TOY LAUNCH APPARATUS WITH SAFETY VALVE

Abstract

A toy launch apparatus with a safety valve. The safety valve includes a stationary valve component with a tubular shape and an open inlet end. Ports in the tubular component help define an air path from the open inlet through the ports. A slideable valve component including a sleeve portion and extending fingers slides along an outer surface of the stationary valve component. A valve spring biases the slideable valve component forward to close the ports and when a dart is loaded, a back wall of the dart pushes the extending fingers of slideable valve component rearward to open the ports. In the open position the slideable valve component is out of the air path such that no pressure drop is attributed to the slideable valve component. When the dart is discharge, the valve spring biases the slideable valve component forward to close the ports.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(e) and 120 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/881,595, filed Sep. 24, 2013.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a toy launch apparatus, and, more particularly, to a toy launch apparatus that has a very efficient safety valve to prevent operation of the launch apparatus unless a projectile of predetermined shape is inserted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Toys and other devices that discharge objects have been designed in the past with various housing and internal elements. These devices are designed to discharge specifically design projectiles that eliminate or greatly reduce bodily injury and property damage. Undesirable objects for such devices may include hard and/or sharp items, such as pencils or marbles. To insure that users do not succeed in inserting workable objects into discharge devices that are dangerous and/or destructive, safety features have been developed. One such safety feature is found in a patent issued in 1996 to D'Andrade, U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,050, and entitled “Safety Nozzle For Projectile Shooting Air Gun.” The '050 patent purports to disclose a safety mechanism having a nozzle with a front portion 111 and a rear portion 103 and a movable valve element 121 biased by a spring 141 against a hollow launch tube 115. The valve element is located in the path of airflow from an inlet 105 to a hollow chamber 117 inside the launch tube. The valve element 121 has a cross shaped configuration with air passage openings 127, 129, 131, 143 above and below the horizontal arm of the cross. To operate, forward extending posts 123, 125 are engaged by a rear portion of a hollow projectile 161 when the projectile is inserted into the nozzle. The projectile pushes the posts 123, 125 rearward, and the posts push the valve element 121 rearward against the biasing spring. This opens the air passageway around the cross-shaped valve element. When pressurized air is introduced through the inlet 105 the projectile is discharged, and with the projectile discharged, the biasing spring closes the valve element against the launch tube.

The valve element does not open unless the inserted projectile has a predetermined shape that allows engagement with the two posts. However, a problem with the nozzle and the valve element is that the air pressure generated by a launch spring must bear against and flow around the valve element before reaching the projectile to cause discharge. This airflow route causes a pressure drop, a loss of energy that is not desirable or efficient.

The inventions discussed in connection with the described embodiments below address these and other deficiencies of the prior art. The features and advantages of the present inventions will be explained in or become apparent from the following summary and description of the preferred embodiments considered together with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an advantageous method and apparatus are provided in the form of a toy launch apparatus that is designed to discharge soft foam projectiles. The launcher includes an efficient safety valve to prevent many unacceptable or undesirable objects from being inserted into the launcher and yet minimizes a pressure drop in operation. The launch apparatus is easily operated, even by young children, and requires a properly designed projectile to be inserted, a slide to be moved rearward to cock a launch spring, and a trigger pull to be actuated. The launch apparatus with the safety valve also has the advantages of being relatively simple, easy to operate, fun to use, safe, relatively inexpensive, compact and yet, structurally robust.

Briefly summarized, the invention relates to a toy launch apparatus with a safety valve including a housing, a dart receiving structure mounted in the housing, an air passageway structure mounted in the housing in communication with the dart receiving structure, the air passageway structure including a peripheral wall with an outer surface, a rearward end open to air flow through the air passageway, the wall extending forward from the rearward end, and a port in the wall, a valve sleeve slideable along the outer surface of the wall between a first position blocking the port in the wall to air flow, and a second position spaced away from the port and spaced away from air flow through the air passageway.

