Launching device and disposable cartridge containing confetti, paper discs or fluid
A multi-purpose launching device for propelling and disseminating confetti, paper disks or fluid contained in a disposable cartridge. Contents of the cartridge as well as the outside surface of the launching tube may be covered with a fluorescent material. The top part of the launching tube may serve as a flagpole to supplement its primary function at large social gatherings such as sporting or music events, wedding ceremonies, holiday celebrations, presidential campaigns, etc. The device consists of a cylindrical launching apparatus and a cylindrical cartridge that may contain confetti, paper disks, fluid, or other soft materials such as fiber, string, fabric, etc. The bottom end of the upper section of the launching tube inserts into the lower section of the launching tube. After the cartridge is loaded on the top of the launcher, the lower section of the launching tube is pulled down at first, then pushed up by the user's hands, compress air within the tube, propelling contents of the cartridge to be ejected. A disabled cartridge is used for each shot. The cartridge is economical, its contents are flexible, and it is convenient and fast to change cartridges after each shot. The cartridge's top end has a foam cover, which may be made in various interesting or funny shapes, including rocket, fruit, or even men's sexual organ.
The present invention relates to toy guns in general and more particularly to those that utilize compressed air to project confetti, paper, fiber, or fluid.
In recent years party confetti launchers with different types of launching power have been popular. Compressed air powered confetti launchers are among the most common types. Among the projectiles available are confetti and paper in different shapes.
The prior art involved confetti launchers driven by compressed air, springs, explosives, or the human mouth. Each of the following launchers projects confetti with explosives: U.S. Pat. No. 825,843 (Kliemandt); U.S. Pat. No. 1,324,092 (Worswick); U.S. Pat. No. 1,663,679 (Carpenter); U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,563. The following are confetti launchers that use compressed air contained cartridges as source of power: U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,211 (Reveen); U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,840 (Watkins); U.S. Pat No. 5,722,491 (Watkins); U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,364 B1 (Song). U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,435 B1 (Wong) discloses a confetti launcher with springs as source of power. U.S. Pat. No. 1,153,207 (Eisenberg) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,491,809 (Macchia) use the user's mouth to blow out confetti.
The following two patents emphasize the visual effects of projectiles in dark surroundings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,151 (Fusi) involves a bullet-shaped phosphor-containing projectile that creates clear visual effects in darkness. The invention discloses a round capsule containing a phosphor-containing fluid. U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,280 (Palmer/Palmer) discloses a toy gun that projects a dart using as an agent compressed air generated by a drawn rod and a released spring. The gun contains a flash lamp to create the fluorescent effects of the propelled projectile. However, neither of these inventions projects confetti or it's like.
None of the above-mentioned launching devices has all 5 of following features, which differentiate them from the present invention: 1) none of them is powered by compressed air produced by the user's hands; 2) none of them has a separate, easily exchangeable cartridge for one-time use, containing various contents inside, including confetti, various soft materials or even fluid; 3) none of them has a foam top cover in various shapes for the cartridge, which will be launched simultaneously with content of the cartridge; 4) none of them uses fluid as projectile; 5) none of them uses fluorescent materials for creating special visual effects in the dark.
The present invention is entirely dissimilar from above-mentioned apparatuses. The present launching device is created for many time use, while the cartridge is designed for one time use. The combination makes this launcher cheaper, more interesting, easier for projecting various contents. The present invention uses the user's hands as the only power source, which makes it safer, easier to use than prior art, which use explosives, high pressure air container as the power source. The present apparatus uses different diameters between the upper end and the main body of the launching tube to increase air pressure within the launching tube, which makes the present apparatus more powerful than prior art involving the user's mouth or springs as power source. Additionally, the outside surface of the present invention may be covered with fluorescent materials for decorative purposes. A flag may also be attached to the lower section of the launching tube. These and other features could be appropriate at sporting or music events, wedding ceremonies, holiday celebrations, parties, presidential campaigns, or other large social gatherings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn consideration of disadvantages of known types of confetti launching devices, whose driving power is high pressure air contained in cylinder, explosive, the human mouth or springs, the present invention uses compressed air produced by the user's hands as driving power, which makes it safer, cheaper, easier to use and powerful enough for launching and disseminating projectiles. The separate, cheap, easily exchangeable cartridge, the foam top cover and the piece of cardboard or plastic disc at the bottom of the cartridge enable the present invention to easily contain, launch and disseminate soft projectiles such as confetti, paper disks, or even fluid.
The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a new, simply constructed device that uses compressed air as power source, produced by the user's hands for launching various projectiles from the cartridge. None of its advantages and new features have been shown or suggested in the prior art for confetti launching devices.
For this purpose, the present invention consists of two sections of a launching tube, a cartridge, a foam top cover and a piece of cardboard or plastic disc for containing the projectiles in the cartridge, and various types of projectiles, which will be described with all details later.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple, cheap and easy to use projecting device capable of launching soft projectiles such as confetti, paper disks, or fluid for visual pleasure.
