US2476138A - Toy gun - Google Patents

Description

L. EDWARDS July 12, 1949.

TOY GUN Filed June 18, 1945 Patented July 12, 1949 JTOIY GUN .1LeeiEdwards, Ghicago, Ill.

App ca on Jun l8,

"5 Glaims. 1 1 1115lHVBHtlQIlTBkLtGStO toy guns of the-type 'which-aremechanically actuated as distinguished from those-employing explosives.

-' One objectef-theinventien is toprovide atoy guni'having :means for expelling a missile but --equippedwith means whichprevents the expelling =mechanism from-operating except when the gun in= pointed-substantiall in a vertical direction.

It isalso -anwobiect-of the invention toprovide =.a.- mechanically operated gun havingrneanswhich -renders it incapable .of shooting in a" horizontal direction.

:More specifically,:theinvention includes a gun ihaving akbarreliwithea 'drivingmember operable :.therein-.xto expel iaimissile rfrom the barreL toiifiethertwith.:spring: means which is tensioned for .zactuat-ingithe driver-and pivotajlly suspended latch -.means which .normally falls into a :position to obstrllct thermovementu-of the: driver except when {the mharrelhis held. substantially; in; a: vertical. po- ;:S b. .0I. al .lafifi zmeansubeing then swungvby relativ y;inton m n antspo ition so that-the driver mechanism will clear it and cperateto-eXpel a mis i wheni releasedbythe tr er. other. objects-a idadva ta es:oflth einventi ni w ll appear imm th fo lcwinade cript ontaken. in. connection 1 th s-d aWmesi nwhh:

.-Fig.1 1 isra 1 lon itud nal; sectional. view of a mehanica y operatedieun .zz mbodyin Lthis inven- ..tior 1,-; a ,ifreemen "o th 'ZSUQQ h ndle bein ,.shown in -elevation and ,al 0 3! i0n-;0f.t; ?le barrel beingibroke out tov cond nse t e ew;

'.e.. ..i a raement y'bottomplan ewparilv iin ssection. asi di atedat l n wloni iie.

.slie. a: trans ersev rt cal se tion-taken :as 1 indicated "at line 3 83 -on Fig; l;

,Eig.,4 is a verticalsection at; lineJE-A on; Fig; 1

Fig. 1-5. is.- a detail section-on an enlargediscale v. e netaken subste t l szat-l ne wion i .1;

R -6 is a deta rv t sse ti n anenlar ed ,scale pf; a 1 part .of the, operatin ehanism;

7 is d t l ecti withsp rt iomittedi eliminating. the" p sition of; t s.- te swhen the zber el is pointedin a rt cal.. i r on- While there is shown and described hereinycer- .t nsp ific-s ructureembodyin th i vent n, iii-winner m i est t th se ski le int-heart. that variausnm d fications: and; earrane entsaof th f a re f t oy -.ei. i.s. w t rein ma =1 b madewithoutd na iinefrom the-.s iritand-scope voiithe i vent ,a ha h same i n t. limit 21118; nar icu ri rm: here xlisclosedi except in soziar nd c teda m h mend d cla ms.

:-A- com,mo,n ztyp -i f .:toy:; un is shaped tcshnu- 1945, Serial No.; 600,063

.d ive ec an sm. usually spri opera e for .e p ll ne i i su has a i ht w o e bail or bullet in si nulation of the action of a-gun which employs explosive cartridges. Although the-force 5 with which the toy missile is expelled is not exceedingly great; there is the possibility of serious accident to the playmates of the user When the gun is operated at close range; it also; is capable of breaking windows and doing other damage when improperly used. The present invention aims to provide a gun of'thisgeneralcharacter but to include in its-mechanism a catcher 'detent device-which prevents the; gun from operating; in a-h-orizontal direction or many direction 15 except when" the-barrel is pointed upwardly. This permits the missile to r be --shot i into the air, 33ffording the user-the satisfaction of firingthe gun but without serious probability -ofinj uryto I anyone. --A- gun or this type alsornay-be employed forlaunching toy parachutes-which may bevariously constructed so thatthey -maybe collapsed and placed .in the *ibarrel of 1 the --gun :for such -launching.