The invention also relates to a method for making a toy launch apparatus with a safety valve, the steps of the method including forming a housing, mounting a dart receiving structure in the housing, forming an air passageway structure in the housing, the air passageway including an open rearward end, a peripheral wall extending forward and a port in the wall, placing the air passageway structure in communication with the dart receiving structure, forming a blocking structure having a flange, mounting the blocking structure to the peripheral wall, the blocking structure being movable between a forward position to block the port and a rearward position to unblock the port, and when in the rearward position the blocking structure is spaced from air flow through the passageway structure, mounting a valve spring to the blocking structure to bias the blocking structure to the forward position, mounting a cylinder in the housing, the cylinder being in communication with the air passageway structure, and mounting a piston in the cylinder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, the accompanying drawings and detailed description illustrate preferred embodiments thereof, from which the invention, its structures, its construction and operation, its processes, and many related advantages may be readily understood and appreciated.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a toy launch apparatus in the form of a toy rifle.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view the toy rifle shown in FIG. 1, with part of the housing removed to reveal internal mechanisms.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view of a rearward portion of the toy rifle shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of the portion of the toy rifle shown in FIG. 3, highlighting certain internal mechanisms and a disengaged dart magazine.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of the internal mechanisms shown in FIG. 4, including a cylinder and a piston, and the disengaged dart magazine, but without an outline of a rifle housing.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like that shown in FIG. 5, but with the dart magazine connected to the rifle, a launch spring in a relaxed configuration, and a dart in the magazine aligned with a dart tube in the rifle.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, but with a cocking handle drawn partially rearward, the launch spring partially compressed, a return spring partially extended, an air chamber partially formed in the cylinder, and the dart tube partially positioned around the dart.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like those shown in FIGS. 5-7, but with the cocking handle drawn fully rearward, the launch spring fully compressed, the return spring fully extended, the air chamber fully formed and the dart fully received by the dart tube.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like those shown in FIGS. 5-8, but with the cocking handle returned forward after the toy rifle is fully cocked.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like those shown in FIGS. 5-9, but after a trigger is pulled, such that the launch spring is partially extended and the air chamber is partly contracted, but with the return spring still fully extended.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like those shown in FIGS. 5-10, where the launch spring is relaxed and the air chamber is fully contracted, and the return spring remains fully extended.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like those shown in FIGS. 5-11, where the return spring is relaxed after pulling the dart tube and the cylinder rearward to the positions shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of another toy launch apparatus in the form of a toy gun.

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of a cylinder, a piston, a dart tube and featuring a safety valve in an open configuration.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view taken within the circle 15-15 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic side elevation view like that shown in FIG. 14, where the safety valve is in a closed configuration.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view taken within the circle 17-17 of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is an isometric view of a stationary valve component of the safety valve.

FIG. 19 is an elevation view of the stationary valve component shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is an isometric view of a slideable valve component of the safety valve.

FIG. 21 is a side elevation view of the slideable valve component shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a front elevation view of the slideable valve component shown in FIGS. 20 and 21.

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic elevation view of an alternative version of the dart tube and safety valve.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram of a method for making a toy launch apparatus with the safety valve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the described embodiments set forth in the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. Various modifications, equivalents, variations, and alternatives, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Any and all such modifications, variations, equivalents, and alternatives are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a toy launch apparatus in the form of a toy dart-launching rifle 10 having an outer shell or housing 12 including a barrel portion 14 in a forward end portion of the rifle, a grip portion 16, and a shoulder stock portion 18 in a rearward end portion of the rifle. The rifle 10 also includes a trigger 20, a bolt or cocking handle 22 and a mountable magazine 24 filled with darts. The toy launch apparatus may have the appearance of a stylized rifle as shown, of a more realistic rifle, of a gun (as shown in FIG. 13), or of any other fanciful weapon. The darts in the magazine are preferably formed of soft foam such as those marketed under the brand NERF®.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, there are shown internal mechanisms mounted to the toy rifle 10, including a cylinder 30 and a piston 32. The cylinder 30 has a rear portion 36 and a front portion 38. The piston 32 is at a rear end portion 40 of an inner tube 42 that is mounted in the cylinder and that supports an air passageway structure in the form of an elongated pipe 44 having a tubular air passageway 46. The air passageway 46 extends from the piston 32 forward to communicate with a loaded dart. A launch spring 48 is mounted between the front portion 38 of the cylinder 30 and the piston 32 to provide energy for launching a dart. The arrangement of the cylinder 30 and the piston 32 allows relative movements between them as will be explain in more detail below. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, both the cylinder and the piston are movable but air is compressed when the cylinder 30 moves toward the piston 32 that is stationary.

