Water Toy Gun

Abstract

A water toy gun has a barrel including a nozzle, a handgrip with a trigger on the barrel, and a reservoir in the barrel for containing water. A manually-operated piston-in-cylinder associated with the barrel is included for increasing the pressure of water in the reservoir to thereby eject water out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger. The barrel has a front barrel portion including the nozzle and a rear barrel portion. The reservoir is formed by a front chamber provided in the front barrel portion and a rear chamber provided in the rear barrel portion. The handgrip is located at a position between the front and rear barrel portions to assist in balancing the weight of water in the front and rear chambers.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a water toy gun.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Water toy guns are popular and fun to play with, but the frequent needs to refill them with water is cumbersome. Although a larger gun can incorporate a larger chamber (or bottle) to hold more water for prolonged shooting, the increase in weight may render the gun difficult to hold especially for kids.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to overcome or to substantially ameliorate such a shortcoming by providing a new or otherwise improved water toy gun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a water toy gun comprising a barrel including a nozzle, a handgrip on the barrel, the handgrip including a trigger, and a reservoir in the barrel for containing water. A manually-operated pressurizing device associated with the barrel is included for increasing the pressure of water in the reservoir to thereby eject water out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger. The barrel has a front barrel portion including the nozzle and a rear barrel portion. The reservoir has a front chamber provided in the front barrel portion and a rear chamber provided in the rear barrel portion. The handgrip is located at a position between the front and rear barrel portions to assist in balancing the weight of water in the front and rear chambers.

Preferably, the front and rear chambers are interconnected by a water passage.

More preferably, the water passage has a size considerably smaller than that of the front and rear chambers.

Preferably, the pressurizing device has a resiliently deformable bladder connected to the nozzle and includes a piston-in-cylinder. The cylinder has a first end into which the piston slidably extends and a second end connected to the reservoir and bladder for communication therewith via a valve assembly. The valve assembly is arranged to enable discharging of water from the reservoir upon sliding of the piston relative to the cylinder in one direction and to enable charging of water into the bladder upon sliding of the piston relative to the cylinder in an opposite direction. The water in the bladder is ejected out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger as the bladder contracts.

More preferably, the bladder is located in the front chamber.

Further more preferably, the rear chamber has an opening via which the reservoir is to be filled with water, the opening being closable by a stopper.

It is preferred that the second end of the cylinder is connected to the rear chamber.

It is preferred that the valve assembly comprises a first valve in the connection of the second end of the cylinder to the reservoir and a second valve in the connection of the second end of the cylinder to the bladder.

It is further preferred that at least one of the first and second valves comprises a spring-loaded valve.

In a specific construction, the piston-in-cylinder extends across and underneath the front and rear chambers.

In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle is controlled by a valve operable by the trigger which is spring-loaded to normally close the valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a water toy gun in accordance with the invention, being held by a player;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view as in FIG. 1, showing the toy gun alone;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the toy gun of FIG. 2, showing a chamber in the toy gun being filled with water;

FIG. 3a is an enlarged cross-sectional side view showing the detailed construction of a valve assembly in the toy gun of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view as in FIG. 3, showing a pressurizing device of the toy gun in initial action for pressurizing water in the gun;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view as in FIG. 4, showing the pressurizing device in subsequent action pressurizing the water;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view as in FIG. 5, showing the toy gun ejecting water upon pulling of a trigger thereof;

FIGS. 7a, 7b and 7c are perspective views showing a nozzle at the front end of the toy gun of FIG. 1, for ejecting water in different patterns; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of a slightly different embodiment of a water toy gun in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7c of the drawings, there is shown a water toy gun 100 embodying the invention resembling a machine gun, which comprises a body or barrel 110 including a front nozzle 120, an integral handgrip 90 on the barrel 110, and a reservoir 130 in the barrel 110 for containing water. The handgrip 90 includes a slidable trigger 91 for pressing or pulling by the index finger of a player while he/she is holding the toy gun 100 by one of his hands gripping upon the handgrip 90 (FIG. 1). There is also a manually-operated pressurizing device 140 associated with the barrel 110 for increasing the pressure of water in the reservoir 130 to thereby eject water out via the nozzle 120 upon pressing of the trigger 91.

The barrel 110 has a front barrel portion 111 including the nozzle 120 and a rear barrel portion 112. The reservoir 130 has a round front chamber 131 located in the front barrel portion 111 and a round rear chamber 132 in the rear barrel portion 112. The front and rear chambers 131 and 132 are interconnected by a tube 133 which acts as a water passage allowing water to flow from one chamber 131/132 to the other chamber 132/131. The two chambers 131 and 132, together with the tube 133 between them, form the reservoir 130.