-'-As--shown in: the drawings, the gun includes a 1 hollow tubular barrel I ll secured-at its rear end in a breech portionili-which-may continue in -a --butt--portion. Mr shaped: toresemble that of a rifle or similar i firearm, or which may ebesformed .as 'a-indicated. in: dottedoutline at I 6* to simulate: the *handle .of-a pistol or otheri-smalltsidearm. 'The length of-;-the'-harrel:t I10 will. oftcourse; be propor- -ti0nate:.to the .-style of the stock. The breech .may-.be .understo.o.d ascomposed of two halves ijoined iat =-.a vertical plane andsecured-together eby rivets L8, .18 :with the end of ;.the barrel i ll! "clamped-betweenthem.

:Extending; from. the breech -.SCti0l1%jllSt:belO.W .:.the barrel :andparallel therewith there is provided .a guide tube :20 l. having .a plunger :22 slidably amounted therein. 5 Said; plunger carries a. driver 124; connected to 1 the plunger, Joy a:- narrow arm-":26 which extendsthrough ;a, longitudinal -slotrr28 in {the ilower'side Ofgthfi barrel Ill .so. that'the; driver i24 maymove= lengthwise-1m the barrelwhen the sion-springriifli has one-end anchored to. acrosspin -32 i in. the outer end of athe guideitube 2 0,-.iw.hile :the,other end of .the :spring is connected tov the plunger 22 at 34. By means of a. ring -36;slidahle v upon ,1thegguide tube 'JZIJLand engaging the=arm 526,; the spring v3llimayabentensioned by forcingrthe :plungerxZZ toward the 1 rear e end of the: tuberztl until the:.sh0u1der;381in the plunger rides= over :the ztooth :40 10f ;.a catch; .or aholding lmember ifl l t azflteanmahutathe herrel- S.:pr;oV.ided-W thea 5 w ichlispivioted intheihreech 3135.44. Thespring 3 it yieldingly holds the part 42 with its tooth to in upstanding position and said part 42 positively stopped by a pin 48 which checks the rotation of the member 42 at this position.

When the gun has been cooked by retractin the plunger 22 into engagement with the latch tooth 40 and thus placing the spring 30 under tension, a ball 50, or any other suitable missile, is placed in the barrel 10, being entered from the outer end or muzzle thereof and allowed to rest against the driver 24 in its retracted position at the rear end of the slot 28. Then, to fire the gun, the trigger 52, which includes a tooth 54 engaging the tooth 56 of the latch member 42, is rocked to rotate the latch member 42 through a sufiicient arc to disengage its holding tooth 48 from the shoulder 38 of the plunger 22. If the gun is pointed upward, this will permit the spring 30 to contract suddenly, drawing with it the plunger 22 and the driver 24 and expelling the missile 50 from the barrel.

To prevent this operation when the barrel is I directed otherwise than upwardly, I provide the plunger 22 with a second shoulder 58 and mount the reduced portion of the plunger 22 in position to engage the shoulder 58 and obstruct the movement of the plunger if the trigger should be operated. Similarly, if the gun is held on its side in a generally horizontal position, one of the,

upper dogs 60 and oneof the lower dogs 80 will fall into obstructing position with respect to the shoulder 58; and if the gun is held upside down,

but in a generally horizontal position, the two lower dogs 68 will swing into obstructing position in relation to the shoulder 58.

The dogs 68 may be supported upon any suitable pivot means; Fig. shows a wire-62 bent in the form of a square to provide pivot bearings for all four of the dogs and this square-pivotal,

supporting frame is lodged between the two halves of the breech I2 with its corners fitted into notches 64 therein. These portions of the breech are hollowed out to provide a chamber 66 in which the dogs 60 may swing freely through a.