The inner tube 42 includes a front-end portion 50. The inner tube front-end portion 50 supports a front bushing 52 for mounting and supporting a front-end portion 54 of the elongated pipe 44. The rear end portion 40 of the inner tube 42 supports a rear bushing 56. The rear bushing 56 mounts and supporting a rear end portion 58 of the elongated pipe 44. Also, mounted to the rear bushing 56 is the piston 32 having an O-ring mounting 60 and an O-ring seal 62. A dart receiving structure in the form of a dart tube 64 is mounted to the front bushing 52. The dart tube replaces a bolt of a real rifle using metal-jacketed ammunition and eliminates the problem of soft darts jamming against one another.

The rear portion 36 of the cylinder 30 forms with the piston 32 an air chamber 70 between them, and air in the air chamber 70 is able to communicate with the dart tube 64 through the piston 32, the rear bushing 56, the air passageway 46 in the pipe 44, and the front bushing 52. The cylinder 30 is slideable relative to the piston 32 between an extended position, shown in FIG. 9, and a refracted position, shown in FIG. 11, such that the volume of the air chamber 70 is variable as a function of the position of the cylinder 30 relative to the piston 32.

The cylinder 30 also includes longitudinally extending slot-shaped air ports, such as the ports 72, 74, FIG. 3, to allow air from the air chamber 70 to easily escape as the air chamber contracts during relative movement of the cylinder and the piston, thereby allowing the moving element, the cylinder in the FIGS. 1-3, embodiment, to gather momentum after the trigger 20 is pulled.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the rifle 10 is shown in diagrammatic form stripped of some elements for clarity, and with the magazine 24 detached from the rifle. When the magazine is inserted into a rifle breech 94, a dart, such as the top dart 84, is located in a launch chamber 92 aligned with the dart tube 64, as well as the cylinder 30 and the inner tube 42. Before cocking, the dart tube 64, the inner tube 42 with the piston 32, and the cylinder 30 are in rearward positions as shown. To cock the rifle, additional elements to those already mentioned are present, including a linkage in the form of a first rack 100, a second rack 102 and a gear train 104 connecting the first and second racks. The cocking handle 22 is connected to the first rack 100 and when an operator moves the handle rearward, the first rack 100 also moves rearward. The rearward motion of the first rack 100 is converted by the gear train 104 to forward motion of the second rack 102, and when the handle 22 is returned forward to complete cocking of the rifle, the first rack 100 returns forward and because of the gear train 104 the second rack 102 returns rearward. When the second rack moves forward, the launch spring 48 is compressed as the piston 32 and the dart tube 64 move forward, while the cylinder stays stationary. A first fastener, including a pivot bar 108 mounted to the housing for engagement with a cross bar 110 mounted on the dart tube 64, restrains the dart tube 64 and the piston 32 in forward positions. In the meantime, a second fastener, including a sear 114 mounted to the housing and a tab 116 mounted to the cylinder 30, restrains the cylinder 30 in a rearward position.