The rear chamber 132 has an uppermost opening 132A via which the reservoir 130 is to be filled with water, which opening 132A is normally closed by a stopper in the form of a screw cap 132B. The front chamber 131 has a front-facing opening 131A right behind the nozzle 120.

The barrel 110 is a hollow plastic structure, which in itself is not particularly heavy. The front and rear chambers 131 and 132 are of generally the same volume. The tube 133 has a cross-section considerably smaller than that of the two chambers 131 and 132, being a thin tube which only holds a small amount of water compared with the chambers 131 and 132. With the reservoir 130 being filled up with water, the majority of the weight of the overall toy gun 100 is attributed to the two volumes of water contained in the front and rear chambers 131 and 132.

The handgrip 90 is located at a position between the front and rear barrel portions 111 and 112 and in particular right between the front and rear chambers 131 and 132. Such a centre position of the handgrip 90 assists in balancing the weight of water in the front and rear chambers 131 and 132 on opposite sides of the handgrip 90, by which the toy gun 100 is to be held which the toy gun 100 is being played with.

The interconnecting water passage 133 may be of any other suitable designs or dimensions. It is preferably thin to hold considerably less water than the two chambers 131 and 132 such that water can be distributed between the two chambers 131 and 132, whilst being hindered from sloshing to one side, for better balancing the weight of water on opposite sides of the handgrip 90. A thin water passage 133 also gives room to the handgrip 90.

It is, however, envisaged that the water passage may, for example, be as wide as the chambers 131 and 132 such that the two chambers 131 and 132 merge with each other to appear as one bottle of the largest possible size in order to hold more water for extended play.

The pressurizing device 140 is formed by a resiliently deformable rubber bladder 141 connected to the nozzle 120 and includes a piston-in-cylinder pump 142/143. The bladder 141 resembles a balloon having a wide mouth. The bladder 141 is inserted into the front chamber 131 through the latter's opening 131A, with its mouth disposed around the opening 131A and sealed therewith by a screw cap 131B. The bladder 141 constitutes an inner part of the front chamber 131. The cap 131B has an outlet hole 131C which is connected by a small tube via a ball valve 80 to the nozzle 120, and includes an inlet hole 131D connected to the cylinder 143.

The cylinder 143 is slender, and the piston 142 has a shaft 142A connected to a handle 142B by which the piston 142 is to be manually slid in opposite directions along the cylinder 143. The piston-in-cylinder pump 142/143 extends across and underneath the front and rear chambers 131 and 132.

The cylinder 143 has a first end 143A into which the piston 142 slidably extends and a second end 143B which is connected by respective pipes 71 and 72 to the reservoir 130 and bladder 141 for communication therewith via a valve assembly 150. More specifically, the first pipe 71, as provided by a small pipe elbow, is connected to a lowermost part of the rear chamber 132 such that water from the rear chamber 132 can readily enter the cylinder 143. The second pipe 72, which is much longer and flexible, guides water from the cylinder 143 into the bladder 141 via the inlet hole 131D of the cap 131B.

As best shown in FIG. 3a, the valve assembly 150 is formed by three separate, first, second and third spring-loaded valves 151, 152 and 153 in a looped housing which has three ports connected to the pump 142/143, the rear chamber 132 and the bladder 141. The first valve 151 is used in the connection of the second end 143B of the cylinder 143 (i.e. the pump) to the rear chamber 132 to enable discharging of water from the reservoir 130 into the cylinder 143, upon sliding of the piston 142 relative to the cylinder 143 in the outward direction (FIG. 4). The second valve 152 is arranged in the connection of the second end 143B of the cylinder 143 to the bladder 141 for charging (i.e. pumping) water from the cylinder 143 into the bladder 141, upon sliding of the piston 142 relative to the cylinder 143 in the opposite inward direction (FIG. 5).

The third valve 153 is connected from the bladder 141 to the rear chamber 132 for preventing over-pressure in the bladder 141 by releasing water from the bladder 141 back into the rear chamber 132 while the pump 142/143 is pumping water into the bladder 141, in case too much water is being pumped into the bladder 141.

