Patent ID: 8393299

Claim:
A toy gun, comprising: a slidable firing ram housed within an elongate gun barrel, said firing ram having first and second end sections spanned by a central member, wherein said first end section protrudes concentrically from said central member and terminates at a distal ball-striking surface, wherein said first end section has a cross-sectional diameter less than that of said central member, and wherein said second end section comprises a graspable handle operable for shifting said firing ram from a resting position to a cocked position by a user, wherein said resting and said cocked positions are different; wherein said central member comprises a plurality of recesses linearly disposed along a long axis of said central member; wherein each of said recesses is configured to receive a tooth member of a trigger assembly capable of releasable locking said firing ram in said cocked position; wherein said trigger assembly comprises a pivotable body comprising a handle portion, said tooth member, and a plurality of platforms disposed on opposite sides of said tooth member that each engage one end of a spring that collectively bias said tooth member into one of said recesses when said firing ram is in said cocked position; wherein said barrel comprises a tapered portion capable of holding balls of variable size substantially within said barrel, and wherein a portion of said firing ram is capable of contacting a ball held within said tapered portion when said firing ram is in said resting configuration; and wherein an elastic band is coupled to said firing ram and an interior portion of said gun barrel and configured to provide a user-selected urging force that shifts said firing ram from said cocked position to said resting position when said handle portion of said trigger assembly is rotated against said spring bias to disengage said tooth from said recess, and wherein said user-selected urging force provides selectable variability in a ball-launching distance.