A return spring 120, FIG. 4, is connected at one end to the housing 12 at a post 122, FIG. 3, and at an opposite end to the cross bar 110. When the dart tube 64 moves to its forward position the return spring 120 is extended to create a biasing force to return the dart tube to its rearward position. It is noted that this differs from the launch spring 48, which creates a launching force by being compressed. The trigger 20 is connected to a link 124, FIG. 4, which is connected to the sear 114. When an operator pulls the trigger 20, the link 124 retracts the sear 114 away from the tab 116 and the cylinder 30 snaps forward as the launch spring 48 extends. When the cylinder reaches its forward position, an abutment structure in the form of a nose ramp 125, FIG. 3, mounted to the cylinder engages and lifts the pivot bar 108 to allow the return spring 120 to bias the dart tube 64, the inner tube 42 with the piston 32, as well as the cylinder 30 to their rearward positions to allow spring loading of the next dart from the magazine 24. This automatic retraction is an important feature of the invention.

A magazine latch and release mechanism 126 is mounted to the housing 12 and functions to latch the magazine 24 with a spring biased pin 127 that engages structure around an opening 128 in the magazine. A lever actuator 129 is mounted to the housing to retract the pin 127 when pressed so that the magazine 24 is released or disengaged from the rifle. A small barrier panel 130, FIG. 3, is positioned just forward of the launch chamber 92 to prevent unwanted forward movement of a loaded dart. When the dart tube 64 is moved fully forward during the process of cocking rifle, the barrier panel 130 pivots to a lowered position to allow the dart to discharge.

The general operation of the rifle is explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5-12. The illustration shown in FIG. 5 is the same as the illustration shown in FIG. 4, except that the portion of the housing outline shown in FIG. 4 has been eliminated for clarity. In FIG. 5, the dart tube 64, the inner tube 42, and the cylinder 30 are in their rearward positions, and the cylinder is restrained by the engagement of the sear and tab fastener 114, 116. The cocking handle 22 is in a forward position and the launch spring 48 is in a relaxed configuration. When the magazine is engaged with the rifle by being inserted into the breech 94, FIG. 4, the uppermost dart 84 becomes aligned with the dart tube 64 as shown in FIG. 6, and the pin 134 mounted to the housing is received by the opening 128 in the magazine. Referring now to FIG. 7, the cocking handle 22 is shown drawn part way rearward causing the first rack 100 to move rearward, and the second rack 102, the dart tube 64, and the inner tube 42 with the piston 32 to move forward while the cylinder 30 remains stationary, resulting in the launch spring 48 being partially compressed between the piston 32 and the forward portion 38 of the cylinder 30.

When the cocking handle 22 is drawn fully rearward, as shown in FIG. 8, the dart tube 64 and the inner tube 42 with the piston 32 have moved fully forward with the dart tube 64 enclosing the dart 84. The launch spring 48 is fully compressed to provide the launch force for discharging the dart. The return spring 120 is fully extended to move the dart tube rearward when released. The cylinder 30 remains restrained by the sear and tab fastener 114, 116, and the pivot bar and cross bar fastener 108, 110 becomes engaged so that the dart tube 64 and the inner tube 42 are restrained forward while the cylinder 30 is restrained rearward.

Referring now to FIG. 9, the cocking handle 22 has been returned forward by the operator to complete a full cocking cycle of the rifle. When the cocking handle 22 is returned to the forward position, the first rack 100 and the second rack 102 are returned to their original positions by operation of the handle 22 and the gear train 104. The dart tube 64 and the inner tube 42 with the piston 32 remain fully forward in a restrained condition, the launch spring 48 remains fully compressed, the return spring 120 remains fully extended and the cylinder 30 remains rearward also in a restrained condition.

When the operator pulls the trigger 20, the link 124 retracts the sear 114, FIG. 10. The sear 114 slides away from the tab 116, and the cylinder 30 is release to snap forward. The launch spring 48 pushes on the front portion 38 of the cylinder 30 causing the cylinder to move forward quickly while the piston remains stationary. The movement of the cylinder is allowed to proceed initially with little or no resistance so as to gain momentum, an important feature of the toy rifle. The movement of the cylinder 30 relative to the piston 32 causes the air chamber 70 to contract quickly through a cylinder first portion resulting in momentum gain of the cylinder, but when the piston 32 enters a cylinder second portion, the ports 72, 74 are closed (because the ports are to the right of the piston's position) and pressure increases quickly. The high pressure is communicated through the air passageway 46 to the dart 84. As the cylinder reaches its forward position shown in FIG. 11, the nose ramp 125, FIGS. 3 and 11, strikes and disengages the pivot bar 108 from the cross bar 110.