The water being injected into the bladder 141 causes the bladder 141 to expand (FIG. 5), and this results an increase in the pressure of the water in the bladder 141, or generally in the reservoir 130, as the rubber material of the bladder 141 is stretched. The pressurized water is in a state ready to be squirted or ejected out of the bladder 141 via the outlet hole 131C through the nozzle 120, but the valve 80 is closed.

The valve 80 is operated by a lever 93 which is coupled by a bar link 92 to the trigger 91. The trigger 91 is spring-loaded forwards (i.e. raised) such that the valve 80 is normally-closed, hence normally closing the nozzle 120. Upon pulling of the trigger 91, the valve 80 and hence the nozzle 120 is opened to release the pressurized water in the bladder 141, which is then ejected out from the nozzle 120 of the toy gun 100, as the bladder 141 contracts (FIG. 6).

The nozzle 120 is provided on a front cap 121 which bears two additional nozzles 120A and 120B. The cap 121 may be turned by the player to selectively align one of the nozzles 120/120A/120B with the outlet hole 131C of the bladder 141 for ejecting water in different patterns, such as a conical spray, a broad jet and a fine jet (FIGS. 7a to 7c).

The bladder 141 will take up the majority of room in the front chamber 131 when it is fully expanded, whilst containing most of the water in the front chamber 131. The bladder 141 is part of the reservoir 130, let alone being an inner part of the front chamber 131 or connected to the rest of the reservoir 130, because it holds water and in a substantial quantity when it is fully loaded.

Referring also to FIG. 8, the water gun 100 has a slightly different construction, in that the water passage or tube 133 has been omitted such that the front chamber 131 is no longer connected to the rear chamber 132. The front chamber 131 remains part of the reservoir 130 by reason of the bladder 141 inside it, which is in communication with (i.e. connected to) the rear chamber 132 via the pump 142/143 and associated pipes 71 and 72. Also, the bladder 141 holds a considerable amount of water when the gun 100 is fully charged. Looking at a different angle, the bladder 141 acts as a front chamber of the reservoir 130 or may be regarded as such.

For the reason that the bladder 141 can hold a comparable amount of water as the front chamber 131 when it is fully expanded, the front chamber 131 may itself be cut away from the reservoir 130, as is shown in FIG. 8.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art of toy gun design, manufacture and use, should not be considered as beyond the scope as specified in the appended claims.

For example, whilst the specific embodiment 100 has two, front and rear water chambers 131 and 132, there can be three (or more) chambers in a different embodiment with a larger chamber in the front portion of the gun body and two smaller chambers in the rear portion, and the two smaller chambers add up to approximately the same volume as the larger chamber for balancing weight on opposite sides of the handgrip in the middle, especially when the chambers are full of water.

Claims

1. A water toy gun comprising:

a barrel including a nozzle;

a handgrip on the barrel, the handgrip including a trigger;

a reservoir in the barrel for containing water; and

a manually-operated pressurizing device associated with the barrel for increasing the pressure of water in the reservoir to thereby eject water out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger;

wherein the barrel has a front barrel portion including the nozzle and a rear barrel portion;

the reservoir has a front chamber provided in the front barrel portion and a rear chamber provided in the rear barrel portion; and

the handgrip is located at a position between the front and rear barrel portions to assist in balancing the weight of water in the front and rear chambers.

2. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front and rear chambers are interconnected by a water passage.

3. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 2, wherein the water passage has a size considerably smaller than that of the front and rear chambers.

4. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressurizing device has a resiliently deformable bladder connected to the nozzle and includes a piston-in-cylinder, the cylinder having a first end into which the piston slidably extends and a second end connected to the reservoir and bladder for communication therewith via a valve assembly, the valve assembly being arranged to enable discharging of water from the reservoir upon sliding of the piston relative to the cylinder in one direction and to enable charging of water into the bladder upon sliding of the piston relative to the cylinder in an opposite direction, the water in the bladder being ejected out via the nozzle upon pressing of the trigger as the bladder contracts.

5. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bladder is located in the front chamber.

6. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rear chamber has an opening via which the reservoir is to be filled with water, the opening being closable by a stopper.

7. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second end of the cylinder is connected to the rear chamber.

8. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 4, wherein the valve assembly comprises a first valve in the connection of the second end of the cylinder to the reservoir and a second valve in the connection of the second end of the cylinder to the bladder.

9. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one of the first and second valves comprises a spring-loaded valve.

10. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 4, wherein the piston-in-cylinder extends across and underneath the front and rear chambers.

11. The water toy gun as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nozzle is controlled by a valve operable by the trigger which is spring-loaded to normally close the valve.