limited range, and this range is sufiicient so that when the gun is held with its barrel Ill in a substantially vertical position, all four dogs 60 will hang pendant from the pivot wire 62as'shown in Fig. '7, so that if the trigger is pulled to release the plunger 22 from the holding tooth 48, the shoulder 58 will move past the dogs 60 without obstruction and the driver 24 will be permitted to expel the ball 58 upwardly from the barrel [0. It may be understood that the ring or sleeve 36 employed for cocking the gun may be attached permanently to the plunger 22 so as to move with it if desired; but preferably, the sleeve will not be connected to the plunger, but will be employed merely to slide it back into latched position. The sleeve will then be returned to the outer end of the guide tube 20, engaging the tube with sufficient friction to remain in that position while the gun is fired.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a mechanism suitable for use in atoy gun and adapted to render the gun. safe and harmless in the hands of children or those of immature judgment while at the same time permitting it to be employed in an entertaining fashion and to serve the purposes of a toy without the danger customarily associated with a device of this character.

I claim:

1. In a gun, the'combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein to expel a missile from the barrel, a plunger associated with said driver, a spring to actuate said plunger and driver, trigger means to hold the plunger in retracted position with the spring under tension, said plunger having a shoulder, detent means pivoted adjacent the plunger and disposed normally in position to engage the shoulder when the trigger is released unless the gun is held with the barrel extending in vertical position the center of gravity of the detent means being so related to the pivot thereof that in all positions of the gun except when the gun is aimed vertically, gravity causes rotation of the detent means to force it into engagement with the shoulder.

2. In a gun, the combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein to expel a missile from the barrel, a plunger connected to said driver, a guideway for the plunger in which it is slidable, a spring which is tensioned by sliding the plunger in one direction, holding mechanism for the plunger, a trigger for releasing said plunger from the holding means at will, said plunger having a shoulder, and a plurality of pivoted detent dogs extending from their pivots rearwardly in the gun, with at least one of said dogs normally disposed in obstructing relation to said shoulder of the plunger, all said dogs hanging vertically from their pivots in positions clear of said shoulder when the barrel of the gun is pointed in a substantially vertical direction said dogs being arranged in spaced position about the plunger and so positioned that when the barrel is horizontal at least one of the dogs-is at all times above a horizontal plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the plunger, the center of gravity of each dog being spaced rearwardly from the pivot axis.

3. In a gun, the combination of a tubular barrel, a, tubular guide extending parallel to said barrel, a stock having a breech portion from which said barrel and guide extend, a plunger slidable in said guide, a driving spring for th plunger, a driver carried by the plunger and movable thereby in the barrel for expelling :a missile therefrom, holding and release mechanism for the plunger housed in the breech with a trigger projecting therefrom, said plunger having a shoulder, and detent means also housed in said breech and normally positioned to engage said shoulder when the trigger is actuated, but automatically moved from the path of the'plunger when the barrel is pointedin a substantially vertical direction the detent means including a member pivoted at a, point removed from the center of gravity thereof, the center of gravity being between the pivot line and the breech portion of the gun whereby gravity exerting its force rotates the detent into inoperative position when the barrel is aimed vertically.

4. In a gun, the combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein to expel a missile from the barrel, a plunger associated with said driver, a springto actuate said plunger and driver, said plunger having a shoulder, a toothed holding member engageable'with said shoulder to hold the plunger in retracted position with the spring under tension, a trigger for releasing said holding member at will, said plunger having a second shoulder, detent means pivoted-adjacent -the plunger and disposed normally in obstructing relation to said second shoulder but out of contact therewith, ready to engage the shoulder when th trigger is actuated, said detent means being held clear of said second shoulder by 'gravity when the gun is held with the barrel extending in substantially vertical direction the center of gravity of the detent means being located to the rear of the pivot thereof whereby at all times except when the barrel is vertical, ravity forces rotation of the detent means into the shoulder engaging position.

5. In a gun, the combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein to expel a missile from the barrel, a plunger connected to said driver, a guideway for the plunger in which it is slidable, a spring which is tensioned by sliding the plunger in one direction, holding mechanism for the plunger, a trigger for releasing said plunger from the holding means at will, said plunger being formed with abutment means, and at least three pivoted detent dogs mounted adjacent the plunger, each at a REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 285,368 Trieller Sept. 18, 1883 1,196,235 Heyman et al Aug. 29, 1916

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