Once the pivot bar and the cross bar fastener 108, 110 is disengaged, the return spring 120 starts to move the dart tube 64, the inner tube 42, and the cylinder 30 to their rearward positions. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, the sear 114 reengages the tab 116 of the cylinder 30. With the dart tube 64 removed from the loading chamber 92, the magazine 24 may spring load another dart into the loading chamber, or if the magazine is empty or nearly so, the magazine 24 may be separated or disengaged from the rifle by pressing the magazine release actuator 126 and a fresh magazine may be engaged without the operator having to move a bolt or handle or take any action at all, a major advantage that allows for quick reloading during play.

An important feature of the present invention is an improved safety valve 200, FIGS. 14-22. Referring now to FIG. 14, there is shown in a diagrammatic drawing, a housing in the form of a cylinder 202, a rearward located piston 204, and a dart receiving structure in the form of a forward located dart tube 206. The safety valve includes a stationary valve component 208, FIGS. 14, 16, 18 and 19. The stationary valve component 208 includes an upstream tube portion 210, FIGS. 18 and 19, where the tube portion 210 includes an outer surface 212 and an upstream or rearward open end 214 bordered with a J-shaped spring seat 216. The tube portion 210 also includes four openings or ports 220, 222, 224, 226. Downstream of the four ports is an integral elongated spike 230 for receiving a tubular dart 232. The dart 232 fits around or over the spike 230.

A slideable valve component 234, FIGS. 20-22 (drawn at twice the scale of the stationary valve component 208, FIGS. 18 and 19), includes a tubular sleeve portion 236 mounted around the tube portion 210 of the stationary valve component 208 to slide along the outer surface 212 from a rearward open position shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, to a forward closed position shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. Downstream of the sleeve portion 236, FIGS. 20-22, are a flange 238 and extension structures, such as four spaced apart fingers 240, 242, 244, 246. The flange 238 and the fingers 240, 242, 244, 246 are integral with and extend forward from the sleeve portion 236. When a dart, such as the dart 232, is loaded into the dart tube 206, a rear surface 248 of the loaded dart 232 engages the fingers 240, 242, 244, 246 and pushes the sleeve portion 236 of the slideable valve component 234 rearward or upstream to the open position. When opened, high-pressure air flowing through the open end 214 of the tube portion 210 passes through the ports 220, 222, 224, 226 to the dart.

A valve spring 250 positioned between the spring seat 216 of the stationary valve component 208 and the flange 238 of the slideable valve component 234 pushes or biases the slideable valve component 234 forward to the closed position (see FIGS. 16 and 17) when a dart is absent from the dart tube 206 so that the launch apparatus cannot be used to easily discharge an undesirable and/or potentially dangerous object. If an object is unable to move the slideable valve component 234, air entering the tube portion 210 of the stationary valve component 208 cannot escape through the ports 220, 222, 224, 226 into the dart tube 206 because the sleeve portion 236 of the slideable valve component 234 provides a cover. When the dart 232 is loaded into the dart tube 206 over the spike 230, the dart bears against and pushes the fingers 240, 242, 244, 246 of the slideable valve component 234 and the sleeve portion 236 moves rearward to uncover and open the ports 220, 222, 224, 226.