Another object is to provide a cartridge with a variety of possible contents, including but not limited to confetti paper disks, and fluid, which may be treated with fluorescent materials in order to create pleasant visual effects in the dark. Letters or words could also be printed on paper disks. The disks could also display messages such as proverbs and fortunes. Alternatively, they could show numbers and be used for drawing lots. Heart-shaped paper scraps may be used as projectile at wedding ceremonies for instance. To create a cheerful atmosphere, the substances being projected may also be scented.
A further object is to provide a projecting device in the form of a long stick, the cross section of which may be circular, triangular, rectangular, or any other shape. The advantage of a stick-like structure is that additional adaptations are possible. For instance, the device may be used as a flagpole.
Another object is to provide a simply-constructed and inexpensive projecting device. The simplicity of the structure makes this device affordable and easy to use.
Still another object is to provide a light-weight, simply-operated, safe and easy-to-carry projecting device able to be held in hands.
A further object is to provide a projecting device for repeated use and various cartridges with many different contents for one time use, which may be quickly and easily loaded and changed after each shot.
An additional object is to provide a projecting device at a much larger scale with the same structure as formerly described, in order to meet various demands on different occasions.
Another object is to provide a horizontal complex of projecting devices for ejecting projectiles from more than one device sequentially or simultaneously.
The device is further described using accompanying illustrated drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
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Although the above description of the present invention includes illustrations and detailed explanations, it does not limit the present invention within the illustrations and descriptions. Some changes and modifications may take place within the scope of the present invention without modifying its basic principles.
Claims
1. A multi-purpose projecting device for propelling and disseminating confetti, paper disks, or fluid contained in a cartilage, comprising:
- a launching tube having a circular cross section, comprising a lower section of cylindrical shape and an upper section with 3 parts—cylindrical upper and a lower parts, and a middle part of circular platform shape. The lower part of the upper section with smaller diameter may easily insert into the lower section of the launching tube for free slide and reciprocation therein to compress the air, propel and disseminate projectiles from the cartridge.
2. A plurality of cylindrical one time use cartridges, having an inner diameter equal to the outer diameter of the upper launching tube's upper end. The upper end of the launching tube's upper section inserts into the lower end of the cartridge, which consists of a container, a top foam cover, a piece of cardboard or plastic film for sealing the bottom of the cartridge and a plurality of contents, including confetti, paper disks, or fluid.
3. A flag, having 2-3 elastic string rings on one side for easily fixing said flag to the upper end of the launching tube or to the cartridge.
4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said lower section of the launching tube having a open upper end and a enclosed lower end, the bottom of which has 3 fan-shaped holes around the center of the bottom, which is covered by a soft plastic disc, fixed to the center of the bottom with a dab of glue.
5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said lower section of the launching tube may be made by plastic as one body, or by cardboard and plastic for its different parts: cardboard for the cylindrical main body and plastic for its bottom cover.
6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the said upper section of the launching tube has 4 parts with different shapes and diameters: cylindrical shape for the upper, middle and the lower parts and the circular platform shape for joining the upper and the middle parts. The diameter of the lower end of the middle part is bigger than the diameter of the lower part, forming where the two parts join, an outside collar for stopping the mutual movement between the upper and the lower sections of the launching tube, when the user pushes lower section up to compress air inside the tube and propel contents of the cartridge. The said upper section of the launching tube is made entirely by plastics.
7. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said contents of the cartridge include confetti paper disks, shaped papers, fluid, or other soft materials such as fiber, string, fabric, etc.
8. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said container of the cartridge is a hollow cylinder with an inner collar flange in the lower part and close to the lower end of the cartridge for holding said piece of cardboard or plastic tape and the contents of the cartridge within the container.
9. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein the said cardboard may be changed to an adhesive piece of waterproof plastic tape for holding fluid within the tube, when fluid is loaded as the content of the cartridge.
10. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein the said top foam cover at the top of the cartridge keeps contents within the container. It may have various shapes such as a cylinder, that can be inserted into the top end of the cartridge, a rocket shape surrounding and covering the top end of the cartridge, or other shapes such as fruit or even men's sexual organ.
11. The invention as defined in claim 10 wherein the said top foam cover may be waterproof if necessary by covering it with thin plastic film in order to keep contents from leaking when fluid is used as the content of the cartridge.
12. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said non-fluid contents may be covered with fluorescent materials for creating special visual effects in the dark.
13. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said paper disks may have lucky phrases and numbers for drawing lots printed on them when paper disks are used as contents of the cartridge.
14. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said fluid may have perfume to be added to it when fluid is used as the content of the cartridge.
15. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said cartridge may be made by transparent plastics with very bright flash-producing device or other flash-producing device inside the tube, such as a flash-producing device used for cameras. In this case, the flash device may have a switch on the bottom of the cartridge, which may trigger the flash to work when the user puts the cartridge's bottom end on top of the upper section of the launching tube.
16. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said cartridge is made for one time use. However, the user may easily refill the cartridge after each shot with new contents if so desired.
17. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said launching tube may have fluorescent materials covering its surface in order to create special visual effects in the dark.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 4, 2003
Publication Date: Sep 7, 2006
Inventor: John (aka. Xiaoqiang) Du (La Puente, CA)
Application Number: 10/726,908
International Classification: A63H 37/00 (20060101);