and comprising: a longitudinal guiding rod; a longitudinally-acting extension spring surrounding said guiding rod; and a plurality of holding and releasing fingers symmetrically surrounding said guiding rod and cooperating with said release actuator when said load and release mechanism is fixed into said barrel to cause said holding and releasing fingers to move symmetrically about said guiding rod from a holding position to a releasing position; and wherein said load and release mechanism receives said projectile while said load and release mechanism is removed from said barrel to become a loaded subassembly, during which said extension spring is compressed to retain stored energy and said releasing fingers capture said projectile to said mechanism in said holding position against said stored energy; said loaded subassembly is inserted into said barrel to become a readied assembly; and said release actuator of said readied assembly is selectively actuated to cause said holding and releasing fingers to move from said holding position to said releasing position, thereby releasing said projectile from said load and release mechanism, wherein said stored energy causes said projectile to be launched from said toy.