When the sleeve portion 236 is in the open position, air flowing through the safety valve proceeds mostly or entirely unimpeded as symbolized by arrows 252, 254, FIG. 15. The sleeve portion 236 is essentially moved out of the airflow stream as can be seen. Unlike earlier safety valves, there is no interference by a movable valve component with the dart-discharging airflow being pushed downstream by the piston 204 so that more energy is delivered to the dart for discharge. In the prior art, high-pressure air from the piston discharges a dart but also closes the valve because the movable valve component is placed in the path of the flowing air. (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,050 identified above.) In the improved safety valve of the present invention almost no energy of the airflow is dissipated by safety valve. Once the dart is discharged, the valve spring 250 alone pushes the slideable valve component 234 forward downstream to the closed position as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.

An alternative safety valve 260 is shown in FIG. 23, where the stationary valve component 208a and the slideable valve component 234a may be essentially identical (or modified slightly) from the components already described to handle thin walled darts, such as the dart 262. For example, the spaced fingers, of which two fingers 240a, 244a are shown, of the slideable valve component 234a may have thicker or expanded contact surfaces, such as the surfaces 264, 266, to insure engagement with the thin walled dart 262.

To prevent high-pressure discharge air from escaping down the dart tube 206a around a loaded dart, an O-ring seal 268 may be placed in the dart tube 206a downstream or forward of the slideable valve component 234a. The seal 268 compensates for slight gaps between the outer wall of the dart and the inner wall of the dart tube. The seal may also compensate should the high-pressure discharge air distort the thin walled dart momentarily.

O-ring 270 is used to prevent air leaks and an O-ring 272 may be used to act as a shock absorber for the rapidly moving piston 204a in the cylinder 202a. Identical O-rings are shown in FIGS. 14-17.

An alternative embodiment of a launch apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 13. Instead of the rifle 10, the toy launch apparatus takes the form of a somewhat stylized gun 300 having a housing or shell 302 with a barrel portion 304 and a grip portion 306. The gun 300 includes a trigger 308, a cocking handle 310 and an interior magazine that loads from the top. The gun 300 also includes a cylinder mounted to the housing 302, a piston mounted in the cylinder, a launch spring mounted in the cylinder rearward of the piston and a dart receiving structure mounted forward of the piston. Unlike the operation of the rifle 10, in the gun 300 embodiment the cylinder remains stationary and the piston moves to create the relative motion between them. Like the rifle 10, the dart receiving structure moves between a rearward position to allow a dart to be loaded so that the dart and the dart receiving structure are aligned, and a forward position to receive a first dart and also prevent loading of a second dart before the first dart is discharged.

The present invention also includes a method 400, FIG. 24, for making a toy launch apparatus with a safety valve, the steps of the method including forming a housing 402, mounting a dart receiving structure in the housing 404, forming a stationary valve component 406 including an open rearward end, a tube extending forward and a port in the tube, placing the stationary valve component in communication with the dart receiving structure 408, forming a slideable valve component having a flange 410, mounting the slideable valve component to the tube of the stationary valve component 412, the slideable valve component being movable between a forward position to block the port as shown in FIG. 17, and a rearward position to unblock the port as shown in FIG. 15, and when in the rearward position the slideable valve component is spaced from air flow through the stationary valve component, mounting a valve spring to the slideable valve component 414 to bias the slideable valve component to the forward position, mounting a cylinder in the housing 416, the cylinder being in communication with the stationary valve component, and mounting a piston in the cylinder 418.

It is noted that throughout this description, words such as “forward,” “rearward,” “front” and “rear,” as well as similar positional terms, refer to portions or elements of the launch apparatus as they are viewed in the drawings relative to other portions, or in relationship to the positions of the apparatus as it will typically be held and moved during play by a user, or to movements of elements based on the configurations illustrated.

The toy launch apparatus disclosed in detail above have great play value, are fun to use and easy to operate, and are safe, even for young children, and yet the launch apparatus have robust, but simple structures, that may be produced at reasonable cost.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that there has been provided features for an improved toy launch apparatus with a safety valve and a disclosure of methods for making the toy. While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. The matters set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings are offered by way of illustrations only and not as limitations. The actual scope of the invention is to be defined by the subsequent claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.

Claims

1. A toy launch apparatus with a safety valve comprising:

a housing;

a dart receiving structure mounted in the housing;

a stationary valve component forming an air passageway mounted in the housing in communication with the dart receiving structure, the stationary valve component including a tube portion with an outer surface, a rearward end open to air flow through the air passageway, the tube portion extending forward from the rearward end, and a port in the tube portion;

a slideable valve component movable along the outer surface of the tube portion between a first position blocking the port to airflow, and a second position spaced away from the port and spaced away from air flow through the air passageway.

2. The toy launch apparatus of claim 1, including:

a valve spring connected to the slideable valve component and the stationary valve component for biasing the slideable valve component to the first position.

3. The toy launch apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the slideable valve component includes a flange.

4. The toy launch apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the slideable valve component includes an extension structure for being engaged by a dart loaded in the dart receiving structure, the dart causing the slideable valve component to move from the first position to the second position.

5. The toy launch apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the stationary valve component is cylindrical; and

the slideable valve component is cylindrical.

6. The toy launch apparatus of claim 5, including:

a valve spring connected to the slideable valve component for biasing the slideable valve component to the first position.

7. The toy launch apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the slideable valve component includes a flange.

8. The toy launch apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the slideable valve component flange is in communication with the valve spring.

9. The toy launch apparatus of claim 8, including:

the slideable valve component includes an extension structure for being engaged by a dart loaded in the dart receiving structure, the dart causing the slideable valve component to move from the first position to the second position.

10. The toy launch apparatus of claim 1, including:

a cylinder mounted in the housing and in communication with the stationary valve component; and

a piston mounted in the cylinder.

11. The toy launch apparatus of claim 9, including:

a cylinder mounted in the housing and in communication with the stationary valve component; and

a piston mounted in the cylinder.

12. A toy launch apparatus with a safety valve comprising:

a housing;

a dart receiving structure mounted in the housing;

a passageway structure mounted in the housing and in communication with the dart receiving structure, the passageway structure including an open rearward end, a tubular wall extending forward from the open end and a port in the wall; and

a blocking structure mounted to the wall, the blocking structure movable between a forward position wherein the port in the wall is blocked and a rearward position wherein the port in the wall is unblocked and the blocking structure is spaced from airflow through the passageway structure.

13. The toy launch apparatus of claim 12, including:

a valve spring for biasing the blocking structure to the forward position.

14. The toy launch apparatus of claim 13, including:

a cylinder mounted to the housing, the cylinder in communication with the passageway structure; and

a piston mounted in the cylinder.

15. The toy launch apparatus of claim 14, wherein:

the blocking structure includes a flange.

16. The toy launch apparatus of claim 15, wherein:

the blocking structure includes an extension structure for engaging a dart loaded in the dart receiving structure, the dart causing the blocking structure to move from the first position to the second position.

17. The toy launch apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

a forward end of the valve spring bears against the flange.

18. A method for making a toy launch apparatus with a safety valve, the steps of the method comprising:

forming a housing;

mounting a dart receiving structure in the housing;

forming a stationary valve component in the housing, the stationary valve component including an open rearward end, a tube extending forward and a port in the tube;

placing the stationary valve component in communication with the dart receiving structure;

forming a slideable valve component having a flange;

mounting the slideable valve component to the tube, the slideable valve component being movable between a forward position to block the port and a rearward position to unblock the port, and when in the rearward position the slideable valve component is spaced from air flow through the stationary valve component;

mounting a valve spring to the slideable valve component to bias the slideable valve component to the forward position;

mounting a cylinder in the housing, the cylinder being in communication with the stationary valve component; and

mounting a piston in the cylinder.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the slideable valve component includes an extension structure; and including the step of:

mounting the slideable valve component so that the extension structure engages a dart loaded in the dart receiving structure.

20. The method of claim 19, including the step of:

mounting the slideable valve component so that the valve spring biases the flange.